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NCAA reaches deal with sportsbooks for data, logos

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New Betting Era for March Madness and NCAA Championships

The NCAA is officially entering the legal sports betting space—at least when it comes to data. On Friday, multiple outlets confirmed a long-term agreement between the NCAA and Genius Sports, a data distribution company, to deliver official game data to sportsbooks through 2032.

Notably, this does not include regular-season games, nor the College Football Playoff, which is not governed by the NCAA. Instead, the most immediate impact will be felt during March Madness and other NCAA championship events across men’s and women’s sports.

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Sportsbooks Get Data and Logos, With Guardrails

The agreement will give licensed sportsbooks access to:

  • Live NCAA championship data
  • Official NCAA-affiliated logos

This brings the NCAA more in line with other pro sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB, all of which already have data-sharing partnerships with sports betting operators.

But there’s a trade-off: sportsbooks must remove “risky bet types”—particularly those involving individual player performance—and cooperate fully with NCAA investigations, including providing geolocation data and device records when necessary.

NCAA Emphasizes Athlete Protection

The partnership is being framed primarily as a move toward safeguarding student-athletes, with the NCAA citing a growing concern over online harassment and integrity threats tied to sports betting.

“NCAA data will only be available to sportsbooks if they remove risky bets from their platforms and agree to fully cooperate… The NCAA retains the right to terminate any sportsbook data license if integrity protections are violated,” said Tim Buckley, NCAA SVP of external affairs.

The deal also ensures that NCAA member institutions will continue to receive live stats for free through the NCAA LiveStats platform.

GameAdvisers Betting Tools:

Genius Sports: Betting and Integrity Partner

Based in London, Genius Sports has existing partnerships with the NFL, Premier League, and various global leagues. The company emphasized that its goal is to provide sportsbooks with secure, transparent data while working closely with the NCAA to enforce integrity safeguards.