NCAA reverses course, keeps ban on student-athletes betting on pro sports

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has reversed a proposal that would have allowed student-athletes to bet on professional sports, after Division I member schools voted to rescind the rule change in a late push that met the threshold just 30 minutes before a Nov. 21 deadline.

Two-thirds of Division I schools voted against lifting the ban, the NCAA said, halting what had been a significant shift in its longstanding restrictions on sports wagering. The original proposal was adopted by the Division I Board in October but fell short of the 75% support required to avoid a reconsideration period.

“Because sports betting rules are common legislation, the ban on all forms of betting for sports in which the NCAA sponsors a championship will remain in place for all three NCAA divisions,” the NCAA said.

The reversal followed strong pushback from prominent voices in college sports. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey urged NCAA President Charlie Baker to rescind the change, while Pittsburgh head football coach Pat Narduzzi also opposed it. Commenting publicly, former NBA star Charles Barkley said supporters of the proposal “should have their heads examined.”

Supporters of the original change argued that the NCAA’s betting rules were outdated because they were written “at a time when sports gambling was largely illegal nationwide,” Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman said earlier this year.

The decision comes amid a string of high-profile betting scandals across professional and college sports. NBA figures Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones were swept up in a federal betting investigation in October, while Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted in an alleged pitch-fixing scheme.

The NCAA recently issued penalties involving former Temple guard Hysier Miller, two Temple staff members, and six men’s basketball players across three schools for illegal wagering and game-related misconduct. Several former athletes at Fresno State and Eastern Michigan also received lifetime bans.

Baker said the NCAA would continue to prioritise competition integrity. “We are grateful for federal law enforcement’s efforts to stamp out illegal sports betting, and I am proud that the NCAA continues to have the most aggressive competition integrity policies in place,” he said last month. He added that regulators and operators should help “by eliminating risky prop bets to reduce opportunities for manipulation.”

The NCAA’s reaffirmation of its betting restrictions means that student-athletes, coaches, and team officials remain barred from wagering on any event sponsored by the NCAA, as well as from betting on professional sports.