In a significant move to enhance transparency and safeguard the integrity of college sports amid the expansion of legalized gambling, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) has announced that it will begin releasing player availability reports for football, baseball, and basketball before league games this season. This policy aligns the SEC with the Big Ten and Mid-American (MAC) conferences, which have implemented similar measures.

New transparency measures in college sports:

As the Associated Press (AP) reports, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey articulated the rationale behind this initiative, stating, “This availability reporting policy is intended to reduce pressure from outside entities seeking participation information and represents a commitment of our 16 institutions to provide enhanced transparency to support efforts to protect our student-athletes and the integrity of competition.”

Under the newly approved policy, SEC schools are required to submit availability reports three days prior to each SEC football game. These reports must be updated daily, culminating in a final report that is due 90 minutes before kickoff. For SEC basketball and baseball games, both men’s and women’s, the reports are to be filed the night before, with an additional update on game day.

While the SEC, Big Ten, and MAC have formalized their reporting policies, other power conferences like the Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) have yet to announce similar mandates. Texas Tech, within the Big 12, has independently adopted a policy to disclose player availability on Mondays before games.

Florida’s head coach, Billy Napier, expressed skepticism about the policy’s ability to ensure total transparency, particularly concerning star players. “There’s still going to be a ton of gamesmanship here,” Napier remarked, highlighting the strategic considerations teams engage in, especially when key players are involved. “You know, in, out. We spend pregame, we’re evaluating who’s available. I think when it’s an elite player, a very impactful player where there’s a significant drop off from player A and player B. Those are the ones that maybe cause the most issues.”

Designations and penalties under the new policy:

The SEC policy categorizes players as “available,”“probable,” “questionable,” “doubtful,” or “out” ahead of games. On game days, these designations change to “available,” “game-time decision,” or “out.” These reports will be made accessible on the SEC’s official website.

To enforce compliance, the SEC has established penalties for schools that fail to provide accurate and timely reports. In football, penalties range from $25,000 for a first offense up to $100,000 for third and subsequent offenses. In men’s and women’s basketball and baseball, the maximum penalties range from $15,000 to $25,000.

The Big Ten had previously required its teams to provide availability reports to the league office no more than two hours before kickoff starting last season. The MAC announced a similar policy on August 22, marking a growing trend among collegiate athletic conferences to implement structured reporting mechanisms in response to the challenges posed by legalized gambling.