Big 12 Partners With US Integrity to Curb Sports Betting Violations

While the Big 12 successfully expanded over the summer, they have also been dealing with a large sports betting scandal with member school Iowa State University. That scandal has led the conference to look for ways to avoid this going forward. As a result, the conference announced a new partnership with US Integrity to monitor and prevent student-athletes from getting involved in sports betting.

“The Big 12 Conference is thrilled to partner with U.S. Integrity as a continuation of its commitment to sports betting compliance,” Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said. “Given the current landscape of sports betting in our industry, it’s more important than ever to double down on ensuring sport integrity across our conference.”

This partnership will give the conference access to the Prohibet system that US Integrity will provide. The system will help schools monitor potential sports betting scandals to catch and possibly prevent them. The Big 12 hopes this new system and increased education will help curb violations and avoid another significant scandal with a member school.

Iowa State Still Waiting on Final Rulings Over Violations

The NCAA and Iowa’s Division of Criminal Investigations (DCI) continue to review the 40+ sports betting violations between Iowa and Iowa State over the last year. While some minor violations will result in short suspensions, 14 people have been charged criminally. Most of them were student-athletes, while the rest were team employees. They have been accused of record tampering for either betting on games they are playing in or using inside information to bet on other teams from their school. 

More Conferences Could Soon Follow Big 12’s Lead

While the ProhiBet system’s effect is still unknown, we expect to see the other major conferences follow suit. Iowa State has placed the Big 12 at the center of this issue, but all conferences have seen some form of violation. The issue has become so prevalent that US Congress has taken an interest and is pushing pro and college leagues to address it. Partnering with a company like US Integrity could satisfy Congress, allowing the conferences to focus on the many changes to the NCAA landscape.