In an ongoing effort to protect the integrity of college sports in the U.S., the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) has partnered with Integrity Compliance 360 to provide each ACC member institution with access to the company’s integrity monitoring technology and data insights.
Colleges will be able to use Integrity Compliance 360’s proprietary integrity monitoring technology, which analyzes data sets to identify irregular officiating and wagering patterns. The integrity monitoring tools are already used by many major collegiate conferences and professional sports teams and leagues.
Each ACC member school will also be able to opt in to receive Integrity Compliance 360’s educational services and access to its ProhiBet platform, a solution designed to prevent student-athletes, coaches and staff from participating in prohibited betting activities.
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. said the new partnership is “extremely important as we continue our dedication to upholding the integrity and true spirit of college athletics.”
“Through this collaboration, our member schools will have access to cutting-edge technology for monitoring and ensuring the fairest and safest environments for student-athletes nationwide,” he added.
Integrity Compliance 360 was formed earlier this year by the merger of U.S. Integrity and Odds On Compliance. It specializes in integrity and compliance solutions for sports, betting and gaming. Last week, it launched its new Alert360 anonymous reporting platform aimed at protecting players and coaches from gambling-related threats and harassment.
Matthew Holt, IC360’s CEO and co-founder, said the ACC’s commitment to integrity is “precisely what we look for in our partnerships.”
“We look forward to further bolstering their safeguards by providing them with the best integrity monitoring solution in the world, in tandem with our customized education deliverables and state-of-the-art technology like ProhiBet,” Holt added. “It’s through initiatives and collaborative efforts like these, that we will continue to ensure the fairest and safest environments for student-athletes across the country.”
The ACC is in its 71st year and has 15 member institutions across 10 states and 28 NCAA sports.
Conversation around college sports integrity continues
The new partnership comes at a time when the relationship and interactions between college sports and betting continue to be debated.
After the NCAA launched Draw the Line, a campaign aimed at educating student-athletes on the effects of sports betting, in time for March Madness, the governing body’s president Charlie Baker called for states that have legalized sports betting to prohibit individual prop bets for college athletics events.
States including Ohio, Maryland and Louisiana have all outlawed college prop betting in recent months.
One of Baker’s main concerns, as well as protecting the integrity of college sports, was that collegiate athletes may be exposed to harassment or abuse by bettors.
At the SBC Summit North America Player Protection Symposium last month, NCAA Managing Director Mark Hicks revealed the NCAA’s data partner Signify counted around 2,000 incidents of athlete harassment related to sports betting during March Madness alone.
“It just seems like there is even more risk today than there was in the past,” Hicks said at the summit. “There are so many different types of markets that are out there and more games… I think with all these different types of player proposition bets, there is more opportunity for integrity concerns or integrity breaches.”
While you’re here, why not check out our write-up of the ‘Integrity in Sports’ panel from SBC Summit North America in New Jersey in May, which featured experts including IC360 COO Scott Sadin?
