NCAA Rule Change Reduces Punishment for Student-Athletes Gambling on Other Sports

The NCAA announced on Wednesday that it has softened the penalties for student-athletes who gamble on other college sports at their own school.

Under the previous rules, gambling on other NCAA sports would result in a permanent loss of eligibility. Now, it will result in a one-year suspension and a lost year of eligibility.

Also, student-athletes will be required to participate in sports wagering rules and prevention education before being eligible to be reinstated.

"To be clear, Division I members do not encourage student-athletes to engage in sports wagering at any level, and the actions today to modify reinstatement conditions should not be interpreted as support for wagering behaviors," MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said in a statement. "NCAA members continue to prioritize integrity of competition and felt that reinstatement conditions for violations of wagering rules should reflect that focus and, when possible, also accommodate opportunities for preventative education."

The new rules can be applied to cases involving student-athletes serving current suspensions related to wagering on a different team at their own school that were reported on or after May 2 of this year.

"The council agreed with Division I commissioners that the reinstatement conditions for wagering violations in limited circumstances should be adjusted," Steinbrecher added. "Member schools need to fully examine NCAA wagering legislation overall—particularly in light of changes in recent years to federal and state laws—but the council agreed that additional changes should not be made until potential changes to rules are contemplated."

The amended rules could benefit some of the student-athletes implicated in the betting scandals at Iowa and Iowa State. CBS Sports' Shehan Jeyarajah pointed out that Iowa State tight end DeShawn Hanika was only cited for betting on Iowa State basketball game. However, there are still nine Iowa and Iowa State football players who gambled on their own games and could face a permanent loss of eligibility.