You had a feeling it was bound to happen. According to Fox Sports college football reporter, Stewart Mandel, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott revealed at the BYU-UCLA game that the heads of the five major conferences are urging the two major Daily Fantasy Sports sites to cease offering their college games:
Speaking at halftime, Larry Scott says the Power 5 commissioners have sent letters to FanDuel and DraftKings asking to stop college games.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 20, 2015
The letters have not to been released to the public as of yet, but one can imagine the content of the correspondence from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Pac-12 isn’t asking the sites for signage at their conference basketball tournaments. As ESPN began doing cut-ins this month for cover alerts and introducing point spreads on SportsCenter and College GameDay (most likely influenced by the network’s huge sponsorship deal with DraftKings), college officials have expressed their concern over the gambling aspect.
Add to the fact that both DraftKings and FanDuel are heavily advertising on the cable sports networks and NFL games, they’re tough for any fan to avoid. However, the Pac-12 Commissioner pointed out that his networks are not accepting any advertising from the DFS sites:
Scott also says the conference network will not air any daily fantasy ads.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 20, 2015
The next move is now up to DraftKings and FanDuel. With both companies in the midst of promoting their college football and NFL games, it may be hard for both sites to pull them right now and they probably wouldn’t want to.
But if Congress follows through with its threats to investigate the Daily Fantasy Sports sites, they may cave. We’ll see where this goes, but as DFS sites gain more influence with sports fans, college officials are worried about their growing popularity.
The letters from the commissioners are proof that they’re concerned and are hoping their requests will be met in kind. How DraftKings and FanDuel choose to respond will determine the college commissioners’ next move and it may not be a request.
UPDATE: Scott confirmed that Pac-12 Network is still accepting DFS ads…but only if they don’t promote the college games in the ads.
Pac-12 clarifies that it is accepting ads from DraftKings & FanDuel during its game broadcasts, as long as it doesn't promote college game
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 22, 2015
Keep that money flowing, Draft Kings and FanDuel!
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About Ken Fang
Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.