A study of the awareness of new student-athletes about gambling policies at a midwestern Division I NCAA institution

The purpose of this study was to examine the awareness of new or first-year student-athletes competing at a Division I NCAA institution in the Midwest. This study attempted to determine how aware student-athletes were of available sports gambling information, and of policies that existed at their institution. Participants (N=120) for this study included only new or first-year student-athletes; both male and female athletes were included in this study.Research findings revealed that most student-athletes were aware of gambling policies, but did not utilize available sources of information on the topic. As well, there were significant gender differences in several aspects of the study-more males reported knowing about gambling policies before attending this institution and responses showed they used the provided gambling information sources significantly more than females. Another noteworthy gender difference was observed in regards to coaches approaching their athletes about sports gambling. Males reported being approached by their coaches either individually or as a team-significantly more than females. The research also revealed that many sources of information regarding sports gambling policy were not reaching student-athletes as effectively as they should, as 65% of the respondents reported not using any of the informational sources available to them at their institution.School of Physical EducationThesis (M.A.