NCAA launches new initiative to curb gambling-related online abuse and threats

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced Tuesday a collaboration with data science company Signify Group to provide its Threat Matrix artificial intelligence service to support the Association. The solution will help the NCAA study and respond to online abuse and threats directed at NCAA Championship participants including student-athletes, coaches, officials and committee members. 

This Association said that the initiative is intended to further promote the mental health and well-being of the college sports community through data collection and analytics. The service will go live this month with a particular focus on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok. 

The NCAA noted that the Threat Matrix project will offer various capabilities and deliverables as part of a pilot during the 2023-24 NCAA Championships, including:

• Monitoring, detection, and analysis of the levels of abuse and threat in over 35 languages as well as images and emojis.
• Analysis of abuse related to sports betting.
• Reporting procedures for notifying key stakeholders, including involved individuals and teams, local organizers, law enforcement, and social media platforms.
• Direct coordination with social media platforms to report abuses and encourage the removal of content and other appropriate sanctioning of account holders.
• Providing data to support the Association's understanding of the scale and nature of online abuse and threats in college sports, as well as informing future educational and policy developments.
• The data from the initial set of championships covered by the service will be used as a benchmark for monitoring efforts at future NCAA championships. 

“Online abuse and threats are too common within sports. Signify has vast experience working across a range of sports and at different levels, from club level, player unions, federations, to major international tournaments,” NCAA noted. “Furthermore, with the growth of sports betting in the US in recent years there have been many instances of college sports representatives receiving targeted abuse and threats.”

A recent NCAA survey of campus administrators found that 10% of DI respondents said they were aware of student-athletes being harassed online or in person by someone with gambling interests.

According to a press release, this project will represent the largest study in North America on this growing phenomenon and will assist the Association in detecting, analyzing, and investigating such abuse. The data collected will provide a greater understanding of the issues and help the Association refine its policies to deter abuse and threats in college sports. 

 NCAA President Charlie Baker

Speaking on the launch of the NCAA Threat Matrix service, NCAA President Charlie Baker said: "Engaging Signify to monitor NCAA championships reflects our resolute commitment to college athlete safety and well-being.

"This is a first-of-its-kind project in college sports focusing on online abuse and threats while arming social platforms and law enforcement to take action to protect thousands of student-athletes and all championship participants. This pilot is just the start of much broader online protection measures the NCAA will put in place to guide our longer-term strategy in this crucial space."

Jonathan Hirshler, CEO of Signify Group, added: "We are delighted to be working with the NCAA on this hugely exciting and ground-breaking initiative to enhance the online safety of college athletes and participants in the wider college sports ecosystem.  

"Over the coming months, I am confident that we will not only unearth deep insights into online abuse and threats in college sports but also help drive real action in this space in partnership with the NCAA, platforms, and law enforcement agencies." 

The NCAA’s efforts to protect student-athletes and institutions from abuse come after a slate of controversies related to sports betting. In one such instance, occurred in May, Ohio gaming regulators ordered the state’s sportsbooks to suspend betting on Alabama college baseball following a suspicious in-person wager.