The Wall Street Journal

Dear Mr. Crabb:

Your April 3 article on the NCAA’s effort to ban legal college sports wagering in Nevada presented a one-sided account of this issue from the NCAA’s biased perspective.

The suggestion that this is a quest by the NCAA “to secure a law that would end college gambling” is ironic, considering that the NCAA won’t get its own house in order. Every single one of the student newspapers of the colleges that participated in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament either accept or would accept ads promoting illegal Internet gambling Web sites, according to a survey we commissioned.

The reason the NCAA’s chief lobbyist is having trouble getting this bill approved is because it is “feel-good” legislation that would do absolutely nothing to address the real problem of illegal gambling, which represents 99 percent of sports gambling in this country.

The NCAA is a potent political force. The organization has plenty of financial resources, with its new $6 billion television contract with CBS. Despite this affluence and its stated concern, it still only devotes .07 percent of its $325 million annual budget to “agent and gambling activities.” And during Final 4 Weekend, the NCAA took advantage of its free media access to promote its bill. The truth is, they have plenty of resources at their disposal - celebrity coaches, college presidents and other influential individuals. If anything is to blame for the bill’s lack of support, it’s the merits of the legislation.

Sincerely,

Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.