Sports betting in Pa.: Villanova’s Howard Porter story is reason for allowing colleges some time

… Penn State asks for a little time

Betting on professional sports is not a major societal concern in most respects, though gambling itself is one of those things that is somewhat criticized by Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

Nonetheless, it is happening now with much of that controlled by organized crimes forces in New York, New Jersey, and Nevada. That is not about to change because of any action taken by any state. Ultimately, big-money forces, aka organized crime, will take over each state, as they have right now. In my home town, a local man ran numbers using one of the local clubs as his meeting place for many transactions. So, even though not legal, it has been around for years.

However, legal betting on college athletics raises another problem. It is called “fixing,” “bribes,” and “big-money.” That is why Penn State President Eric Barron proposed to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board that a moratorium be set for games involving colleges in the state for as long as two years. He argues that “the schools, their conferences and the NCAA will all need that time to orient athletes, coaches and others in their athletic departments to the potential risks and problems associated with sports betting,” according to the Patriot-News of Harrisburg.

That is a good idea, a short moratorium for a year or so that could help transition into this morass.

Limitations of Pa. betting on local schools

The reality of this is that the only college in Pa. that will have a team in the football Top 25, and a legitimate concern for gambling this year, is Penn State. The Nittany Lions are ranked high in the preseason polls released thus far, but no one will be placing bets on the PSU basketball program. Pitt used to be a national power in men’s basketball, but the football team and basketball team have not been Top 25 competitors for a while. That may change with Pitt football this year, but it is not likely to be a competitor in the ACC. Basketball now is woeful. Temple is the only other Pa. team that could be considered as a possibility in football.

Basketball more of a concern in Pa.

However, the defending basketball national champion in basketball is Villanova, and the Wildcats have won two out of the past three national titles. So, they are the premiere basketball team in the state, and arguably in the nation, and they could probably also use a short time to acclimate themselves to the new reality.

In fact, Villanova has some history, albeit a sad chapter, in which it had to give back some big money and a great deal of prestige as a result of big money invading its campus 48 years ago.

Villanova’s sad experience with Howard Porter

Villanova’s problem in the early 1970s had nothing to do with sports betting. It does, however, place a light on what can happen when sleazy money invades college campuses. In 1971, Villanova advanced to the NCAA basketball title game against the greatest powerhouse of all-time, the UCLA Bruins of the legendary Coach John Wooten.

In that game, Villanova gave the defending national titlists a veritable battle, eventually falling, 68-62. They were led by a 6-8, 220-pound inside player named Howard Porter. Named to the All-American squad for three seasons, Porter was tremendous in the championship game, scoring 25 points against the Bruins and dazzling the crowd of 31, 675 in the Houston Astrodome that he was named the outstanding performer.

However, unbenownst to Villanova Coach Jack Kraft, in December of 1970, Porter had signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Condors of the American Basketball Association (ABA), a league that was attempting to compete with the NBA. Signing a pro contract while competing as an amateur in the NCAA was a violation of college basketball rules, and when it was discovered, Villanova had to forfeit all of its games after Dec. 16, when Porter inked the deal.

That cost the school close to $72,000, and its name is eclipsed in the NCAA championship annals, sort of vaporized, in Orwellian terms. It is called ‘vacated” in the NCAA records.

Money the root of all evil

In addition to discovering the pro contract, authorities discovered that a full-length fur coat that Porter had been wearing was not one that he had purchased with his own money.

In short, this is the sort of story that could happen with regularity and could become a nightmare for the NCAA with the big money in legalized sports betting. And the NCAA has experienced its own problems with controlling money, and regulating its schools, particularly in its two major sports.

Condors-Bulls dispute broke Porter

Porter was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the 1971 draft. However, the Condors then produced the 1970 contract that Porter had signed. That broke open the floodgates for Villanova and Porter.

Porter ultimately competed for seven years in the NBA, but he never reached his potential. He averaged just 9.2 points in that career, and many attribute his underachieving to his guilt about what he did to his school.

Porter ended up penniless years later, but then became a probation officer in Minneapolis. His life ended in tragedy as he was found murdered in 2007, a sad case for a young athlete with such promise, albeit one who created a stain for the Villanova basketball program.

Lessons from the Porter case

The first lesson from the recollection of what happened to Howard Porter and Villanova is that before any legal sports betting on college athletics takes place, the schools need time to implement protections. While Porter’s problem was not essentially fixing games, it was big money and sleazy operators.

The Pittsburgh Condors, who had hired former St. Francis Coach John Clark as their mentor in 1967 when they were called the Pipers, were a franchise that was falling into obscurity in 1970. Called the Pipers at first, they had a great player in Connie Hawkins in their early years when they drew decent crowds to the Civic Arena, winning the first ABA title. However, in 1970, they were desperate and looked at Porter as a way back to popularity as another Hawkins.

The Condors folded in 1972, and the league eventually merged with the NBA in 1976, but it had damaged a lot of lives in the process. Porter was one of them.

Second, once sports betting is legalized, college teams are going to have headaches with money and possibly game-fixing. It is inevitable. There has been big money bet on college sports over the years, but now that it is legalized, all hell could break loose.

Taking some time in Pa. would actually be a good idea

For all of those reasons, Barron’s proposal makes sense. Right now, he is asking for time, but he is also saying that perhaps people in Pa. should not bet on PSU football. “We are asking for the time needed ... to initiate and strengthen our policies and procedures related to sports wagering in order to educate, train and protect our students, student athletes, coaches and staff members, as well as preserving the integrity of our colleges and universities and their associated athletic programs,” he said, according to the Patriot-News.

The PN’s Charles Thompson noted that the PSU president said that down the road, perhaps Pa. should look east for some direction in that approach. “Barron suggested Pennsylvania regulators adopt New Jersey's model, which has prohibited betting on any collegiate games in New Jersey or elsewhere that involve a New Jersey school,” Thompson wrote. Of course, there are no major football powers in N.J. Rutgers is not exactly burning up the Big Ten.

Conclusion

Betting on pro games will not create an immediate problem, so the Eagles and Steelers would have no difficulties, hopefully, but colleges need time to adjust to this. Asking for more time to create some programs to help acclimate this is reasonable. It could help avoid another Howard Porter debacle.