The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- March 15, 1999

Connecticut to target agents

Forum also to address sports wagering issues

At the University of Connecticut this year, National Student-Athlete Day will be recognized with a national program that should be of interest to intercollegiate athletics administrators across the country.

"Symposium on Sport: Sports Wagering and Agents" will attempt to identify the problems of sports wagering and unscrupulous sports agents, provide examples of the devastation they can cause, and offer some means of detection and prevention for administrators.

The free day-long symposium April 7 is being presented in conjunction with the NCAA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Speakers will include: Len Elmore, a basketball analyst for ESPN who has worked as both an attorney and as a sports consultant; G. Lynn Lashbrook, a faculty member at the United States Sports Academy and member of the Sports Management Group; Julie A. Roe-Sumner, NCAA student-athlete reinstatement representative; Robert H. Ruxin, vice-president and general counsel of Kazmaier Associates, author of "An Athlete's Guide to Agents" and vice-president of the Sports Lawyers Association; William S. Saum, NCAA director for agent and gambling activities; Stan Wilcox, associate commissioner for compliance at the Big East Conference; and Glenn Wong, professor of sport management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Also, two former student-athletes involved in sports wagering cases will make presentations, and a current FBI agent will discuss the state of sports wagering. Other topics will include Internet gambling, and gambling detection and prevention.

"We know that the message we are presenting is an important one," said Lewis Perkins, athletics director at Connecticut. "We hope that the information is valuable, and we believe that the only way to attack these problems is head-on."

For more information, contact the University of Connecticut athletics compliance office at 860/486-4580.