Charlie Baker, the Big Ten’s SAIC, has asked the NCAA to ban prop bets on college athletes

In a letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker, the Big Ten Conference Student-Athlete Issues Commission (SAIC) called for continued pressure to limit or outright ban prop bets based on individual college athletes to reduce harassment and protect mental health and the integrity of the game.

SAIC wrote Tuesday that student-athletes have been receiving angry messages, threats or criticism from bettors when losing bets, including “shouting horrible things” from fans sitting behind the bench and on social media.

A 2025 survey of more than 20,000 student-athletes found that 51% of Division I men’s basketball players received social media abuse based on their performance, most of which came from bettors.

“Prop bets are a direct result of the large number of death threats that student-athletes receive if they ‘spoil a pearl’ or allow a fan to lose a bet,” the letter to Baker said.

Baker has pushed state gambling regulators to ban sportsbooks from offering prop bets on individual college players. More than a dozen states have banned sportsbooks from offering college props, but some jurisdictions still allow them, such as on alternative betting platforms like daily fantasy and sweepstakes sites.

Missouri gaming regulators recently denied a request from the NCAA to exclude college player props.

SAIC has raised concerns about prop bets damaging the integrity of the game by creating doubt about a player’s performance.

“These athletes are often younger and more susceptible to influence, including financial incentives that may encourage them to perform in a certain way or affect certain outcomes,” the letter said.

Last year, three Division I basketball players were disqualified on separate counts for participating in gambling schemes centered on prop bets.

“While we understand that sports betting is becoming increasingly common across the country and allows states to generate increased tax revenue, prop betting represents unique risks at the college level,” SAIC wrote. “We believe protecting student-athletes should be a priority. Limiting or eliminating prop betting in college athletics would be a meaningful step toward reducing harassment, protecting mental well-being and protecting the integrity of college competition.”