The Division III Management Council approved a noncontroversial proposal that will permit student-athletes and athletics department staff members to bet on professional sports. The rule change required approval by all three divisions and will be effective Nov. 1.
The change was approved by the Division I Cabinet earlier this month and by the Division II Management Council this week.
The NCAA prohibition against betting on college sports — and sharing information about college competitions with other bettors — remains in place. The change also would not impact rules prohibiting advertising and sponsorships associated with sports betting for NCAA Championships.
The council emphasized in approving the rule change that the action is not an endorsement of sports betting, particularly for student-athletes. It further emphasized the importance of schools using harm reduction strategies and resources provided by the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports and the Sport Science Institute and the Sport Science Institute. The NCAA already engages in significant efforts to provide educational resources available to student-athletes about the impact of sports betting, which are detailed on its sports betting page.
"Our focus remains on education and harm reduction," said Jason Verdugo, chair of the Division III Management Council and athletics director at Wisconsin-Eau Claire. "We want to make sure student-athletes understand the boundaries of permissible behavior and the risks that gambling can pose to their well-being and the integrity of college sports."
The Management Council discussed several additional topics:
Livestream of Regional Rules Seminar
The Membership Committee informed the Management Council that viewing a livestream of the Regional Rules Seminar will satisfy the membership attendance requirement. The new policy will take effect with the 2026 Regional Rules Seminar scheduled for May 13-15 in Atlanta.
A previous measure provides funding to livestream the Division III educational sessions conducted during the 2026 NCAA Regional Rules Seminar. The council noted that the Division III Regional Rules Seminar offers impactful educational opportunities for schools regarding NCAA legislation.
Providing access to these sessions via livestreaming eases a school's administrative burden by reducing travel costs and logistical challenges. It also provides the membership with an invaluable educational tool for those in the Division III membership unable to travel to seminars.
2026 Convention proposals
The council reviewed and considered its positions for the membership-sponsored 2026 NCAA Convention proposals. The council also forwarded its recommendation for voting order and grouping to the Presidents Council. The proposals can be found in the 2026 Division III Publication of Proposed Legislation.
NCAA ID numbers
The council approved a policy change for the reporting of graduation rate information that will require NCAA identification numbers for all Division III student-athletes initially enrolling in a Division III college or university beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. The council noted the following: the ease of getting a free NCAA ID number (via the profile page account with the NCAA Eligibility Center), the ease of reporting graduation rates via Compliance Assistant 2.0 this year, a reduction in the burden of using the NCAA online compliance forms and the Transfer Portal, and the opportunity for future participation in the NCAA Graduation Passport.
Current state of Division III
The council spent time on an open discussion of core tenets of the division's structure and forwarded to the Presidents Council a summary of its discussion and a recommendation to conduct a membership-wide analysis of the division.
