Big Ten athletes ask NCAA president to push for reduction of prop bets, citing “backlash” and game integrity
A letter signed by athletes from every Big Ten school on Tuesday implored NCAA president Charlie Baker to continue pushing for the reduction or elimination of prop bets in college sports due to threats posed to the integrity of the competition and to the safety of athletes across the country, who are subjected to an “overwhelming number of death threats.”
The Big Ten Student-Athlete Issues Commission (SAIC), which includes representatives from Washington, Oregon, UCLA and USC, expressed deep concern in a letter to Baker that highlighted the manner proposition (prop) bets place athletes “directly at the center of gambling outcomes and exposed to potential backlash.”
Unlike point-spread wagers or Over/Under bets, which are typically tied to the final score, prop bets often focus on the performance of a single player: a quarterback’s passing yards, for example, or a basketball player’s points or rebounds.
Both types of wagers are increasingly common as states use sports betting to raise tax revenue.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, tax revenue from sports gambling has increased from $190 million nationally in the third quarter of 2021, when data collection began, to $917 million in the second quarter of 2025.
The SAIC features athletes from each Big Ten school. Nebraska basketball player Callin Hake serves as chair, with Washington’s Franck Kepnang (basketball), Oregon’s Russell Soohoo (tennis), UCLA’s Jaidin Russell (volleyball) and USC’s Madison Whyte (track and field) representing the West Coast membership.
Sports betting is illegal in California and permitted only at tribal casinos (in-person) in Washington. In Oregon, wagering on college sports is prohibited.
“The Big Ten Conference is proud to support our student-athletes in calling for the restriction or elimination of individual proposition wagers on college athletics,” commissioner Tony Petitti said in a statement released by the conference.
The SAIC indicated that athletes at the center of prop bets “are often young and more susceptible to influence, including financial incentives that may encourage them to perform in a certain way or affect specific outcomes,” thus threatening the integrity of the competition.
Sports betting became legal outside of Nevada in 2018, when the Supreme Court ruled in Murphy v. NCAA that states could not prohibit the activity, and there have been several point-shaving incidents in college sports.
Last month, an unsealed federal indictment revealed more than 39 basketball players on 17 teams conspired with a gambling ring to fix dozens of games in recent years.
Equally concerning to the SAIC is that prop bets expose athletes “to increased and aggravated social media pressure and harassment. Many student-athletes receive angry messages, threats, or public criticism from bettors when wagers do not hit,” the letter noted.
“This kind of treatment is harmful, unnecessary, and often relentless. It negatively affects mental health and distracts from both athletic and academic responsibilities. Student-athletes should not be blamed or attacked for the outcome of someone else’s bet.”
Although it did not cite a specific incident, the SAIC noted that fans “sit behind the bench yelling horrible things when expectations are not met” and that “keyboard warriors (gamblers watching at home) send cruel DMs to players when bets do not cash out.
“Prop bets are a direct avenue to the overwhelming number of death threats that student-athletes receive if they ‘ruin a parlay’ or cause a fan to lose their bet.”
According to the Big Ten, Baker recently wrote to both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and to State Gambling Commissions and called for “amended state laws and regulations to better protect student-athletes.”
Said Petitti: ”The Big Ten appreciates the NCAA’s effort to eliminate these wagers and will continue to assist student-athletes as they deal with the challenges that result from proposition bets in college sports.”
The SAIC is a 32-year-old organization whose members participate in monthly meetings on issues that matter most to athletes across the conference.
The group represents the conference on the NCAA’s Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
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