How to legislate the participation of collegiate athletes and staff in fantasy leagues "turned into a hot-button topic" yesterday as NCAA D-I ADs met in Dallas, according to Rovell & Purdum of ESPN.com. NCAA VP/Regulatory Affairs Oliver Luck said that the NCAA "feels fantasy leagues fall under its gambling rules," which stipulate that an athlete who is found to have participated in any gambling activity, in any sport, college or pro, "will lose one year of eligibility." But three ADs in the room said that the discussion "turned to whether current NCAA bylaws are sufficient to link daily fantasy leagues to gambling when a federal law doesn't define them as such." NCAA Associate Dir/Enforcement Mark Strothkamp: "Fantasy leagues threaten both the integrity of the game and the well-being of student-athletes. ... Student-athletes, coaches, administrators and national office staff may not participate in a fantasy league game with a paid entry fee." Sources said that one idea broached yesterday "was to prohibit athletes from playing in fantasy games involving college teams, if enforcing a ban on all fantasy sports play won't be legally sustainable." Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said that a joint letter from FBS commissioners was reportedly "sent to DraftKings and FanDuel asking them discontinue fantasy games that include the names of college players," but neither company "would confirm ... that it had received the letter, and the Pac-12 would not provide the letter, saying it was private and not for public consumption" (ESPN.com, 9/22).
DRAFTKING FOR A DAY: In Minneapolis, Michael Rand, who signed up for DraftKings last weekend, writes the game "is a smart concept and does one thing in particular incredibly well: it’s exceedingly easy to use." Rand: "Within two minutes of signing up Saturday, I was picking a lineup for a one-day fantasy baseball game (normal cost $3 but free to me for signing up). Not long after that, I was mulling over a $20 NFL contest with a grand prize of $2 million and an overall prize pool of $10 million. That’s big money. I had to go for it. ... I must have checked the $10 million contest a dozen times Sunday while completely ignoring my other 'traditional' fantasy leagues. ... I still don’t understand how this is legal while betting on the outcome of a game in a similar format is not. At the very least, there’s a gray area here that DraftKings and FanDuel are taking advantage of for the time being" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 9/23).
