(AP) — The Mid-American Conference will require teams to provide player availability reports to the league at least three hours before football games this season, following a similar policy implemented last year by the Big Ten.
The league announced the new policy Thursday, saying the Council of Directors of Athletics approved it in July. Availability reports are part of efforts in college athletics to safeguard the integrity of games amid the growth of legalized gambling.
The availability reports from all 12 teams will be made available on the MAC website and posted on the X social media platform. Teams that don’t comply could face disciplinary action. The league said the process and accuracy of the information will be evaluated throughout the season.
The Big Ten started requiring its teams to provide availability reports to the league office no more than two hours before kickoff last season.
The Big Ten is the only power conference with a league-wide availability report, though …