The NCAA votes to repeal a rule change allowing betting on professional sports
Athletes and NCAA athletic department employees will not be allowed to bet on professional sports after members of the organization voted Friday to rescind a rule change that would have allowed such bets.
The move comes on the heels of a series of high-profile gambling cases that have raised questions about the integrity of competition in college and professional sports. In late October, Chauncey Billups, coach of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were arrested in the takedown of two sprawling gambling operations. Rozier was accused of exploiting private information about players to win bets on NBA games.
The NCAA announced two weeks ago that it had disqualified six men’s basketball players over sports betting allegations. On Friday, the NCAA said former Temple guard Hesser Miller placed dozens of bets on Owls games, including some against his team.
A rule change to allow gambling in professional sports would have gone into effect Nov. 1, but under a rarely used rule, each Division I school was given 30 days to vote to kill the proposal, as it was approved by less than 75% of the DI Cabinet.
More than two-thirds of DI members needed to vote to stop the rule change, and that number was reached on Friday. The thirty-day period ended on Saturday.
Even if the rule passes, athletes and athletic department employees will still be banned from any betting on NCAA events.
The vote by DI members also applies to Divisions II and III, which were also poised to allow gambling in professional sports. Such bets will continue to be banned at all three levels.
Late last month, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey sent a memo to NCAA President Charlie Baker expressing concerns about the rule change. Two DI Cabinet members from the SEC voted in favor of allowing professional sports betting.
NCAA enforcement cases involving sports betting violations have increased in recent years. There are at least a dozen other cases currently being investigated.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.