If it comes as a surprise to anyone that Divisions II and III student-athletes report more involvement in gambling activities than their Division I counterparts, it may be attributable to the fact that no one previously has asked the question.

Before the 2003 National Study on Collegiate Sports Wagering and Associated Behaviors, research focused on Division I football and basketball players. The NCAA study was the first not only to attempt to understand student-athlete gambling behavior in other sports, but across all of the Association's membership divisions.

It revealed that Division III student-athletes, particularly males, were most likely among all student-athletes to engage in gambling or sports-wagering behavior, and that Division II student-athletes also were more likely to do so than those in Division I. It also revealed that Division I student-athletes are considerably more likely to know about NCAA rules targeting sports wagering than student-athletes in the other divisions -- especially those in Division III.

In fact, those results really don't come as all that much of a surprise to Douglas Hastad, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, and a member of the Division III Management Council, who also serves on the NCAA Sports Wagering Task Force.

"As a chancellor of a university with 9,000 students, I'm never surprised at anything anymore," he said. "It just comes with the territory."

Especially in Division III, which promotes treating student-athletes the same as the general student population, it doesn't seem surprising that more than three-quarters of male student-athletes and more than half of female student-athletes report they've participated in some form of gambling behavior, and that nearly a quarter of male student-athletes specifically have wagered on collegiate sports.

"Sports betting is so popular in this country, so why should college students be any different, and why should student-athletes be any different from college students?" Hasted said. "We talk at length about making sure the student-athlete is treated like the normal student. We value that in the NCAA, and particularly in Division III. Well, why should they look any different when you do a survey on their drinking patterns, or gambling habits? They're like everybody else."

The NCAA survey suggests that student-athletes who have been targeted by educational and informational efforts regarding gambling are more likely to be knowledgeable about the Association's sports wagering rules, and more likely to report that those efforts discourage gambling. But most efforts have been directed at Division I football and basketball players, which helps account for the survey's finding that nearly 60 percent of Division I student-athletes know the rules.

However, only about 40 percent of Division II women student-athletes and Division III men and women student-athletes indicated knowledge of the rules or educational efforts (half of Division II men said they have that knowledge). Fully one-quarter of Division III male student-athletes admitted they do not know the rules.

The results suggest a need to step up educational efforts in Divisions II and III, and Hastad is optimistic that materials already developed by the NCAA -- as well as initiatives to be recommended by the task force -- will have an impact.

Any educational effort also likely will target administrators at member institutions -- an effort that will begin at the 2005 Convention, when Division III will devote time during its January 10 business session to a discussion of the survey results and its implications.

Hastad will help lead that discussion, along with Bill Saum, the NCAA staff liaison to the Sports Wagering Task Force.

"I think it would be fair to assume (that Division III delegates will) receive the information with great interest, and I hope some will be reassured that we continue to be speaking about student-athletes' welfare, and preservation of the game. I think some probably will have increased interest in beginning to pursue the challenges associated with curbing sports wagering activity on their campuses. I think it will be positively viewed by the membership.

"I think Division III in particular long has been very willing to try and capture the high ground, and to try to work on behalf of student-athletes, first and foremost. I would expect nothing different from that at the upcoming Convention."