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Gambling threatens to undermine the integrity of intercollegiate athletics, student athletes, and their sponsoring institutions perhaps more than any other single aberrant behavior. In the past 18 months, gambling by college student athletes has become one of the greatest concerns among athletic administrators and coaches nationally. A string of gambling incidents in the sports of football and basketball has included student athletes from such leading educational institutions as Arizona State University, Boston College, University of Colorado, Columbia University, Fresno State University, Northwestern University, and the University of Cincinnati. Large amounts of money attract organized crime. The FBI estimated that 2.5 billion dollars was illegally gambled on the 1995 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, second only to the National Football League’s Super Bowl. Money skimmed from sports betting schemes is used to fund a host of illegal activities including the sale of narcotics and loan sharking. A study by Boston College of 648 Division I intercollegiate men’s basketball and football respondents indicated that 2.5% had gambled money on other college sporting events, 3.7% had gambled money on a game in which they had played, and that 0.5% received money from a gambler for not playing well in a game. In the study at the College, it had concluded that 89.6% had gambled and that 21.7% gambled once a week or more. Almost 3% if the respondents were classified as pathological gamblers. In addition, pathological gambling is significantly correlated with tobacco use, alcohol abuse, and criminal offenses. The percentage of teens at the University is higher than that of the adult population. Also, the games that are available to them lack legal constraints to minors. Gambling is linked to such practices as missing classes, dropping out of school, psychotropic drug abuse and engaging in criminal activities. There are also past incidents where Boston College basketball player and four others were found guilty of shaving points. Also, thirteen members of Boston College football team were suspended for betting on college football as well as professional football and baseball games. Three of those suspended were alleged to have bet against their team. This issue is now a part of legislation, but will the laws work? Should there be anything else done to try to prevent Sports gambling? Legislation might make people feel better, but will it do any good? Laws that are passed by Congress will still not regulate gambling in any University. Therefore, Boston College Coaches, Sports Administrators and security will be set up in a program. This program will contain classes on information about gambling (the history at Boston College), the addiction (cause and effect), and how to prevent gambling.
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