Aug. 6—When the Big Sky Conference convened head coaches, some assistant coaches and 26 of its football players for its annual kickoff event in late July, the league included a seminar on sports gambling among the weekend's various events.
It was part of a conferencewide effort to educate student-athletes about how the nationwide rise in betting has found its way into the FCS, much to the surprise of the league's players if not necessarily the coaches.
"I grew up never thinking about (sports gambling)," said Eastern Washington captain Isaiah Perez, who, along with teammate Malik Dotson, attended the seminar. "My family was never into it. It's never really been on my mind."
Getting it on the mind of the league's players was a primary goal of the seminar, as Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill is trying to prevent gambling from becoming an issue the way it has in professional leagues and even in some FBS programs.
"I'm very concerned about it," Wistrcill said at the Big Sky kickoff. "We've seen our numbers from a gambling perspective increase dramatically for Big Sky football alone."
Wistrcill said $170 million was bet on Big Sky football in 2025, more than double the $70 million bet on the league's games in 2024. The ease of betting for anyone, not just athletes in the Big Sky Conference, concerns him.
"It's just gotten so easy to pop their phone up and bet that Joe Smith is going to miss that free throw," he said.
Like all NCAA athletes and athletic department staff, Big Sky athletes are not allowed to bet on college or professional sports. But some allegations against professional athletes — such as those against Major League Baseball pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz — emphasize that players can be part of betting schemes without being the ones who place the actual bets.
So, in addition to talking to players about what they would be risking if they bet on sports, Wistrcill and the league's coaches also stressed the importance of keeping players away from the influence of outside bettors or those seeking inside information.
"It has added to all the outside entities that can grab the attention and distract your players for sure, and your staff," Northern Arizona head coach Brian Wright said. "We are constantly educating our people on the landmines that exist out there."
"It's a multibillion dollar industry," Wright said. "It's pretty scary."
At least a dozen players who spoke to The Spokesman-Review at the Big Sky kickoff said sports gambling was not an issue in their locker rooms. But a few also pointed to times when they or their teammates received direct messages after games.
The two Big Sky games bet on the most last season involved FBS teams. Northern Arizona's 38-19 loss at Arizona State accounted for $25.9 million of bets, while Idaho State's 38-31 loss at UNLV accounted for $21.8 million.
Idaho State, a 25.5-point underdog, led that game 31-24 early in the fourth quarter before two interceptions helped UNLV tie and then take the lead for good. Idaho State quarterback Jordan Cooke finished the game 30 of 50 for 380 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, including the two in the fourth quarter.
"After UNLV, I definitely received some Instagram DMs about people pretty upset about their parlays," Cooke said. "You just try to tune that out, just focus on yourself. Those guys have never played or are hiding behind a screen."