Sports betting was once taboo in the collegiate athletics landscape. However, the latest news Thursday marked a critical point for the industry going forward.
The NCAA Division I Interpretations Committee determined Wednesday that an individual, program or entire conference can offer stats to sports betting companies, barring the information is also available to the public.
It'll pave the way for programs and conferences to cash in on big-money deals with companies that relay info to sportsbooks.
The news comes roughly six weeks after the Mid-American Conference (MAC) linked up with Genius Sports. Our own Sam McQuillan covered the partnership between the mid major conference and sports data/tech company in depth.
Genius Sports has five years of exclusive marketing and distribution rights over the MAC's official data – info including player health metrics, shot tendencies and minute-by-minute statistics.
It's likely a case of when, not if, the Power Five conferences will get involved, considering the potential coin at stake.
A handful of schools have individually sprung into action, including Colorado — which has a deal with PointsBet — LSU and Maryland.
The NCAA and Genius Sports already have a separate alliance, though it's limited to licensing scores to media companies and providing coaching insight to programs.
