NCAA keeps uneasy eye on activities in Las Vegas

SCOTT CAIN
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

LAS VEGAS -- Nobody has come out stronger against sports wagering the last few years than the NCAA.
So it is with some restlessness that the association watches two of its football teams spend a week in the sports gambling capital of the world every year to compete in the Las Vegas Bowl.
"We are concerned and uncomfortable, but we also recognize ... that colleges and universities are looking for an opportunity to participate in a postseason game," the NCAA's Jane Jankowski said.
Arkansas and UNLV are the Las Vegas Bowl's two teams this year. Unlike Thursday's matchup, usually both teams are from outside the city.
The NCAA does not run the bowls, but it does certify them. If the games are not certified, member schools cannot play in them.
Bill Saum, the NCAA's point man on gambling and agent issues, has met with the bowl certification committee and voiced his concerns about having a bowl in Las Vegas, Jankowski said. But except for lagging ticket sales in the region in recent years, the Las Vegas Bowl has not given the NCAA any reason not to renew its certification.
The bowl was originally approved nine years ago. Gambling didn't become an organized NCAA battleground until four years ago.
Jankowski said she did not know of any gambling-related problems that have been associated with the Las Vegas Bowl.
NCAA athletes are prohibited from betting on college or pro sports, and they may not give information to anybody to use for gambling purposes.
Sportsbooks are not off-limits -- the players just can't place a bet or help somebody bet.
"There's no violation for wandering into a place and looking," said Steve Mallonee, the NCAA's director of membership services. "A violation would occur if they get information and provide it to anyone in organized gambling or act on that information."
Bowl games cannot require players, coaches or school officials to attend a function where there is gambling, said Mark Jones, director of enforcement for the NCAA and a former staff liaison to the bowl certification committee. But they can attend on their own if they wish.
The NCAA discourages but does not prohibit bowls from holding events at casino hotels. It also encourages teams not to stay at casino hotels, but that's almost impossible in Las Vegas, where all of the properties with large enough meeting space and dining facilities are tied into the gaming industry.
"You're not going to be able to put an entire football team in a Courtyard by Marriott," Jones said.
The NCAA discourages bowls from accepting casino advertising, too.
The Las Vegas Bowl puts its teams in the Golden Nugget and MGM Grand casino hotels. But all of the functions are held at nongaming locations, bowl director Tina Kunzer-Murphy said. Gambling is not encouraged or discouraged.
"All of our activities are geared not to put them in those situations," Kunzer-Murphy said. "Now, it's another story for your fans. We want them all to come in and support our industry."
Last year, officials for another bowl, whose identity Jones would not reveal, contemplated an outing on a casino boat for the participating teams. Representatives of the NCAA called to ask about the plans but did not ask the bowl officials to stop them. The bowl officials backed off anyway.
"I think most bowls understand," Jones said. "And I think the people in Las Vegas are sensitive to it and understand the association's position."

This article was published on Sunday, December 17, 2000

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