May 12 (Bloomberg) -- The National Collegiate Athletic Association -- which found that 35 percent of male college athletes bet on sports last year -- is forming a task force to cut sports wagering among athletes before it reaches ``crisis proportions.''
The governing body made the decision after getting results from a study of 21,000 male and female college athletes, NCAA President Myles Brand said in a press release. NCAA athletes are forbidden from betting on college sports.
``The scope of sports wagering among intercollegiate student- athletes is startling and disturbing,'' Brand said. ``Sports wagering is a double-threat because it harms the well-being of student-athletes and the integrity of college sports.''
The NCAA has been campaigning against sports gambling for years, trying unsuccessfully to have Congress pass a federal law outlawing betting on college sports.
The organization's opposition to gambling forced SportsLine.com Inc. to sell two sports wagering services. The company's part-owner, Viacom Inc.'s CBS network, has the contract to show the NCAA basketball tournament.
The NCAA's gambling task force is charged with coming up with recommendations to ensure the well-being of college athletes and to protect the integrity of college sports.
``If the sport loses integrity, then everything becomes professional wrestling, with a predetermined outcome and diminished interest,'' said University of Notre Dame President Edward Malloy, who was named chairman of the panel.
Education, New Rules
The task force's recommendations, which will probably be made at the NCAA's January meeting, may include expanding education efforts and proposing changes to NCAA rules.
The NCAA gambling study, conducted last year, found that 17.2 percent of Division I male student-athletes violated NCAA rules by betting on collegiate sports last year, while 28.8 percent admitted to wagering on any kind of sporting event. Those figures rose to 21 percent and 33.5 percent in Division II, and 24.4 percent and 40.7 percent in Division III.
The study found that 10 percent of all female athletes bet on sports last year.
In addition, the NCAA found that 2.3 percent of Division I football players and 2.1 percent of men's basketball players said they were asked to affect the outcome of a game because of a gambling debt.
The study found that about 60 percent of Division I athletes understand the NCAA's rules on sports wagering, while that figure drops to 50 percent at the Division II level and 40 percent at Division III.
In addition to a ban on betting on college sports, NCAA rules prohibit athletes from sharing of information that can be used for gambling.
Florida State kicked quarterback Adrian McPherson off the football team last year after he was charged with gambling, theft and passing bad checks. McPherson was accused of betting on Florida State football games in which he played.
In 2001, the University of Florida threw point guard Teddy Dupay off the men's basketball team for involvement in gambling.
``I do not now see evidence that the integrity of the game has been irrevocably damaged, but the risk is real,'' Brand said on a media conference call. ``We want to be ahead of this problem.''
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The governing body made the decision after getting results from a study of 21,000 male and female college athletes, NCAA President Myles Brand said in a press release. NCAA athletes are forbidden from betting on college sports.
``The scope of sports wagering among intercollegiate student- athletes is startling and disturbing,'' Brand said. ``Sports wagering is a double-threat because it harms the well-being of student-athletes and the integrity of college sports.''
The NCAA has been campaigning against sports gambling for years, trying unsuccessfully to have Congress pass a federal law outlawing betting on college sports.
The organization's opposition to gambling forced SportsLine.com Inc. to sell two sports wagering services. The company's part-owner, Viacom Inc.'s CBS network, has the contract to show the NCAA basketball tournament.
The NCAA's gambling task force is charged with coming up with recommendations to ensure the well-being of college athletes and to protect the integrity of college sports.
``If the sport loses integrity, then everything becomes professional wrestling, with a predetermined outcome and diminished interest,'' said University of Notre Dame President Edward Malloy, who was named chairman of the panel.
Education, New Rules
The task force's recommendations, which will probably be made at the NCAA's January meeting, may include expanding education efforts and proposing changes to NCAA rules.
The NCAA gambling study, conducted last year, found that 17.2 percent of Division I male student-athletes violated NCAA rules by betting on collegiate sports last year, while 28.8 percent admitted to wagering on any kind of sporting event. Those figures rose to 21 percent and 33.5 percent in Division II, and 24.4 percent and 40.7 percent in Division III.
The study found that 10 percent of all female athletes bet on sports last year.
In addition, the NCAA found that 2.3 percent of Division I football players and 2.1 percent of men's basketball players said they were asked to affect the outcome of a game because of a gambling debt.
The study found that about 60 percent of Division I athletes understand the NCAA's rules on sports wagering, while that figure drops to 50 percent at the Division II level and 40 percent at Division III.
In addition to a ban on betting on college sports, NCAA rules prohibit athletes from sharing of information that can be used for gambling.
Florida State kicked quarterback Adrian McPherson off the football team last year after he was charged with gambling, theft and passing bad checks. McPherson was accused of betting on Florida State football games in which he played.
In 2001, the University of Florida threw point guard Teddy Dupay off the men's basketball team for involvement in gambling.
``I do not now see evidence that the integrity of the game has been irrevocably damaged, but the risk is real,'' Brand said on a media conference call. ``We want to be ahead of this problem.''
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