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Identifying gambling problem

By Michael McCarthy
College Gambling
In an age when billions of dollars are bet on pro and college sports, questions related to
....................................................................................3 gambling, game fixing and unethical practices are all raised. Recent news that an NBA
referee is under federal investigation for betting on games and sharing inside informa-
tion with gamblers has changed everything, and fans now have good reason to be
Anti-gambling groups seek suspicious. Much about big-time sports tempts just this sort of criminal behavior —
moratorium on office pools so much opportunity, so little real deterrence, so much money to be made, and such
dire consequences. This case study will examine how sports gambling affects college
By Stephanie Armour students and college athletics.
.....................................................................................5

Point-shaving remains a
concern in college athletics
College kids caught in
By Michael McCarthy
.................................................................................6-8 gambling madness
Basketball tournament increases interest in wagering
Gamblers can use many
methods to entice athletes By Michael McCarthy tournaments won't be among them. To
By Michael McCarthy USA TODAY that end it is launching a national study
this year to try to measure how many
.....................................................................................7 Most of the people giddily filling out student-athletes across spor ts are
brackets for their NCAA March Madness betting on games, taking money to
office pool will never have a problem. throw games or sharing inside
NCAA aims to avoid NBA’s But for a few unfortunate young people information. Results will be released in
and their families, the Road to the Final 2008. The last study, released in 2004,
referee problem Four, the nation's fourth- found "disturbing"
By Eddie Timanus biggest gambling event, evidence of spor ts
.....................................................................................9 is paved with personal wagering.
and financial ruin.
The FBI, meanwhile, is on
Some college students the lookout for tampering
Critical inquiry addicted to spor ts with student-athletes in
Discussion and future implications betting or online poker Atlanta, site of the men's
...................................................................................10-11 have taken it to Final Four. During last
extremes. They have year's round of 16, a player
committed crimes, got a suspicious text-mail
Case Study Experts: including bank robbery asking for inside
Dr. Wendy Stuhldreher and murder, over information, says Rachel
gambling debts. Others, unable to face Newman Baker, NCAA director of agents,
Slippery Rock University the guilt or consequences of betting gambling and amateurism activity. She
away tuition, have committed suicide. won't name him.
Dr. Thomas Stuhldreher
Clarion University The NCAA hopes the student-athletes If the NCAA wants information on the
in the men's and women's basketball human toll from gambling, it should ask

© Copyright 2007 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co., Inc. All rights reser ved.
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S SPORTS SECTION, MARCH 28, 2007
Top sports betting events
1. Super Bowl
2. NFL playoffs
3. College football bowls
4. March Madness
5. NBA playoffs
6. World Series
7. The Masters tournament,
Wimbledon (tie)
8. Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500 (tie)
9. Ultimate Fighting Championship, pro
boxing (championship fights)
10. Triple Crown horse races (Kentucky
Derby, Preakness, Belmont)
Source: USA TODAY analyst Danny Sheridan
Sandi Snook. The 41-year-old mother
from Charles City, Iowa, says she lost two
17-year-old sons, directly or indirectly, to
the sports betting addiction of Meng-Ju
"Mark" Wu, a 19-year-old freshman at
the University of Wisconsin.
Dane County (Wis.) prosecutors said
Wu, furious over a $15,000 spor ts
betting debt, shot Snook's son Dustin
Wilson to death in his sleep June 26,
2003, in Verona, Wis., with Wu's bookie
Jason McGuigan, 28, and Dan Swanson,
25. McGuigan was the real target, says
Bernie Coughlin, Verona's police chief.
Wilson and Swanson, McGuigan's
roommates, were in the wrong place at
the wrong time. Hours before his trial
was to begin, Wu hung himself in jail Jan.
17, 2005.
Wilson's death devastated his brother
and best friend, David, and Nov. 19, 2005,
David Snook locked the door of his
bedroom and hung himself in his closet.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
"My advice to kids about gambling is
don't do it, don't think about it, don't
even be around anybody who does it,"
Sandi Snook says.
Wu committed the triple-homicide,
Coughlin says, shortly after his parents
confronted him about gambling away his
tuition and expense money with an
online sports book. "It was too much for
him, the embarrassment, the shame of
losing the money," Coughlin says.
Lure of NCAA betting great
Money drives the real March Madness.
The $6billion illegally wagered on the
NCAA tournament through office pools,
online sports books and street-corner
bookies trails the $8.5billion bet on the
Super Bowl, USA TODAY sports analyst
Danny Sheridan says. Final Four games
will generate $2.25billion in illegal
betting, he predicts.
"It's like spring break for spor ts
bettors," Sheridan says.
Bracketology fever reaches its apex in
Las Vegas. The money legally wagered on
college and professional basketball last
March more than doubled to
$195.7million from $95.9million in
February, says Frank Streshley, senior
analyst for the Nevada Gaming Control
Board. The total then fell by more than
two-thirds to $59.2million in April.
Organized crime members target
student-athletes because they're easy
marks, says Michael Franzese, a former
mobster with the Colombo Mafia family
in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Many think they know college sports
better than pro sports. Once they lose,
they commit the typical mistake of
"squares," or amateur gamblers, trying to
play their way back to even -- and end up
deeper in the hole.
At that point, they're faced with the
choice of paying money they don't have
or doing something they don't want to do.
Gambling at college
Percentage of college students
who say they take part in vari-
ous kinds of gambling, including
playing the lottery, in an average
week:
All gambling
Card gambling
Internet gambling 15.5%
16%
8.3% 8.4%
12%
8%
1.4% 2.4%
4%
0.5%
0
’02 ’03 ’04 ’05
Source: Annenberg Public Policy Center
By Joni Alexander, USA TODAY
"If they lose money, and most do, what
other options do they have?" Franzese
asks. "They don't have much money. A
lot of them don't have jobs because
they're so wrapped up with sports and
their school. They don't want to go to
their parents and admit their problem.
So they end up stealing, or do something
worse, to make up money they owe.
"They're surprisingly naive and
unsophisticated," says Franzese, who has
spoken about the perils of betting at
more than 175 Division I college
campuses.
One-third of the callers to the toll-free
help line 888-LastBet (888-527-8238) are
12 to 25, says Arnie Wexler, a recovering
compulsive gambler.
The percentage of males 17 and older
who say they gamble over the Internet
on a weekly basis jumped to 5.8% in
2006, a 100% increase from the previous
year, according to the National
Annenberg Risk Survey of Youth.
Page 2
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S SPORTS SECTION, MARCH 28, 2007
Lifestyle can turn dangerous
The son of a wealthy Taiwanese family,
Wu enrolled at Wisconsin to study
Identifying gambling problem
Compulsive gamblers are experts at
denial, says Michael Franzese, the for-
mer New York Mafia prince turned
anti-gambling crusader. They never
admit they have a problem.
Franzese tells college kids to ask
simple questions to check if they
have a problem.
Are they:
u Missing classes because of gam-
bling?
u Having trouble focusing in class
because they're thinking about gam-
bling?
u Buying books, or otherwise edu-
cating themselves, on becoming a
more skillful bettor?
u Facing more debts than they can
handle financially?
If yes, they should try to deal with
the problem before it takes over their
lives, he says. "If you can't focus on
your studies, or you're reading books
(on gambling), those are signs it's
sneaking up on you," warns Franzese,
who served seven years in prison on
racketeering charges before going
straight and writing the autobiogra-
phy Blood Covenant.
So what should a kid in trouble do?
First recognize the problem and then
quit cold turkey, Franzese says. "You
can't say, 'I'll make up my losses this
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
Chinese in 2002. He befriended
McGuigan, a known gambler/bookie, to
gain access to his world. McGuigan set up
an offshore gambling account for Wu and
weekend, then stop.' Chances are
you'll be deeper in debt. Get some
help."
Most student gamblers are
ashamed to admit their problem to
their parents, Franzese says.
So moms and dads should watch
out for warning signs of gambling or
sports betting addictions.
Among them:
u An unexplained need for money.
A sudden increase in credit card debt.
Displays of unexplained wealth.
u Money and valuables missing
from the home.
u Sudden dip in grades. Poor atten-
dance in class.
u Watching more TV sports. Calls
to 900 numbers for sports results and
betting lines. Becoming unduly emo-
tional over sporting events.
u Depression and anxiety.
Withdrawal from family, friends and
other outside interests.
"Many parents unknowingly advo-
cate gambling. They let their kids
have poker parties in the basement,"
Franzese says. "It has to be on your
radar screen."
By Michael McCarthy
charged him for betting tips about
American sports.
The relationship apparently turned
murderous, Coughlin says, when Wu
discovered McGuigan was lying to him:
that Wu had lost, not won, thousands
betting on sports.
The New York Police Depar tment
arrested Wu as he was about to return to
Taiwan.
In custody, Wu admitted his gambling
addiction to police. McGuigan father's,
Rober t, told WISC-T V's News 3 in
Madison that his son owed $20,000 or
more to bookies in Illinois.
"I've got triple guilt, for my son and for
the others," he told The Capital Times of
Madison.
Both Wu and McGuigan were seduced
by the idea of money for nothing,
Coughlin says, that they could make big
bucks and drive expensive cars without
working for it: "They got wrapped up
into a lifestyle that was a fraud, a
dangerous lifestyle that obviously
reached the point of no return."
Suicides not uncommon
Cleveland police concluded Joseph
Kupchik, 19, stabbed himself in the chest
with a knife and then jumped from the
ninth floor of a Cleveland parking garage
Feb. 12, 2006, Lt. Thomas Stacho says.
The accounting student at Cleveland's
Cuyahoga Community College lost a
considerable amount of money in online
gambling in the weeks before his death,
Stacho says.
Kupchik bet $500 on Georgetown to
win the 2006 NCAA men's basketball
championship, eventually won by
Florida, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer
reported. He also transferred more than
$3,500 in tuition money to his checking
account, the paper repor ted, while
paying more than $3,400 to a gambling
website in the Caribbean.
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AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S SPORTS SECTION, MARCH 28, 2007
Policeman's family rocked
On the eve of last year's NCAA basketball tournament, the
son of a Midwest police chief was arrested on charges of
operating an illegal bookmaking operation catering to Catholic
high school students in the Chicago area.
Daniel Dalzell, 23-year-old son of then-Alsip (Ill.) police chief
Rick Dalzell, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor gambling charges
Nov.22 and was sentenced to two years' probation and $5,000
in court costs and fines, says Tandra Simonton, spokeswoman
for the Cook County (Ill.) State's Attorney's Office.
From Nov. 1, 2005, to March 8, 2006, Dalzell, who had no
criminal record, booked bets on college and pro games for 10
to 12 students at his alma mater, Marist High School, as well as
St. Rita's High School, Simonton says. Some kids ran up tabs as
high as $27,000.
When they were allegedly threatened with collection, they
panicked and ran to the cops.
'Perfect student' caught up
The class president-turned-bank robber story of Gregory
Hogan Jr. proved to be an irresistible cautionary tale for the
media, The New York Times Magazine noted last year.
The former sophomore class president at Lehigh University in
Bethlehem, Pa., appeared to be the perfect student. The home-
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
schooled son of a Baptist preacher, Hogan Jr. was a piano
prodigy who played Carnegie Hall twice before 14. But he
became hooked on online poker at Lehigh.
When his father, the Rev. Gregory Hogan Sr., placed anti-
gambling software blocks on his computer, his son played Texas
Hold'em for up to 10 hours at a time in the school library.
Drinking heavily, he became despondent about his debts to
fraternity brothers, his father says. He stole $2,000 in bonds
from the family to finance his addiction.
Then the unarmed Hogan Jr. stood in line before handing over
a note claiming he had a gun and demanding money from a
teller at an Allentown, Pa., bank Dec. 9, 2005. He made no
attempt to conceal his identity and left with $2,871.
He went to the movies to see The Chronicles of Narnia with a
couple of unsuspecting friends and then treated his fraternity
pals to pizza. Cops arrested him within hours when he showed
up, cello in hand, for orchestra practice on campus. He
confessed immediately.
Now 21, he's serving time at a state prison in Pennsylvania.
"Greg stood in line because he's a polite young man," his
father says. "This was the compulsion, the black hole of
gambling he was caught up in. He felt this was the only thing he
could do."
Page 4
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S MONEY SECTION, MARCH 28, 2007

Anti-gambling groups seek

moratorium on office pools
By Stephanie Armour
USA TODAY Betting on online sports
The business of placing sports bets online gets a big boost with basketball’s
The hype around March Madness and this weekend's Final March Madness.
Four is focusing attention on gambling addiction in the
workplace, with anti-gambling groups calling on employers to Revenue (in billions)
stop sanctioning office betting pools. U.S. sports Online Worldwide
$2,000
Gambling on the job is especially commonplace this time of $1,747.0
year because of NCAA basketball tournaments: Almost half of
$1,600 $1,216.8
employees have participated in an office pool at some point,
according to a study by Harris Interactive for Spherion, a
recruiting and staffing company. $1,200
$578.8
That focus on gambling can trigger an addiction or cause
$800 $451.3
someone who has had a gambling addiction to relapse. More
people seek help to stop or control their sports betting during
March and April than at other times during the year, according $400
$131.3
to a March survey by Bensinger DuPont & Associates (BDA), a
Chicago-based employee assistance provider that also runs a $354.2
0
toll-free gambling addiction hotline. 2001 2002 2003 2004 20051 20061
1 – Estimate
"(Addiction) can be initiated by a big win, and that's what Sources: Political Capital, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein
concerns me about March Madness. They can win, and win
By Marcy E. Mullins, USA TODAY
big," says Marie Apke at BDA.

Among the concerns:
u Legal risks. A gambling addiction is not considered a disabil-
ity covered under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
But an employer could be sued by workers who claim the
company is responsible for their financial losses, says Richard
Meneghello, a lawyer at Fisher & Phillips in Portland, Ore. "If an
employer sanctions it, and someone loses money, they can go
back and say the employer was the cause," he says.
u Productivity. Employees who are problem gamblers are
more likely to have problems with absenteeism, according to
employee assistance providers such as BDA. The Spherion
study found that 10% of workers have called in sick to watch or
attend a sporting event.
u Financial. Problem gamblers also are likely to borrow
money from co-workers or to take money from the workplace,
according to DBA and other employee assistance providers.
That's one reason that Benchmark Media Group in Loves
Park, Ill., doesn't allow employees to participate in any
gambling while on the job.
"There can be money issues. Addiction can happen," says R.D.
Smith, who owns the firm, which provides marketing to
chiropractors and others in the medical field. "Productivity also
goes down."
An estimated 2 million U.S. adults meet criteria for
pathological gambling in a given year, according to Washington,
D.C.-based National Council on Problem Gambling. An
additional 4 million to 8 million could be considered problem
gamblers.
"In terms of March Madness, the saturation level makes it
hard for someone who is recovering," says Keith Whyte,
executive director of the council.
"You can see that they get that high. They get into the office
pool and win, and then they try to re-create that high."

For more educational resources,

Reprinted with visit http://education.usatoday.com
permission. All rights reser ved. 7
Page 5
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S SPORTS SECTION, MAY 9, 2007
Point-shaving remains a
concern in college athletics
Gamblers seek ways to lure players into game-fixing fold
By Michael McCarthy
USA TODAY
When gambler Ghazi "Gary" Manni
allegedly bribed University of Toledo
running back Har vey "Scooter"
McDougle Jr. and other players to rig
football and basketball games from 2003
to 2006, he didn't ask them to
deliberately lose, according to federal law
authorities.
The alleged game-fixer's pitch to
McDougle was more insidious -- and
psychologically effective: Play to win, just
by fewer points than the betting line set
by the oddsmakers of Las Vegas. Don't
beat yourself, beat the spread.
This illegal scam is known as point-
shaving. The most common form
involves paying athletes on favored
teams to win the game — but by fewer
points than the betting line.
If the Toledo Rockets football team
were favored by 10, Manni would ask
players to try to win by nine or fewer,
according to an affidavit in the case filed
by FBI special agent Brian Max. Manni
allegedly would then bet big money on
the opponent to "cover the spread." And
clean up.
"Is it a huge problem? I wouldn't say
that. But it's a continual problem," says
Matt Heron, chief of the organized crime
section at FBI headquar ters in
Washington. "It's out there. We know it's
out there. Whether we can prove it is a
different matter."
Shaving points might seem like a no-
harm, no-foul way to make easy money,
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
Heron says. But a college athlete risks his
education, future career, even freedom.
Point-shaving is a federal crime. Any
player caught shaving points
permanently loses NCAA eligibility in all
spor ts and can be arrested and
prosecuted.
The most common form
[of point shaving] involves
paying athletes on favored
teams to win the game —
but by fewer points than the
betting line.
Just ask Stevin "Hedake" Smith, an ex-
team captain of Arizona State who
served nearly a year in prison in 1999-
2000. He played briefly with the Dallas
Mavericks early in 1997, but his NBA
prospects disappeared after he pleaded
guilty in late 1997 to conspiracy to
commit sports bribery for shaving points
in four games in 1994.
Some L as Vegas spor ts gambling
experts are suspicious of the Toledo
football team's performance in the '05
season. Lopsided betting to one side or
the other of a line changes the point
spread — and raises questions in the
gambling community.
During that season, the lines moved by
two points or more on seven games, says
RJ Bell, president of Pregame.com. Each
time, the bettors driving the changes
won. "The odds of that happening
randomly are 128-1 … which tells me
these guys knew something."
The "betting patterns" on Toledo
during the 2005 season became so
suspicious that Nevada's State Gaming
Control Board investigated two games,
chief enforcement officer Jerry Markling
says. After concluding there were no
violations by state casinos, the board
closed its investigation in December
2005.
McDougle was arraigned March 30 in
U.S. District Court in Detroit on charges
of participating in a bribery scheme to
influence games. He has been suspended
from the football team but is still
enrolled at school, University of Toledo
spokesman Larry Burns says.
The FBI says it is still gathering
information to make its case against
McDougle. Manni, 50, from the Detroit
area, has not been charged.
Once a player gets in with mobsters
and gamblers, there's no turning back,
warns former gangster Henry Hill, the
inspiration for the movie Goodfellas, who
orchestrated a point-shaving scheme
with the Boston College's men's
basketball team during the 1978-79
season. Players are forced to continue
shaving points until the caper blows up
or they're off the team.
Hill vividly recalls the warning he gave
the players from New York gangster
Jimmy "The Gent" Burke after they
botched a point-shaving attempt: "'Tell
those Boston kids they can't play
basketball with broken arms.'"
Balancing greed, desire
A less common form of point-shaving
involves paying players on underdog
Page 6
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S SPORTS SECTION, MAY 9, 2007

teams to deliberately lose by more than
the point spread. If the Rockets were
predicted to lose by two points, Manni
would tell players to lose by three or
more, according to the FBI affidavit.
The problem? Even the greediest
college athletes are highly competitive,
experts say. It's much easier for game
fixers to sell them on shaving points
while still winning than losing on
purpose.
"If the spread is 12 points, he doesn't
care if he wins by 10 or 14," says Justin
Wolfers, assistant professor of business
and public policy at the University of
Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
After studying 44,120 NCAA Division I
men's basketball games from 1989 to
2005, he concluded in a research paper
last year that 1%, or nearly 500 games,
involved "gambling-related corruption."
Point-shaving is easier to pull off and
harder to catch than dumping games,
says Michael Franzese, who refers to

Gamblers can use many methods to entice athletes

Rick Chryst, commissioner of the Mid-American
Conference, says he's taking the University of Toledo point-
shaving allegations "very seriously."
"Certainly, there's different ways people get approached,"
Chryst says. "It might be that the point spread is an easier
way."
The alleged mating dance portrayed by authorities
between gambler Ghazi "Gary" Manni, Toledo running
back Harvey "Scooter" McDougle Jr. and other football and
basketball players provides insight into the ways gamblers
seduce athletes.:
Get them gambling: The quickest way to corrupt an ath-
lete is to help him run up a gambling tab he can't pay, says
FBI special agent Jon Bunn, who briefs college men's and
women's basketball teams during the Sweet 16 round of
the NCAA basketball tournament. The jock then has a
choice: Cough up cash he doesn't have or "provide a serv-
ice," Bunn says.
"They come from behind on the court, so they can think
they can come from behind in the gambling arena. But it
doesn't end up that way. They wind up further in the
hole," he says.
Manni, for example, would place wagers for the athletes
with his cash, then pay them the profits if they won,
according to an FBI affidavit. Electronic surveillance on
Manni's phone captured McDougle asking the gambler to
bet $2,000 for him on the GMAC Bowl between Toledo and
the University of Texas-El Paso on Dec.21, 2005.
Toledo won 45-13.
In a phone call in November 2005, according to the affi-
davit, the FBI heard Manni telling a Rockets basketball play-
er, "Scooter had taken care of certain players on the team
who would be helping (Manni) influence a game that day."
Wining and dining: Gamblers seduce athletes with fancy
dinners, booze and drugs and set up opportunities for sex.
Manni invited the players he met in Toledo to join him in
Detroit for free dinners and paid gambling sprees at the
Greektown Casino downtown, the FBI affidavit says.
Similarly, when New York gangster Henry Hill first met
two Boston College men's basketball players involved in
that point-shaving scheme, he paid them $500 apiece just
to have dinner with him. Hill says he also plied the players
with free booze, cocaine and prostitutes.
Magic number: A bribe of $10,000-plus will often per-
suade a reluctant athlete to cross over to the dark side, says
Michael Franzese, a former Mafia soldier-turned-anti-gam-
bling crusader.
Manni offered an unnamed football player "up to $10,000
to sit out particular games," according to the FBI affidavit.
Nearly three decades ago, Hill says he paid three Boston
College men's basketball players about $10,000 apiece to
shave points in nine games during 1978-79.
"There's a certain number with these kids -- and it's
$10,000," Franzese says. "You buy them a dinner, put a few
bucks in their pocket, and you've got them."

"Gary informed McDougle that another player would be By Michael McCarthy

helping out," reads the affidavit.

Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved. Page 7

AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S SPORTS SECTION, MAY 9, 2007
himself as a former Mafia soldier and ex-convict turned anti-
gambling crusader. Athletes shaving points can still play hard
and win. At key moments they try to manipulate the final score
by slacking off on defense, missing free throws or committing
a foul.
In an interview with the FBI on Dec.14, according to the
affidavit, McDougle admitted accepting cash, a car, a phone and
other valuables from Manni. Also according to the affidavit,
McDougle said he shared inside information and introduced
Manni to other Toledo football and basketball players who
might also be interested.
In the affidavit, McDougle, a 22-year-old senior with no
declared major, told the FBI he never changed his play to affect
a game's outcome. His best year for the Rockets was in 2004,
rushing for 620 yards and seven touchdowns. After knee
surgery, he played sparingly in 2005 and '06.
McDougle's attorney, James Burdick, says his client is
innocent. The initial criminal complaint against McDougle was
dropped April 18. Gina Balaya, spokeswoman for the U.S.
Attorney's office in Detroit, says that was done to give the FBI
more time to investigate. She says she expects the case to go to
a grand jury.
Manni's attorney, Neil Fink, declined to comment. Devlin
Culliver, McDougle's coach at Shaw High School in East
Cleveland, Ohio, believes "someone tried to corrupt" his star
running back: "Scooter is not that kind of kid. Maybe he gave
up information he shouldn't gave up. I'm hoping him he didn't."
Fiive hoops scandals since 1951
Mark Andrews, chairman of the watchdog Casino Watch in
Chesterfield, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis, says growing
acceptance of wagering, from sports betting to poker, has
created the first generation "to grow up thinking gambling is
acceptable. Combine that with being in a position of influence,
and they will get into trouble real quick."
Scandals involving dumping games have been scarce recently.
Recall the eight Chicago White Sox players pocketing bribes to
dump the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. Or pro
boxers taking dives in the ring.
But nearly every college betting scandal of the last 60 years
involved point-shaving, such as these in basketball:
u City College of New York, 1951.
u Boston College, 1978-79.
u Tulane, 1985.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
u Arizona State, 1994.
u Northwestern, 1995.
Gamblers don't just target players; they target anyone who
can help them win a bet, the FBI's Heron says.
During the 2006 NCA A Division I men's basketball
tournament, a trainer from one of the teams making the Sweet
16 received a suspicious text-mail message asking for inside
information. He reported it to the FBI.
Why a trainer?
"He knows who's hurt, who's healthy, who's got a bum
knee," Heron says.
The only way to eradicate point-shaving, Wolfers says, would
be to eliminate point-spread betting on college sports.
No plan is perfect
Even game-fixers, however, learn there's no such thing as a
sure thing. In an account of the Boston College scheme
published by Sports Illustrated in 1981, Hill described the
strategy:
"We wanted BC to win by less than the betting line when it
was favored — and to lose by more than the line when it was
the underdog. So we'd always bet on the BC opponent and
everything would be perfect. Right?"
Wrong. Despite three BC players on board, Hill says he won
his bets on only six of the nine rigged games.
Still, Hill says he made $480,000; he says the players got a
few thousand a game. Their leader, Rick Kuhn, was sentenced
to 10 years in prison and ended up serving 28 months. Kuhn
could not be reached for comment.
The dirty secret of college sports is how easy it is for fixers to
bribe student-athletes who have little or no money, Hill says,
especially if the players don't think they have the size or skill to
make it in the professional ranks after college.
"Everybody has a number. Everybody is corruptible. I don't
care who it is," says Hill, writing a screenplay about the Boston
College scam, Final Four. "It's just a matter of how much — and
how much they think they can get away with.
"You offer a kid 10 large ($10,000), he's at least going to think
about it."
Contributing: Kevin Johnson and Thomas Ankner
Page 8
AS SEEN IN USA TODAY’S SPORTS SECTION JULY 25, 2007
NCAA aims to avoid NBA's referee problem
Conferences take closer
look at own practices
By Eddie Timanus
USA TODAY
The news that NBA referee Tim Donaghy is under investigation
for alleged involvement in gambling didn't have a direct impact on
the college sports world. But the story didn't go unnoticed either.
"We'd be foolish if we weren't sensitive to what has gone on and
attentive to these kinds of issues in the college
game," said Dan Beebe, interim commissioner of
the Big12. "I don't think we'd be very good
stewards of the game if we didn't pay attention to it
and take our own measures."
"Obviously this is a very, very serious situation in
anybody's mind who sits in the chair that I do,"
Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John
Swofford agreed. "It goes to the integrity of the
game."
Historically, gambling issues that have come to light in collegiate
athletics have involved players, from the CCNY basketball point-
shaving scandal of the early 1950s to the current investigation of a
Toledo football player. The dismissal of Washington football coach
Rick Neuheisel in 2003 was in part for participating in an NCAA
basketball pool and is indicative of how seriously the issue of
sports betting is taken.
Some major conferences and the NCAA already have taken steps
to try to establish the integrity of game officials. The ACC approved
a system of background checks two years ago for officials in
football and men's and women's basketball. The league employs a
private investigation firm for the checks for $10,000 to $12,000 a
year. Officials are subject to checks on a four-year rotation. They
can decline to be checked but then won't be assigned games.
"I'm glad we are doing it," Swofford said. "It is not a catchall by
any means. It can raise some red flags if they need to be raised."
The Big Ten league spokesman Scott Chipman confirmed,
though he declined to discuss the nature of the checks. Beebe said
Tuesday that the Big12 plans to initiate background investigations
for football and men's basketball officials this school year that will
include financial information. This was planned before the NBA
scandal.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reser ved.
The Mountain West Conference also performs background
checks on officials.
"If any of our officials have gambling issues, that's a red flag right
away. Any of them who are having financial problems, we need to
take a look at and make sure they can explain why they're in the
condition they're in (and) how they're going to get out of it," Beebe
said. "If we run a check, and they're in bankruptcy proceedings,
we're going to be very hard-pressed to utilize that person, I think."
In addition, Beebe said this will be the third year the league has
had a contract with Las Vegas Sports Consultants to monitor lines
and betting patterns of all Big12 football and men's basketball
games. The NCAA also contracts with firms in Las
Vegas to monitor lines and betting, according to
spokesman Bob Williams.
Of the 31 DivisionI conferences, only three do
background checks, but Pacific-10 associate
commissioner Jim Muldoon said that could change.
"Everybody will take a look at it in light of what
happened in the NBA," he said.
"I am comfortable with what we're doing," said Jim
Haney, executive director of the National Association
of Basketball Coaches, "but it's like anything. If one person does it —
regardless of the efforts … to make everyone aware of the
importance of doing things right — it always makes you reassess. Is
there more we could be doing? I think when an event like this
happens, it makes everybody pause and reflect."
The NCAA began its background checks in 1999, and gambling
issues are covered in offseason clinics for officials. The association
even has a director of agent, gambling and amateurism activities.
Greg Shaheen, NCAA senior vice president for basketball and
business strategy, was in New York for unrelated meetings and
attended NBA Commissioner David Stern's news conference
Tuesday.
"This is additional impetus for us to review and examine all of our
practices and procedures … and how we manage the process of
assigning officials," Shaheen said. "Just like, I assume, every other
sports entity, this is an opportunity to make sure that we are taking
every possible precaution to assure the integrity of the
competition."
Contributing: Steve Wieberg, Reid Cherner, Marlen Garcia,
Thomas O'Toole
Page 9
 1. Many communities have pushed for legalizing gambling
CRITICAL INQUIRY where it had never been legal before. What do the
communities expect to gain from allowing gambling?
Discuss the pros and cons of gambling as a way to help the economy. Elaborate on the conflict of interest government
might have since gambling generates state revenue. Watch for examples of debates on legalizing gambling in your
home state. What are the key issues from both sides?

2. Many drugs have been declared illegal because of the impact on vulnerable individuals. Should gambling be treated
the same way or is it something different altogether?

3. Smoking has been banned in public places because of the impact on non-smokers. Does gambling impact the non-
gambler and how?

4. Is there a gender bias or is it more socially acceptable? Is gambling related to competitiveness? Should athletes be
subject to greater penalties?

5. What evidence do you see that indicates gamblers have an addictive personality? Are gamblers more likely to engage
in high-risk behavior or take chances? What initiatives can be instigated to deal with this issue?

6. Describe the non-financial consequences of gambling especially among problem gamblers.

7. Debate as a class: Should gambling be considered a legal or moral issue? Depending on your answer, what is the role of
both the government and the individual regarding control on gambling.

8. What are signs that gambling has become a personal problem? How should the word get out to college students that
gambling can be dangerous and to be aware of the warning signs? As the article states — how should problem gam-
bling be placed on all our radar screens

1. Should gambling be left to the personal responsibility of FUTURE IMPLICATIONS

the individual or should government play a role in regu-
lating gambling? Look in USA TODAY for other types of
government oversight, or the issue of government regulation vs. personal responsibility (e.g., seatbelt regulation).
How do they compare or are dissimilar? Write a USA TODAY Forum piece on whether or not gambling should be
regulated by the government and justify your position.

2. Constraints on gambling are more challenging now because of the Internet. Discuss the implications of readily
available gambling venues such as Internet gambling. What should be the government’s role regarding interven-
tion in this venue? What considerations need to be taken into account for non-US governed online websites?

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 Additional Resources About the Experts

v National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Dr. Wendy Stuhldreher is currently a
Executive Summary for the National Study on Collegiate
professor in the Department of
Sports Wagering and Associated Health Risks. (2004.)
Health and Safety in the Community
Available at:
Health Program and Assistant to the
www.ncaa.org/gambling/2003NationalStudy/slideShow
Dean of the College of Health,
Environment and Science at Slippery
v Engwall D, Hunter R, Steinberg M. Gambling and Other
Rock University of Pennsylvania
Risk Behaviors on University Campuses.
Dr. Thomas Stuhldreher is a professor
v National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Sports
in the Department of Finance at
Wagering webpage:
Clarion University of Pennsylvania
www.ncaa.org/gambling/dontbetonit/2004.pdf
where he has taught for the past 23
years. He received his MA in
vWinters KC, Stinchfield R, Botzet A, Anderson N. A
Philosophy from the University of
Prospective Study of Youth Gambling Behaviors.
Notre Dame and his MBA and DBA
from Kent State University.

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