So now Scott Googins, the Cincinnati baseball coach for six seasons, has resigned. He resigned even though he thus far appears to have done nothing wrong, other than be unaware that his assistant coaches and the father of one his players were betting games.
Well, as I mentioned in my previous entry, the question now becomes, "How ubiquitous is all of this insider betting on college sports?" Honestly, I haven't a clue, but allow me to speculate a bit. My specialty, after all, has been handicapping and betting college sports (specifically football) for 45 years. Surely, I must have a pithy insight or two.
Cheating Potential
Look, nothing defines American college sports better than Cam Newton's old man getting whatever it was (200K to 400K; reports vary) to ship Cam to Auburn. Auburn wins the national title. Everyone finds out that Cam's dad got the cash. The after-the-fact storyline is that Cam did not know, so it's okay. I mean, holy hell, the NCAA actually wanted people to believe that? NCAA must stand for Nabobs Corrupting All Athletes.
Please frame what I'm about to say in light of Cam and Auburn emerging unscathed from egregious profit-taking.
First of all, how difficult would it be to put together a network of savvy "runners" whose job it would be (I almost said "is") to wager for underpaid assistant coaches all across this great country? Not terribly, I would say. Pipelines already exist for using third parties to funnel money to potential college players. Just reverse the process and have the coaches employ runners surreptitiously. It can be done. Hell, I could do it. Not that hard, and really tough to get pinned down as to having done something "illegal."
Easy Money
My May 27 entry teased a way for assistant college coaches to make some spending money without directly wagering on teams.
Hello, fantasy sports! In my July 24, 2021, entry, "When Fantasy Goes Bad," I summarized the insider trading that had been exposed at both FanDuel and DraftKings. Nothing has really changed. Insiders today can't do it directly; they need beards. Big deal. What an obstacle. Reminds me of the 12-inch Stonehenge from Spinal Tap.
Assistant coaches are perfectly positioned to have friends or family reap the benefits of their insider college sports knowledge. Much of fantasy scoring in college football, for example, hinges on the substitution patterns (or lack thereof) of heavy favorites when they have overmatched opponents beaten. Are they going to yank starters and, to use a wrestling phrase, "lay on them," or do they call plays to impress rankings voters and prop up the confidence of offensive skill folks? Assistant coaches have tremendous advantages over civilians.
And really, how is the NCAA going to discover it? And really redux, how motivated would the NCAA be to discover it?
There's not a ton of money in college fantasy sports, but there's enough to help low end assistants make their monthly budgets.
Get Over It
To quote The Eagles, "Get Over It!" College sports betting and college sports fantasy betting are here to stay. There will be many more scandals in the months ahead. The lower profile the sport, the more assistants will be motivated to make some pocket money. Brace yourself.
Nabobs Corrupting All Athletes. I like it.
Bob Dietz
June 2, 2023
