Greg Graham, an assistant coach for the University of Oregon's men's basketball team, said he feels Eugene is a safe environment for athletes and that gambling is not an issue for athletes at the University. I just don't feel we're in that type of environment. Graham said that he does not know of any University of Oregon athlete ever being approached by gamblers or becoming involved in sports gambling. During the 1993-94 basketball season, two members of the Arizona State men's basketball team were involved in point shaving during several games. Gray and Clever said that a game at McArthur Court between the Ducks and Arizona State University fell into the time frame of the point shaving, and the final score of the game may have been affected.
Mistakes are part of the game.
In the past decade, there have been numerous incidents of athletes betting on their own teams and at least one survey indicating more than two-thirds of student athletes have gambled since entering college. In response to the recent incidents and findings, the National Collegiate Athletics Association has made sports wagering one of its primary concerns, said Jane Jankowski, the NCAA's assistant director for public relations. The NCAA has rules prohibiting all sports gambling by student athletes, campus and conference athletics personnel and NCAA employees. The association has also started a program called 'Don't Bet on It,' with a 22-page guide for athletes, as well as a series of TV advertisements. I Men's Basketball Championship, second only to the amount gambled on the Super Bowl.