NCAA adds Player Availability status, enhances integrity amid rise of gambling

• NCAA introduces new availability reporting policy for March Madness
• The move aims to improve transparency and reduce insider information risks
• The association continues to push against prop bets and the prediction market's use of "March Madness"

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has introduced a new policy called the NCAA Player Availability Reporting Policy, which will cover the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship, commonly referred to as March Madness.

New reporting policy for March Madness

The NCAA has been laser-focused on upholding the integrity of collegiate-level sports events, hoping to strengthen its safeguards against match-manipulation, and going after the outlet it has seen as undermining that same integrity.

The association has specifically called out props bets and has urged a nationwide ban on these types of wagers. The NCAA has also taken issue with prediction market platforms specifically using the moniker "March Madness" to advertise various event contracts to their customers.

More importantly, the new policy aims to offer further transparency and ensure that there is less room for abusing insider information to influence market outcomes.

Two reports need to be submitted - with the initial one by 9:00 pm on the day before the game, local time, and the game-day report, due two hours before tip-off.

Enforcement and integrity measures

This reporting practice is basedon more or less the same policies used in professional sports and leagues such as the National Football League and the National Basketball Association. The early rostered student-athlete must be listed as Available, Questionable, or Out, and no additional details must be included.

All reports must be completed in good faith, the NCAA points out, acknowledging that there could still be room for manipulation. Misleading or sudden status changes will be looked into, and failure to submit accurate, timely reports may lead to investigations and penalties.

Image credit: NCAA