ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten announced Friday that it will require its football teams to provide an availability report of its players to the conference office no more than two hours before kickoff as part its efforts to safeguard the integrity of games amid the growth of legalized gambling.
The conference also announced a partnership with U.S. Integrity, a company that monitors sporting events for illegal or improper gambling activities, to provide enhanced monitoring and additional educational resources to help prevent student-athletes, coaches and staff from engaging in prohibited sports wagering.
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No other Power Five conference has a league-wide availability report, though the Atlantic Coast Conference tried a loosely run midweek injury report several years ago.
College sports has been hit with multiple gambling-related scandals this year, including in the Big Ten. Several Iowa athletes in multiple sports are facing NCAA discipline for online gambling on sporting events.
At Iowa State, in the Big 12, several athletes are facing criminal charges related to online sports gambling.
The NCAA prohibits athletes from gambling, even legally, on any sports the association sponsors.
Availability reports are similar to NFL injury reports, but not nearly as detailed. Schools will be required to submit what players are available to play to the conference office, which will then distribute the information online and post it on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Schools will not be required to give reasons why a player is unavailable.
The league said schools that do not comply with the reporting policy will be subject to disciplinary action.
The conference said it will work with schools to evaluate the reporting process and accuracy of the information and refine protocol if needed.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll