Amid sports betting’s tremendous growth, the urgency for college football conferences to release timely player availability reports has become vital. On Friday, the Big Ten announced they will become the first Power 5 conference that will make the essential reports widely available.
Schools will now be required to release availability reports ”no later than two hours prior to kickoff” to the conference’s office. The reports will then be published on the Big Ten website as well on the social platform X (formerly Twitter). If a school fails to send in its team’s injury report prior to the time frame, they could face disciplinary action under the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy.
“The well-being of our students, coaches, and staff, as well as the integrity of our competitions are of paramount importance,” said Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti. “Enhanced transparency through availability reporting and partnering with U.S. Integrity (USI) strengthens our efforts to protect those who participate in our games as well as the integrity of the games themselves. I’m grateful for the collaboration of our schools, coaches, and administrators.”
Friday’s new guideline comes in lieu of the conference’s recent partnership with Las Vegas and New York based U.S. Integrity. USI, is a sports wagering monitoring company, is focused on providing protections against betting-related fraud and corruption.
The Big Ten’s decision comes after an offseason of investigations into alleged gambling activities by more than 40 athletes on Iowa and Iowa State sports teams.