Georgia football staffer sports betting violated NCAA rules

A Georgia football staff member broke NCAA rules by making bets on pro sports , the school reported.

The person involved in the impermissible sports wagering is not identified by Georgia but is no longer with the program.

The wagers occurred in August of 2020, but were discovered, reviewed and processed in 2023, according to Will Lawler, Georgia’s deputy athletic director who oversees compliance.

They are included in the most recent NCAA Level III violations the school listed this month in its latest quarterly report.

“If the staff member is hired by another SEC institution in the future the staff member is required to complete a sports gambling education program/session, and the hiring institution is required to submit a written plan to the Conference office for monitoring the staff member to assure he does not commit similar violations in the future,” according to UGA’s violation summary.

Georgia also previously reported a violation in 2022 when a Bulldog athlete placed a bet on a fantasy sports app. That was also listed as Level III which is considered isolated or limited in nature.

Betting on sports that are sponsored by the NCAA is a violation for athletes or coaches even if in a pro league or international competition.

“We’ve had issues with that in the past, too,” Georgia football coach Kirby Smart said in May of 2023. “It’s more prevalent. I can’t turn the TV on now without seeing something. There’s a lot of debate out there about what’s right and what’s wrong, but the NCAA rule is pretty harsh for gambling relative to some other things. It’s pretty obvious why. They don’t want that infiltrating teams.”

Georgia listed 23 Level III violations for the 2023-2024 academic year. Seventeen were in the first six months and were previously reported.

Among the most recent violations:

— Women’s basketball players three times exceeded the daily time limit of athletic-related activities of four hours. The violation was listed from Sept. 26. The team will cut a practice period by three hours and 30 minutes. A letter of admonishment was sent to the coach and a full-time staff member will be in charge of keeping tabs of time for countable activities.

— The softball team had three hours of “skill instruction” out of season on Jan. 7 while the school was on vacation. The team had to cut its required activity by six hours in a later week.

— The women’s swimming team went over daily activity limits by a combined total of 45 minutes over five days in September and October of 2023. Countable activities were reduced by 90 minutes in an ensuing week.

— The former women’s golf staff had two violations. A former women’s golf coach Nov. 9 responded to a recruit’s email before the first permissible date allowed. The program won’t be permitted to send recruiting materials or correspond with the recruit for the two weeks when it’s permissible.

Another violation occurred when an individual not employed by UGA provided coaching to a golfer at a competition.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia football staffer sports betting violated NCAA rules