NCAA D-I Board delays policy change allowing athletes to bet on professional sports

The NCAA D-I Board announced Tuesday evening it has delayed a policy change allowing athletes to bet on professional sports. The effective date is now set for Nov. 22.

According to the announcement, Division I rules allow 30 days for schools to vote on potentially rescinding a proposal if adopted by less than 75% of the D-I Cabinet. By delaying until Nov. 22, the D-I Board is setting the effective date to be one day after the close of a membership recession period, the NCAA said.

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Tuesday’s announcement came after Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported SEC commissioner Greg Sankey sent a memo asking the NCAA to rescind the guidance. Sankey called it a “major step in the wrong direction.”

“We are equally concerned about the vulnerability of our student-athletes. The combination of accessible mobile betting, financial pressuress, and social influence makes the possibility of personal gambling losses — and the potential for exploitation — very real,” Sankey’s letter reads, per Yahoo! Sports. “… It is foreseeable that college athletes, with far fewer resources and far greater outside influence, can be involved in compromising circumstances.”

The NCAA D-I administrative committee voted to allow athletes to gamble on pro sports Oct. 8. When D-II and D-III followed suit Oct. 22, it meant the policy change was due to take effect Nov. 1.

“The Administrative Committee was clear in its discussion today that it remains concerned about the risks associated with all forms of sports gambling, but ultimately voted to reduce restrictions on student-athletes in this are to better align with their campus peers,” said Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman, the committee chairman, in a statement Oct. 8. “This change allows the NCAA, the conferences, and the member schools to focus on protecting the integrity of college games while, at the same time, encouraging healthy habits for student-athletes who choose to engage in betting activities on professional sports.”

One day after the Divisions II and II adopted the proposal, news broke of multiple arrests connected to gambling-related investigations in the NBA. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was taken into custody by federal agents Oct. 23 and is facing accusations of participating in an illegal sports gambling scheme using insider information.ESPN’s David Purdum reported gamblers used inside information to wager on at least seven NBA games between March 2023 and 2024, and players allegedly removed themselves in three of the seven games to benefit gamblers.

As the result of a separate investigation, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was also taken into custody Oct. 23. He was not named in the sports betting indictment, according to ESPN, but prosecutors said he allegedly participated in rigged poker games. Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones was also arrested.

“The integrity of the game is paramount to NBA players, but so is the presumption of innocence, and both are hindered when player popularity is misused to gain attention,” the NBPA said in a statement to ESPN. “We will ensure our members are protected and afforded their due process rights through this process.”