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Aug. 6—When the Big Sky Conference convened head coaches, some assistant coaches and 26 of its football players for its annual kickoff event in late July, the league included a seminar on sports gambling among the weekend's various events.
It was part of a conferencewide effort to educate student-athletes about how the nationwide rise in betting has found its way into the FCS, much to the surprise of the league's players if not necessarily the coaches.
"I grew up never thinking about (sports gambling)," said Eastern Washington captain Isaiah Perez, who, along with teammate Malik Dotson, attended the seminar. "My family was never into it. It's never really been on my mind."
Getting it on the mind of the league's players was a primary goal of the seminar, as Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill is trying to prevent gambling from becoming an issue the way it has in professional leagues and even in some FBS programs.
"I'm very concerned about it," Wistrcill said at the Big Sky kickoff. "We've seen our numbers from a gambling perspective increase dramatically for Big Sky football alone."
Wistrcill said $170 million was bet on Big Sky football in 2025, more than double the $70 million bet on the league's games in 2024. The ease of betting for anyone, not just athletes in the Big Sky Conference, concerns him.
"It's just gotten so easy to pop their phone up and bet that Joe Smith is going to miss that free throw," he said.
Like all NCAA athletes and athletic department staff, Big Sky athletes are not allowed to bet on college or professional sports. But some allegations against professional athletes — such as those against Major League Baseball pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz — emphasize that players can be part of betting schemes without being the ones who place the actual bets.
So, in addition to talking to players about what they would be risking if they bet on sports, Wistrcill and the league's coaches also stressed the importance of keeping players away from the influence of outside bettors or those seeking inside information.
"It has added to all the outside entities that can grab the attention and distract your players for sure, and your staff," Northern Arizona head coach Brian Wright said. "We are constantly educating our people on the landmines that exist out there."
"It's a multibillion dollar industry," Wright said. "It's pretty scary."
'Turn off the phone'
At least a dozen players who spoke to The Spokesman-Review at the Big Sky kickoff said sports gambling was not an issue in their locker rooms. But a few also pointed to times when they or their teammates received direct messages after games.
The two Big Sky games bet on the most last season involved FBS teams. Northern Arizona's 38-19 loss at Arizona State accounted for $25.9 million of bets, while Idaho State's 38-31 loss at UNLV accounted for $21.8 million.
Idaho State, a 25.5-point underdog, led that game 31-24 early in the fourth quarter before two interceptions helped UNLV tie and then take the lead for good. Idaho State quarterback Jordan Cooke finished the game 30 of 50 for 380 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, including the two in the fourth quarter.
"After UNLV, I definitely received some Instagram DMs about people pretty upset about their parlays," Cooke said. "You just try to tune that out, just focus on yourself. Those guys have never played or are hiding behind a screen."
Portland State players Jaxton Helmstetler and Terence Loville both said they had not witnessed any gambling issues in the Vikings locker room. Loville's solution to the temptation is simple: Turn it all off.
"It goes back to middle school and elementary school when teachers would say, if you're getting cyberbullied, turn the computer off or turn off the phone," Loville said. "That's always basically the easiest way to combat online hate."
Yet some of the messages the NCAA is sending to its athletes and constituents are mixed. It encourages players to maximize their name, image and likeness for financial gain, a promotion that often requires a social media presence, one that can be exploited by bettors looking for an edge or inside information.
Portland State coach Chris Fisk said one takeaway from the league training was to tell his players to be aware of someone asking specific questions about the injury report, for example.
The league currently does not require official injury reports, but Wistrcill said it has been discussed.
"It won't happen this year, but I have a good bet we'll be doing it next year for football," he said. "We talked about it as administrators. We've got a decent plan. Time just wasn't on our side this year."
Ace Chatman said the training reminded him to limit any talk about the Utah Tech football team issues, such as injuries, to within the locker room.
"It's good to know to keep your mouth shut," Chatman said. "Don't tell people that you're hurt or anything."
'We don't really have time'
Many players noted the irony of attending a seminar on gambling while sitting in a meeting room at Northern Quest Resort & Casino in Airway Heights, where for three days they walked by gaming tables, slot machines and a sports book in order to attend official Big Sky events.
Some players and coaches chose to play casino games over the weekend, but Ed Lamb, Northern Colorado's head coach, was not among them.
Lamb said he talks to his players about the perils of sports gambling and how indulging in it would jeopardize their eligibility and get them in a lot of trouble. But he also does more than talk about it.
"At least my approach is, you get what you emphasize through modeling behavior, so I try to model that," Lamb said. "These guys never saw me here punching a slot machine or playing cards at a table, and the reason they didn't see me is because I wasn't doing it. It was a deliberate decision."
"I don't think that's appropriate. I'm working this weekend," Lamb said. "I do think that's part of it: to model the correct behavior and let these guys know at this point in their lives there are more important things."
First-year Cal Poly head coach Tim Skipper has previously been interim head coach at Fresno State and then at UCLA. He recognizes that the broader infusion of money in college sports has put a lot more of it directly in the pockets of players. With that comes temptation, Skipper said, one he hopes his players will avoid even as he knows their choices are out of his control.
"I tell our guys, your money is your money," Skipper said. "But you make the decision and you're going to pay the consequences. ... You have to make the smart decision."
Eastern Washington head coach Aaron Best said when he talks to the team about gambling, or about anything else that might qualify as outside noise, he emphasizes that one player's choices can impact more than just that player.
"Just like anything that hurts your team and your school, we take it very seriously," Best said.
Dotson said gambling wasn't a problem in the Eagles locker room and that he wasn't concerned about it becoming one, partly because football keeps them so busy and focused.
"We have so much to worry about in the season and every single week is very mentally challenging," Dotson said. "We don't really have time to even flirt around with that kind of thing."
To Idaho quarterback Joshua Wood, the issues surrounding sports gambling are mitigated by a more profound concept, one that helped so many college football players get to the place they're at now: the love of the game over the love of money.
"When it comes to the gambling situation, at the end of the day, it's just playing football," he said. "If you really love football and you care about football, (gambling) shouldn't matter at all. It should just be the game of football and nothing else."
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It was part of a conferencewide effort to educate student-athletes about how the nationwide rise in betting has found its way into the FCS, much to the surprise of the league's players if not necessarily the coaches.
"I grew up never thinking about (sports gambling)," said Eastern Washington captain Isaiah Perez, who, along with teammate Malik Dotson, attended the seminar. "My family was never into it. It's never really been on my mind."
Getting it on the mind of the league's players was a primary goal of the seminar, as Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill is trying to prevent gambling from becoming an issue the way it has in professional leagues and even in some FBS programs.
"I'm very concerned about it," Wistrcill said at the Big Sky kickoff. "We've seen our numbers from a gambling perspective increase dramatically for Big Sky football alone."
Wistrcill said $170 million was bet on Big Sky football in 2025, more than double the $70 million bet on the league's games in 2024. The ease of betting for anyone, not just athletes in the Big Sky Conference, concerns him.
"It's just gotten so easy to pop their phone up and bet that Joe Smith is going to miss that free throw," he said.
Like all NCAA athletes and athletic department staff, Big Sky athletes are not allowed to bet on college or professional sports. But some allegations against professional athletes — such as those against Major League Baseball pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz — emphasize that players can be part of betting schemes without being the ones who place the actual bets.
So, in addition to talking to players about what they would be risking if they bet on sports, Wistrcill and the league's coaches also stressed the importance of keeping players away from the influence of outside bettors or those seeking inside information.
"It has added to all the outside entities that can grab the attention and distract your players for sure, and your staff," Northern Arizona head coach Brian Wright said. "We are constantly educating our people on the landmines that exist out there."
"It's a multibillion dollar industry," Wright said. "It's pretty scary."
'Turn off the phone'
At least a dozen players who spoke to The Spokesman-Review at the Big Sky kickoff said sports gambling was not an issue in their locker rooms. But a few also pointed to times when they or their teammates received direct messages after games.
The two Big Sky games bet on the most last season involved FBS teams. Northern Arizona's 38-19 loss at Arizona State accounted for $25.9 million of bets, while Idaho State's 38-31 loss at UNLV accounted for $21.8 million.
Idaho State, a 25.5-point underdog, led that game 31-24 early in the fourth quarter before two interceptions helped UNLV tie and then take the lead for good. Idaho State quarterback Jordan Cooke finished the game 30 of 50 for 380 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, including the two in the fourth quarter.
"After UNLV, I definitely received some Instagram DMs about people pretty upset about their parlays," Cooke said. "You just try to tune that out, just focus on yourself. Those guys have never played or are hiding behind a screen."
Portland State players Jaxton Helmstetler and Terence Loville both said they had not witnessed any gambling issues in the Vikings locker room. Loville's solution to the temptation is simple: Turn it all off.
"It goes back to middle school and elementary school when teachers would say, if you're getting cyberbullied, turn the computer off or turn off the phone," Loville said. "That's always basically the easiest way to combat online hate."
Yet some of the messages the NCAA is sending to its athletes and constituents are mixed. It encourages players to maximize their name, image and likeness for financial gain, a promotion that often requires a social media presence, one that can be exploited by bettors looking for an edge or inside information.
Portland State coach Chris Fisk said one takeaway from the league training was to tell his players to be aware of someone asking specific questions about the injury report, for example.
The league currently does not require official injury reports, but Wistrcill said it has been discussed.
"It won't happen this year, but I have a good bet we'll be doing it next year for football," he said. "We talked about it as administrators. We've got a decent plan. Time just wasn't on our side this year."
Ace Chatman said the training reminded him to limit any talk about the Utah Tech football team issues, such as injuries, to within the locker room.
"It's good to know to keep your mouth shut," Chatman said. "Don't tell people that you're hurt or anything."
'We don't really have time'
Many players noted the irony of attending a seminar on gambling while sitting in a meeting room at Northern Quest Resort & Casino in Airway Heights, where for three days they walked by gaming tables, slot machines and a sports book in order to attend official Big Sky events.
Some players and coaches chose to play casino games over the weekend, but Ed Lamb, Northern Colorado's head coach, was not among them.
Lamb said he talks to his players about the perils of sports gambling and how indulging in it would jeopardize their eligibility and get them in a lot of trouble. But he also does more than talk about it.
"At least my approach is, you get what you emphasize through modeling behavior, so I try to model that," Lamb said. "These guys never saw me here punching a slot machine or playing cards at a table, and the reason they didn't see me is because I wasn't doing it. It was a deliberate decision."
"I don't think that's appropriate. I'm working this weekend," Lamb said. "I do think that's part of it: to model the correct behavior and let these guys know at this point in their lives there are more important things."
First-year Cal Poly head coach Tim Skipper has previously been interim head coach at Fresno State and then at UCLA. He recognizes that the broader infusion of money in college sports has put a lot more of it directly in the pockets of players. With that comes temptation, Skipper said, one he hopes his players will avoid even as he knows their choices are out of his control.
"I tell our guys, your money is your money," Skipper said. "But you make the decision and you're going to pay the consequences. ... You have to make the smart decision."
Eastern Washington head coach Aaron Best said when he talks to the team about gambling, or about anything else that might qualify as outside noise, he emphasizes that one player's choices can impact more than just that player.
"Just like anything that hurts your team and your school, we take it very seriously," Best said.
Dotson said gambling wasn't a problem in the Eagles locker room and that he wasn't concerned about it becoming one, partly because football keeps them so busy and focused.
"We have so much to worry about in the season and every single week is very mentally challenging," Dotson said. "We don't really have time to even flirt around with that kind of thing."
To Idaho quarterback Joshua Wood, the issues surrounding sports gambling are mitigated by a more profound concept, one that helped so many college football players get to the place they're at now: the love of the game over the love of money.
"When it comes to the gambling situation, at the end of the day, it's just playing football," he said. "If you really love football and you care about football, (gambling) shouldn't matter at all. It should just be the game of football and nothing else."
Continue reading...
