Integrity for thee, casinos for me: The NCAA’s gambling lie | Opinion

Before we get into dissecting the latest round of self-inflicted stupidity from the NCAA , there has to be a red line somewhere. If Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby wagered on his team while at Indiana in 2022 — whether he played or not, and no matter how much he won — it’s going to be be extremely difficult for the NCAA to ignore some form of punishment . A suspended percentage of the season, or a complete loss of eligibility, something must happen.

You can’t have players gambling on their own teams, no matter the amount of money. ARMOUR: Brendan Sorsby's gambling addiction a symptom of our broader illness The integrity of the game, and future of the sport depends on it. With that out of the way, it’s here where we introduce the remarkably ironic and brazen embrace of gambling by an NCAA member institution: the University of Arizona’s football stadium is named after a casino.

That’s right, Casino Del Sol paid Arizona $60 million over 20 years for naming rights to Arizona Stadium. The Tucson casino and resort has a sports book, five betting windows and 15 self-service kiosks. But we’re not done yet with this wildly inappropriate dalliance of the NCAA and gambling, not by a long shot.

Three years ago, the Big Ten began announcing weekly injury reports of its football teams. A stunning move from the conference that holds itself higher than all others. Legends and Leaders, no less.