Now that the brackets have been released, our nation has officially gone into a state of madness.
“March Madness is what I look forward to every year,” said Craig Cherpock ’08. “It’s the most exciting two weeks in sports.”
The buzz created by the win-or-go-home, 65-team tournament leads to a major decrease in the productivity of the American workforce as well as rampant illegal gambling, mainly in the form of office pools.
According to a March 2007 issue of The BG News, Challenger, Gray ‘ Christmas, Inc., a consulting firm, estimated that American businesses lost $3.8 billion in productivity due to March Madness last year.
Many office pools are not only fun for the participants, but also financially rewarding for the organizations in charge.
According to a March 2007 issue of The Tufts Daily, the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, Inc., estimated that more than $4 billion would be spent on March Madness betting last year, and expected that $1.3 billion of that would be spent online.
Online access to the NCAA men’s tournament bracket is now even easier. For the second year, Facebook will allow its users to start or join tournament groups with their friends. All it takes to fill out a bracket is a few clicks of the mouse. This year they have officially partnered with CBS. This partnership essentially facilitates gambling, especially among college students who are obsessed with the social networking site.
“This way I don’t have to collect all the brackets and keep them safe. I can just look online,” said Cherpock, who has organized a pool among his friends for the past three years. “Usually I just have one pool, but since it’s online now I plan on joining several because it gives me the chance to be a little riskier in a few of them if the stakes are lower.”
College students, particularly males, participate in gambling at a rate much higher than other demographic. This is a cause for concern for Dean of Students Tom Pellegrino.
“There are many factors at play here, but some of this is due to the increased prevalence of Internet gambling,” he said. “While the trend seems to suggest that problematic behaviors at the individual level will subside in a majority of cases over time, the immediate impact that the behavior can have on finances, academic performance, stress, relationships, etc., can be lasting.”
Many students said that gambling on the NCAA Tournament is not a big deal.
“I don’t really see what the issue is,” said Stephanie Ambrose ’10. “I would enjoy going in on a pool for a little friendly competition.”
Bill Hill ’08 said, “These old gambling laws may be outdated and need to be re-evaluated to meet modern culture.”
However, those laws and regulations are still on the books and they have led to serious ramifications for some.
In 2003, Rick Neuheisel, former head football coach at the University of Washington, was fired for his involvement in a neighborhood pool. The fact that Neuheisel was the football coach and had no bearing on the basketball program left some people scratching their heads.
“Maybe if it is within your own sport, then I could see it being illegal,” said Ambrose, who is a member of the women’s soccer team. “I can’t affect the outcome of games.”
Students will undoubtedly continue to put money on their brackets, and Fairfield administrators will take appropriate action if such activity is brought to their attention.
“Fairfield University policy prohibits illegal gambling, and we look to address issues on a case-by-case basis,” said Pellegrino. “Connecticut law proscribes certain behavior, and we follow those mandates along with any applicable federal regulations.”
Despite the potential for negative consequences, both in business and by law enforcement, it appears that the buzz is just too much to turn away from March Madness.
“Loss of job productivity is an ever rising concern in today’s global economy, where high marginal labor outputs have become essential to success,” said Hill. “However, college sports are far more important.”
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