Tulane Athletics Dept. Requires Staff NDA to Protect Game Integrity

Posted on: August 28, 2023, 10:11h. 

Last updated on: August 28, 2023, 12:31h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Tulane University’s athletics department is taking great strides to protect the integrity of its games.

Tulane University Green Wave sports betting
Members of the Tulane Green Wave football team run onto the field at Yulman Stadium. The school’s athletics department is requiring team officials and staff members to sign a nondisclosure agreement pledging to keep confidential information regarding players and teams secret. (Image: SB Nation)

With sports betting running rampant across the U.S. and a recent high-profile scandal involving several players at Iowa and Iowa State being compromised by outside influences, Tulane officials are requiring coaches and staff to sign a nondisclosure agreement. The NDA requires team officials to pledge that they won’t release inside information regarding players or teams to outside parties.

Sports Illustrated first reported on the NDA requirement for Green Wave officials.

There have been incidents around the country where the intersection of gambling and college athletics have come to the forefront,” Tulane Athletic Director Troy Dannen told SI.

“This is a reminder to everyone who works in the department, from tutors to academic advisers to equipment to every staff member, that there’s information that you hold because you’re around the athletes, you’re around the training room, you’re around the academic advisers. There’s information you hold that can also be used for gambling purposes, and that information needs to stay closely held for the protection of the athlete and the protection of the integrity of the game,” Dannen added.

NDA Terms

The nondisclosure document stresses the importance of team officials and staff keeping confidential information, such as a player’s availability, from outside interests. Confidential information includes medical and education records.

Coaches and staff are to immediately report to the athletic department any suspicions of unauthorized information disclosures. Dannen says all staff must sign the NDA to retain their employment. Dannen explained that student-athletes don’t fall under the scope of the NDA’s terms, and therefore aren’t required to sign the document.

The nondisclosure requirements come as Tulane’s football program readies to kick off its 2023 season. Optimism is high for the Green Wave after winning the AAC championship last year and going 12-2 on the year. Tulane capped off the season with a memorable 46-45 win over USC in the Cotton Bowl.

DraftKings has Tulane’s win total at 9.5 this year. The Green Wave’s chances of reaching the College Football Playoff remain long at +3000. A $100 bet on that line would net $3,000 should Tulane qualify for the CFP for the first time in school history.

As for winning it all, Tulane is at +30000. A $100 bet, and the unlikeliest of national champions would net $30K.

Basketball Betting Scandal

Tulane’s men’s basketball team was involved in one of college sport’s most notorious betting scandals in the 1980s.

In 1985, several members of the Tulane men’s hoops team participated in a point-shaving scandal in exchange for cash payments from a campus drug dealer. Players, including the team’s star, John “Hot Rod” Williams, who would go on to enjoy a successful NBA career, threw at least two games before the operation was uncovered.

Tulane shuttered the men’s basketball program that year in the wake of the scandal. The team was reinstated ahead of the 1989-90 season.