National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

June 29, 1998

Sportsmanship committee looks at gambling issue

Set of recommendations forwarded

The NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct devoted much of its recent meeting to its newest responsibility: gambling.

After hearing a presentation and discussing the gambling issue, the committee -- which met June 17-18 in Marco Island, Florida -- made three recommendations:

  • It expressed concern that the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics has decided to conduct its 1999 convention in Reno, Nevada. NACDA, which met in Florida this year, had conducted other recent conventions in Las Vegas, leading to criticism that college athletics was sending a mixed message about the seriousness of sports gambling. The committee forwarded possible actions that might be taken to discourage the meeting site to the Division I Strategic Planning Cabinet and the Divisions II and III Management Councils.

  • The committee supported a recommendation from the Division I Men's Basketball Committee that background checks be required on game officials to make certain they have no links to gambling. That recommendation now will move to the Strategic Planning and Championships/Competition Cabinets.

  • The committee recommended adding language to the NCAA position on gambling to specify that affiliation with gambling-related activities or individuals known to be associated with gambling is discouraged. The new language, which is yet to be reviewed by legal counsel, would state: "Involvement in other gambling-related activities, or maintaining relationships with individuals who have interests in gambling activities, is discouraged as it reasonably could lead or appear to lead to influencing athletics department staff members or student-athletes to alter the outcome of intercollegiate athletics contests."

    The NCAA position on gambling was approved by the NCAA Administrative Committee in 1997. It states the Association's opposition to legal and illegal sports gambling and provides the reasons for that opposition.

    The committee made its three recommendations after hearing a presentation from William S. Saum, NCAA agent and gambling representative II, on how the Association is addressing the problem of sports wagering on intercollegiate athletics.

    Committee composition

    In other business, the committee took action to acquire more involvement from those who are on the point of the sportsmanship and ethical conduct issue: student-athletes, coaches and officials.

    The committee chose to recommend the addition of two student-athletes to the committee. The student-athletes would be from all divisions, with the three divisions being represented on a rotating basis.

    In addition, the committee agreed that it would seek input from affiliated coaching and officiating organizations, although coaches and officials would not be designated as committee members.

    The committee concluded that it is appropriate to include the students on the committee since they are members of the governance structure in other contexts (for example, membership or representation on each of the Management Councils, as well as membership on the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee and the Committee on Women's Athletics).

    As for the affiliated organizations, the committee noted the importance of talking with such groups before taking action to make certain that they are not affected in some unanticipated way.

    The proposal to expand the committee's membership will be considered by the Division I Strategic Planning Cabinet and by the Divisions II and III Management Councils.

    CTSA

    The committee also received an update on the activities of the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance.

    That group announced that it will team with the Freedom Forum to conduct a Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct Summit in Washington, D.C., in June 1999.

    The CTSA hopes to assemble 99 of the most influential people in the area of sportsmanship and ethical conduct to discuss the issue and identify possible solutions.

    In addition, the event will feature an awards component in which the sportsmen and sportswomen of the year will be recognized from each of the 10 CTSA organizations. The awards program will be an annual event, and consideration is being given to conducting the summit on an annual basis.