NCAA updates gambling punishment for athletes
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David Purdum, ESPN Staff Writer
The NCAA is amending its penalties for student-athletes who violate the association’s gambling policy, increasing leniency and, in some cases, basing punishments on the amount wagered.
The Division I Legislative Committee on Tuesday ratified guidelines for reinstating student-athletes who violate sports betting rules, the NCAA has announced. Betting by student-athletes on any sport offered by the NCAA is prohibited and, in the past, has resulted in a loss of a season of eligibility. The new guidelines are more nuanced:
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Student-athletes found to have engaged in activities to influence the outcome of games they’re involved with or provided information to individuals involved in betting will face a potential permanent loss of collegiate eligibility. The guideline applies to student-athletes who bet on their own games or on other sports at their own school.
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Student-athletes who bet on their own sport but not involving their school are subject to a potential loss of 50% of one season.
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For all other wagering-related violations, the cumulative dollar value of the wagers will be taken into consideration when determining the punishment. Bets totaling $201-$500, for example, could result in a loss of 10% of a season of eligibility, plus rules and prevention education. Bets totaling more than $800 could result in a loss of 30% of a season of eligibility, plus rules and prevention education.
“These new guidelines modernize penalties for college athletes at a time when sports wagering has been legalized in dozens of states and is easily accessible nationwide with online betting platforms,” Alex Ricker-Gilbert, athletic director at Jacksonville and chair of the Division I Legislative Committee, said in a release announcing the changes. “While sports wagering by college athletes is still a concern — particularly as we remain committed to preserving the integrity of competition in college sports — consideration of mitigating factors is appropriate as staff prescribe penalties for young people who have made mistakes in this space.”
Thirty-eight states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have passed sports betting legislation in the past five years. As sports betting has spread around the nation, there has been an uptick in scandals involving collegiate athletes and coaches. In May, more than 40 student-athletes at the University of Iowa and Iowa State were found to have violated sports betting rules, and Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon was fired in May after being linked to suspicious betting activity on a Crimson Tide game against LSU in late April.
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Ryan S. Clark
Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno will miss four weeks after injuring his hand Saturday in his team’s 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, coach Jeff Blashill said.
Foligno, 38, suffered the injury with 90 seconds left in the second period when he was skating near the top of the Blackhawks’ defensive zone and Jake McCabe‘s shot on net deflected off Foligno’s hand.
Foligno immediately hunched over and favored his hand while skating back to the Blackhawks’ bench. Foligno, who did not return for the third period, finished with three shots on goal and logged 10:41 in ice time.
The absence of Foligno, who has six points in 15 games, means the Blackhawks will be without their fourth-line center who was anchoring a combination featuring Sam Lafferty and Landon Slaggert. His injury is also the second to impact the Blackhawks’ forward group with winger Jason Dickinson currently on injured reserve.
After finishing last season with the second-fewest points in the NHL, the Blackhawks (9-5-4) have emerged into one of the biggest surprises through the first quarter of the regular season. With their win against the Maple Leafs, they enter Sunday third in the Central Division and a point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken in the Western Conference wild-card race.
New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes had successful surgery on his finger Saturday, the team announced. The expected recovery time is eight weeks, though he will be reevaluated in six weeks.
According to sources, Hughes injured his hand in a “freak accident” that involved getting cut by glass at a team dinner Thursday.
Hughes’ procedure was performed by Dr. Robert Hotchkiss at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
The 24-year-old was off to a terrific start for New Jersey, which is 12-4-1 and atop the Metropolitan Division entering Friday. The American-born star has 10 goals and 20 points in his first 17 games.
The injury will create an interesting predicament for Team USA ahead of the 2026 Olympics in Milan. Hughes’ brother, Quinn, has already been named to the team while the Devils star was expected to be a front-runner for the roster. Federations must submit rosters by Dec. 31. The Devils’ projected return-to-play timeline is around the second week of January. The Olympic men’s hockey tournament begins Feb. 11.
Olympic rosters feature 25 players, which is two more spots than teams had at Four Nations.
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Ryan S. Clark
Center David Kampf signed a one-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, just a day after the Toronto Maple Leafs terminated his previous deal.
Kampf, whose deal with the Canucks will carry a $1.1 million cap hit, was entering the third year of his four-year contract with the Maple Leafs that was worth $2.4 million annually.
The Leafs waived Kampf before the season, and he began the year with their AHL affiliate. Kampf played four games in the AHL before taking a voluntary leave of absence, which wasn’t sanctioned by the Leafs, to evaluate his options.
Kampf, who scored 5 goals and 13 points in 59 games last season, gives the Canucks a two-way center who has logged more than 110 short-handed minutes in seven straight seasons.
The Canucks have faced defensive challenges under first-year coach Adam Foote, who already has had to navigate injuries to Filip Chytil, Thatcher Demko, Derek Forbort, Filip Hronek and Quinn Hughes, among others.
Entering Saturday, the Canucks were allowing 3.53 goals per game, which is the fifth most in the NHL, while their penalty kill is the worst in the league at 66.1%. The Los Angeles Kings set the NHL record for the worst penalty kill in league history with a 68.2% success rate in the 1979-80 campaign.
Kampf also provides a veteran presence at center for the Canucks, who entered the season with questions at the position. Those concerns have intensified with Teddy Blueger and Chytil on injured reserve.
Entering Saturday, the Canucks (8-9-2) had the second-fewest points in the Pacific Division but were two points behind the Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets for Western Conference wild-card spots.
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