The Purdue board of trustees voted unanimously Thursday to bar members of the campus community from betting on Boilermakers sports.
The policy, which is expected to be in place in time for Purdue’s Oct. 19 football game at Iowa, will apply to students, faculty, staff and even campus contractors.
The move follows the legalization of sports gambling in Indiana, which took effect Sept. 1 at sports books and on Oct. 3 on mobile devices.
Trustees chairman Mike Berghoff said campus officials didn’t like the idea that people on campus could bet on the Boilermakers.
“It seems very uncomfortable to have students and faculty betting on Purdue University sporting events or individuals,” he said, per WLFI-TV in West Lafayette, Ind. “It’s urgent enough that we are going to approve the policy by adopting this resolution.”
Purdue’s legal and compliance staff will finalize the policy, including its enforcement and penalties. It won’t affect the ability of staff or students to take part in the annual rite of filling out March Madness brackets.
“Not the bracket in the dorm thing,” Purdue president Mitch Daniels said, according to WLFI.
Athletics director Mike Bobinski said in a statement that the policy is a win for the school’s athletes.
“Today’s action by the board of trustees sends a strong message of support to our student-athletes. They can be confident in conducting their daily business on campus without fear of being compromised for information or in other ways that might be connected to sports gambling activities,” he said.
Indiana law already prohibited student-athletes and others, such as officials, from betting on sports.
The Lafayette (Ind.) Courier & Journal said Purdue is believed to be the second university in the nation to enact such a policy, following the lead of Saint Joseph’s of the Atlantic 10 Conference.