The NCAA is expanding its partnership with Genius Sports to provide official data for its postseason tournaments to licensed sports betting operators across the country.
On Friday, Genius Sports announced the expanded deal that will see the sports data company exclusively provide NCAA postseason data to its operator partners. The partnership, which runs through 2032, includes data for the largest amateur sports tournament in America, March Madness. The tournament is one of the largest sports betting events in the U.S. with this year’s edition garnering over $2.5 billion in wagers.
“Since 2018, Genius Sports’ technology has transformed the college sports data ecosystem,” said Genius Sports CEO Mark Locke. “This extension is a powerful endorsement of our vision—delivering cutting-edge data solutions to support NCAA schools while connecting our sportsbook partners with the highest quality NCAA official content.”
Genius Sports is providing licensed sportsbooks with access to NCAA postseason data through its Authorized Gaming Licensee program. In addition to having access to NCAA data, licensed sportsbooks in the program also have access to NCAA marks and logos.
The partnership between Genius Sports and the NCAA includes both men’s and women’s postseason events and includes maintaining access to NCAA LiveStats, a free platform that provides live game statistics to the NCAA’s member institutions. Genius Sports also plans to leverage its AI and machine learning platform GeniusIQ in the partnership.
Genius Sports and the NCAA first partnered in 2018 to provide data to sports broadcasters. The 10-year deal includes providing data to fan-centric sites. In addition to the NCAA, Genius Sports has secured deals with major sports entities including the NFL and NBA.
NCAA navigates online gambling industry
The partnership extension between Genius Sports and the NCAA is a significant shift from previous stances on regulated wagering by the NCAA. Last year, the NCAA urged all regulated sports betting markets to prohibit individual player prop bets for college sports.
The NCAA called for a ban on college props due to integrity and harassment concerns.
NCAA President Charlie Baker, an opponent of college betting, also admitted at last year’s NACDA & Affiliates Convention that he wishes “sports betting had just stayed in Las Vegas.”
The NCAA has also been dealing with a series of recent gambling-related infractions.
Earlier this month, the NCAA issued a two-year show-case order to a former Baylor University employee for placing impermissible daily fantasy sports wagers. According to the NCAA, the former employee placed 2,950 impermissible bets over a four-year period.
The NCAA bans all sports wagering activities by staff of a school’s athletic department.
The University of Texas also had several gambling-related infractions as it self-reported five violations between July 2024 and November 2024. The infractions were caused by two unnamed football players, a staff member, a student assistant and a person associated with the institution’s women’s tennis program. The five individuals used PrizePicks to enter DFS contests, which violates NCAA bylaws. Collectively, the group wagered $14,885.
A group of Fresno State men’s basketball players also came under the microscope of the NCAA after they violated NCAA bylaws by also entering impermissible DFS contests.
The violations led to the dismissal of several players from the men’s basketball program.
