College sports are turning into a pay-to-play system

By Staff Writers Abigaile Lei and Matthew Zhang

According to the UN, illegal betting is the number one factor fueling corruption in sports. Up to $140 billion is cycled through sports betting annually, and the amount wagered on illegal gambling markets is between $340 billion and $1.7 trillion. Betting on sports can lead to the corruption of the coaches and referees behind the scenes, and big-name brand companies. Although this misconduct is most prominent in professional sports, a survey from the NCAA found that 58% of college athletes participated in at least one sports betting activity, which is strictly prohibited for student-athletes, coaches, and staff at the college level.  

In a sports game, there are usually only three major parties: the athlete, the coach, and the referee. If one or more players are influenced by an outside factor to change the outcomes of the game, the promised integrity of a sports match collapses. 

This is what happened in Operation Varsity Blue, a scandal in 2019 involving a scheme to secure spots at top colleges for wealthy individuals’ children through bribery and fraud. Key Worldwide, a charity organization started by Rick Singer, collected over $25 million from influential clients, using the funds to bribe proctors, coaches, and admissions officials in order to secure a spot at top colleges for their non-athletic children. Along with his organization, Singer worked with Gordon Ernst, the former head coach of Georgetown University’s men’s and women’s tennis teams, in a scheme that lasted over 10 years. During this period, Ernst secured admission for at least 22 students in exchange for nearly $3.5 million in bribes from Singer, replacing talented athletes with some who didn’t play the sport at all. By creating fake athletic profiles and funneling money through the foundation, they turned college admissions into a rigged scheme to favor the wealthy, undermining the fair structure of admissions that colleges claim to enforce. In the case of predetermined admissions, students who earned their spot through hard work and talent are unjustly rejected, their places taken by unfit individuals.

Turning a process meant to favor dedication over personal gain into a corrupt system that rewards privilege and deceit, these bribery scandals expose how easily systems meant to favor talent and dedication can be corrupted when wealth and influence come before.

Behind the scenes of college sports, betting scandals shed light on how easily integrity can be replaced with personal gain. While these sports are meant to show off the talent and dedication of students, the actions of corrupt parties tarnish the reputation of these college games. 

In 2023, NCAA investigators caught Brad Bohannon, the head baseball coach at the University of Alabama, telling his friend about his pitcher’s injury. Alabama was put at a huge disadvantage because of the information the coach gave. After hearing about the situation Alabama was in, his friend placed a $15,000 bet on the opposing team, Louisiana State University. As the coach of the team, Bohannon had access to game-changing knowledge, which he misused, betraying the trust of his players and fans. 

Student athletes themselves sometimes indulge in betting activities, which go against NCAA regulations. In 2025, leaked screenshots showed Oklahoma University’s quarterback John Mateer’s Venmo transactions, with labels such as “sports gambling,” a direct violation of the NCAA rules. Mateer denied having anything to do with such activities, calling it an “inside joke,” but as of August 2025, he remains under investigation by the NCAA. If Mateer did participate in prohibited betting, the consequences would go beyond just personal punishment, like jail or not being able to play on teams; it would show a collapse in team trust. More importantly, it raises doubt whether the actions on the field are authentic or fabricated, and if students are able to prioritize their team over financial profit.

Betting changes the trust that teammates have in each other because they will never know whether a mistake was genuine or part of some secret plan to make money. What was once a group that shared the same goals can become a group that mistrusts and suspects each other. At schools like MSJ, college sports gambling might seem like a distant issue that has nothing to do with the students, but as some students are aiming to play at a college level in the future,

they must be aware of the pressures that lead to betting and the consequences of breaking rules.  What starts off as just a bit of inside information can spiral rapidly into scandals that damage reputations, destroy careers, and discredit entire programs. 

College sports offer valuable academic and career opportunities for student-athletes. For many students, athletic scholarships provide access to education they otherwise could not afford. While college sports may provide opportunities, these opportunities lose their meaning when their access is tainted through bribes. Others may say that the NCAA and universities already have systems like keeping logs and data for scholarship offers to prevent misconduct and that college sports build school spirit and unite communities — but those systems are only as good as the people enforcing them. Recent scandals have shown that violations can go undetected for years, and at times are completely ignored. Sports betting is just one example of how integrity within teams is slowly diminishing. When corruption is revealed, it doesn’t just hurt the people involved; it ruins the reputation of entire teams, schools, and communities. The sense of belonging, pride, and honor for a school and team should be rightfully earned and built on integrity.

Many dedicated student-athletes lose their spots at colleges due to bribery and fraud from wealthy individuals. By raising awareness across the student body and advocating for greater transparency in sports scholarships, students can ensure fair opportunities for athletes and directly challenge the influence of corruption in sports. Only by holding all parties accountable and prioritizing merit over money can the integrity of college athletics and admissions be restored.