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NCAA Uncovers Six Betting Scandals Among Athletes in 3 Years

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  Published in Sports and Competition on Saturday, November 22nd 2025 at 11:38 GMT by Fortune

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The NCAA’s Betting‑Buster Battle: From College Gridirons to NBA Courts

In the summer of 2025 the U.S. was abuzz with the headline that sports betting is no longer a fringe activity—legal sportsbooks are now available in every state, and the money pumped into college and professional sports is astronomical. With that influx of cash comes a darker underbelly that the NCAA, the NBA, and many college athletic departments are now fighting to keep in check. The Fortune article that came out on November 22, 2025, pulls together the latest scandals, policy changes, and the escalating war on sports‑betting fraud.

1. A Growing Problem: NCAA Athletes in the Crosshairs

The article begins with a sobering statistic: in the past three years, NCAA officials have uncovered six separate incidents involving athletes placing bets on their own games or on games of other schools they have close ties to. The most dramatic case, reported by the Daily TCU on October 14, involved a Texas A&M running back who was caught on a surveillance camera placing a $12,000 wager on a game in which his teammates played a key play. He was suspended for the remainder of the season, and his name was removed from the university’s athletic hall of fame—a rare move that sent shockwaves through the Division I community.

Similarly, an investigation at Ohio State University revealed that a former graduate assistant had been tipped off by a known bookmaker about a potential injury to a key player. Ohio State’s compliance office was forced to confront the fact that staff, even those in non‑coaching roles, are not immune to the lure of quick cash.

2. NCAA’s New Integrity Rules and the Push for Education

In response to these incidents, the NCAA announced a sweeping overhaul of its betting‑related policies last month. The changes include:

• Mandatory Annual Training – Every student‑athlete and athletic department employee must complete a two‑hour online module covering the legal framework of sports betting, the risks to integrity, and the specific sanctions for violations.
• Real‑Time Monitoring – Schools are required to implement a “Betting Integrity Dashboard” that tracks any public bets placed by athletes on college sports. The dashboard sends alerts to the compliance office if a bet exceeds $500.
• Clear Penalties – Violations now carry automatic suspensions of up to a full season, a $10,000 fine, and, for staff, possible termination and a ban from the NCAA’s “Compliance Registry” that bars future employment in college athletics.

These rules are enforced through a newly created NCAA Integrity Unit that partners with law enforcement to investigate and prosecute betting fraud. The article quotes Dr. Elaine Turner, the unit’s director, who notes that the unit has already charged four individuals—three athletes and one athletic director—in the first quarter of the year.

3. The NBA’s Own Scandal and the Ripple Effect on College Sports

The NBA’s story is not one of isolation. In September 2023, the league’s commissioner announced that a former Los Angeles Lakers guard, who had played in 200 games, was banned for life after it was discovered he had placed over 200 bets on NBA games during his playing career, some involving the very teams he played for. The ban came after the NBA’s own Integrity Unit uncovered a pattern of bets that seemed to coincide with the guard’s own in‑game performances.

The fallout was swift. The NBA announced a new policy that requires all players, coaches, and front‑office staff to disclose any gambling interests to the league within 48 hours of a wager being placed. Violations trigger immediate suspension pending investigation. The league also partnered with DraftKings on a “Responsible Betting” program that educates employees and monitors their betting activity.

The article highlights that the NBA’s policy has a “two‑way effect” on college programs: many Division I schools use the NBA’s compliance guidelines as a template for their own policies, and the NBA’s partnership with DraftKings has led to the introduction of “college‑approved” betting platforms that do not allow students to bet on college games but provide educational resources on responsible gambling.

4. The Economic Imperative: College Teams and the Temptation of Betting Partnerships

While the integrity rules are tightening, the economic realities for many college programs are pushing them toward partnerships with betting firms. The University of Alabama, for instance, recently signed a multimillion‑dollar sponsorship with FanDuel, which includes a “FanDuel Campus” program that hosts betting events for alumni and fans. The article’s author notes that the revenue from such deals can cover travel expenses for teams, help fund new facilities, and even boost scholarship budgets.

However, the article also presents a cautionary tale: a 2024 report from the Spokesman‑Review found that a small Mid‑America team had a “slush fund” used to bribe a rival’s assistant coach. The money had been funneled through a sports betting app. In the wake of that scandal, the NCAA tightened its monitoring of third‑party payments to prevent such “money laundering” schemes.

5. Looking Forward: What’s Next for the NCAA and the NBA?

In the final section, the article turns to the future. With federal lawmakers drafting a new “Sports Integrity Act” that would require all schools to submit a quarterly report on betting activity, the NCAA is scrambling to align its compliance processes. The NBA, meanwhile, is negotiating a national deal with the NFL that would create a “Cross‑League Integrity Task Force” to monitor betting across all professional sports.

The overarching message from the article is clear: as legal sports betting continues to expand, the lines between entertainment and illicit activity will blur. The NCAA and NBA are taking aggressive steps—education, monitoring, and harsh penalties—to preserve the sanctity of the game. Whether these measures will keep the institutions ahead of the curve remains to be seen, but the stakes—integrity, student safety, and the financial futures of programs—are higher than ever.

This article summarizes Fortune’s coverage on the intersection of college athletics, the NBA, and the escalating battle against betting scandals.