NCAA: Alvarez: Gambling at UW a concern, but not rampant
0:46 AM 5/14/04
Andy Baggot Wisconsin State Journal

On more than one occasion during his tenure as University of Wisconsin football coach, Barry Alvarez has been approached by one of his players and told an unnerving tale. <

Someone had approached the student-athlete, struck up a casual conversation and suddenly began asking pointed questions about the Badgers. <

Anyone injured? Is so-and-so going to play? What is the mood of the team? <

The inquisitor was seeking inside information that gamblers crave. A recent study commissioned by the NCAA indicates the curious soul might well have been another UW student-athlete. <

The results of the study, released Wednesday, were jolting enough that NCAA president Myles Brand organized a Sports Wagering Task Force to examine them and submit a report and recommendations for addressing the situation. <

Among the prominent findings from the study were: <

* That almost 35 percent of male student-athletes in NCAA Division I, II and III have engaged in some type of sports wagering behavior in the last year. <

* That 1.1 percent of football players reported taking money for playing poorly in a game. <

* That 2.3 percent of football players and 2.1 percent of men's basketball players admitted they had been asked to affect the outcome of a game because of gambling debts. <

* That 1.4 percent of football players admitted having affected the outcome of a game because of gambling debts. <

The good news for college athletic administrators like Alvarez - now the UW athletic director as well as football coach - is that Division I student-athletes in the survey were less likely to engage in gambling or sports wagering compared to smaller schools. <

The bad news is that gambling is a concern no matter what the level of NCAA competition. <

"Do I think it's prevalent? I don't think so," Alvarez said Thursday. "Am I concerned? Absolutely." <

For the better part of his 14-year coaching tenure at UW, Alvarez has invited an FBI agent to speak to Badgers players during preseason training camp. Gambling is a prominent part of the presentation, which includes a videotape commissioned by the NFL. <

"It's startling when you watch it," Alvarez said. "I think it's eye-opening to your players to see how the mob works and how these gamblers work and how they can hook you and some of the things that go into it." <

That is one reason why media members are prohibited from directly contacting UW student-athletes without permission from the UW sports information department. Alvarez said gamblers have been known to impersonate reporters in order to get inside information from student-athletes. <

According to the survey, gambling activities that student-athletes took part in most frequently during the last 12 months include playing cards or board games for money, betting on games of personal skill, lottery tickets, slot or electronic poker machines, sports cards and football pools or parlays. <

"Have I suspected anything? No," Alvarez said. "Am I naive enough to think our kids might not play a parlay card? I'd be a fool to think that wouldn't happen sometimes." <

Alvarez, now in charge of 23 sports instead of only one, thinks gambling at UW is more a concern than a problem. <

"It's a concern everywhere," he said. "I'm not going to stick my head in the sand." <

Contact Andy Baggot at abaggot@madison.com or 252-6175.