Sankey implores NCAA to axe ruling allowing pro-sports betting - ESPN

The SEC has asked the NCAA to rescind a pending rule change that will allow athletes and athletic department staff members to bet on professional sports beginning on Nov. 1, according to a copy of a memo obtained by ESPN.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey sent a letter to NCAA president Charlie Baker on Oct. 25, stating that during an Oct. 13 conference meeting, «The message of our Presidents and Chancellors was clear and united: this policy change represents a major step in the wrong direction.»

Last week, the NCAA's Division I cabinet approved a rule change to allow betting on professional sports, and Division II and III management councils also signed off on it, allowing it to go into effect on Saturday. NCAA athletes are still prohibited from betting on college sports and sharing information about college sports with bettors. Betting sites also aren't allowed to advertise or sponsor NCAA championships.

«On behalf of our universities, I write to urge action by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors to rescind this change and reaffirm the Association's commitment to maintaining strong national standards that keep collegiate participants separated from sports wagering activity at every level,» Sankey wrote. «If there are legal or practical concerns about the prior policy, those should be addressed through careful refinement-not through wholesale removal of the guardrails that have long supported the integrity of games and the well-being of those who participate.»

If the rule goes into effect, it would mark a shift in a long-held policy that had become difficult to enforce with an increase in legal sports betting in the United States. The NCAA has faced an uptick in alleged betting violations by players in recent years. In