An edited copy of the following was sent as a letter to South Dakota congressional members earlier this year as Higgins' personal opinion on anti-gambling legislation S. 2340 in the Senate and H.R. 3575 in the House.

Most of my colleagues at other NCAA institutions know that if I have a strong opinion, I will usually make that opinion known on
the NCAA Convention floor, or in some other forum. However, I have sat by quietly while efforts have been made to enact anti-gambling laws in Congress -- specifically, S. 2340 in the Senate and H.R. 3575 in the House.

This is a sensitive and politically hot topic for any member of the NCAA and the entire sporting public/community because of the potential for gambling to affect the integrity of the game.

I have listened to the rhetoric involved from both sides. I have studied the history of this issue within intercollegiate athletics. I have seen the effects of gambling on the individual. Perhaps it's my age and philosophical background that make me look at this issue from a different perspective than what appears to be the prevailing attitude. Regardless, I have some deep reservations regarding this legislation, and I felt it important that each of you understand my personal convictions on the issue. They are at the core of why I did not forward each of you the letter of support prepared for each athletics director in the NCAA to sign and send to their congressional representatives.

Changing times

I'm not telling any of you anything new, but in my short 46 years, I've seen the political and philosophical pendulum of the American public continue its long history of swinging first one way and then another. It's hard to tell when that pendulum begins to reverse its course because the people start to believe it has gone too far in one direction. But I think you all would agree that from a historical perspective, it does happen. Those swings continue to occur because of the imperfect and different ways that we (Americans) apply the extraordinary philosophies espoused in the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.

It is the acceptance and application of these ideas that make this country great. It is with this background in mind that I state my belief that the pendulum has moved too far in one direction, and it is time for that movement to stop. Specifically, I believe the well-intentioned effort to eliminate gambling on intercollegiate events in the United States is doomed to fail for several reasons, some of which actually are identified by the NCAA in its rationale to have this legislation passed.

Money and information flow

Currently, the flow of money in Las Vegas is monitored and, from what we're told, that "flow" of information was critical to the follow-up in the Northwestern and Arizona State cases. If that flow of money and information is cut off in Nevada, it might limit the amount, and most probably the conduit, of that flow. However, if it goes completely underground, off-shore or overseas, how do you police potentially illegal activities (gambling, the fix, etc.) in the future? Even representatives of the NCAA agree that this law will not eliminate gambling. Gambling on the outcome of human events has been with us for thousands of years, and it will not go away. What I fear is that passage of these laws could eliminate one of the best sources used to monitor potentially illegal activity that does affect the integrity of the game and make it harder to accomplish the very goal the NCAA membership, and all true sport fans, wish to achieve.

What then will be achieved by criminalizing an activity that currently is legal in one state? Would we see the modern-day version of prohibition? Absolutely. As I stated, I believe this law has absolutely no chance of achieving its primary goal and would in all probability exacerbate the problem. Would we see lives of great potential left wrecked by what often appears to happen with our current spate of seemingly arbitrary laws from state to state, and on the federal level? Laws that seem to be generated by legislators who wish to show the folks back home that they are doing something (the pendulum again)? Again, I believe so.

Existing laws

There already are laws in effect that are meant to protect the integrity of the game, and the best measure to ensure that integrity is to increase our due diligence, vigorously enforce those laws when they are broken, and continue to educate our student-athletes, staff and the public of the ramifications of this violation of our trust. Those methods have been used effectively in the past, and will continue to serve us in the future. Perhaps that means the NCAA should continue teaming up with federal authorities and the gambling industry instead of fighting each other.

Finally, while I hope it never happens again, I, too, am not naïve enough to believe there will not be other gambling scandals in the future. Regardless of the laws that are passed, human beings will continue to make mistakes. The United States is an idea that is based upon the premise that its citizens have the right to choose, and sometimes "the people," both individually and as a group, make poor decisions.

Let's not make what I think is a poor group decision that attempts to control the individual choices we all currently have right now to do the right thing.

As I stated earlier, in my opinion, it's time for the pendulum to change directions. The mistake in competition is to "fix" the game. Let's not make the mistake of eliminating one of the ways we currently have to catch those who don't care about the integrity of the game, and in the process create another class of criminals among the average citizen.

Kelly J. Higgins is the director of athletics at the University of South Dakota.