Share 
The NCAA announced it is delaying the date to allow student-athletes to wager on professional sports. There’s a chance it could get overturned altogether.
All three Divisions of the NCAA voted to ease sports betting restrictions for student-athletes, which would have went into effect on Nov. 1. The date has been pushed back to Nov. 22.
The University of Michigan had already been preparing for the change. Now it has a few more weeks to do so, if it happens at all.
Chance vote gets rescinded
The NCAA did not provide a reason to push back the timeline of the new rule changes for college athletes. Perhaps it felt cold feet, and a response to the public backlash it has gotten.
The NCAA made the announcement on X, which stated:
“The DI Board voted to delay the effective date of the sports betting legislative change to Nov. 22, which is one day after the close of a membership rescission period.”
“DI rules afford 30 days for each DI school to vote to rescind a proposal if it is adopted by less than a 75% majority by the Division I Cabinet.”
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey contributed to the momentum to delay the date. He wrote a letter to the NCAA, which read:
“On behalf of our universities, I write to urge action by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors to rescind this change and reaffirm the Association’s commitment to maintaining strong national standards that keep collegiate participants separated from sports wagering activity at every level.
If there are legal or practical concerns about the prior policy, those should be addressed through careful refinement — not through wholesale removal of the guardrails that have long supported the integrity of games and the well-being of those who participate.”
There appears to be another vote next month, which could rescind the previous decision of allowing student-athletes to wager on professional sports.
Michigan is ready, regardless
The decision to allow student-athletes to wager on games certainly puts added stress on athletic departments across the country. It would be new territory for everyone involved.
However, the University of Michigan would have been ready for the Nov. 1 deadline. David Ablauf, senior associate athletic director for football external operations, told PlayMichigan earlier this month:
“Our student-athletes have been made aware of the proposed change. Our compliance office will be further educating them as it draws closer to the Nov. 1 start date.”
Michigan has 29 sports with more than 900 student-athletes. The program has a few more weeks of education, if the rule is upheld by Nov. 22.
