As college football season arrives, schools pay monitors to stop players and

LAS VEGAS (AP) — North Carolina junior tight end John Copenhaver gets a group text message from his university pointing out the latest betting scandal or reminding him of the importance of not violating rules against betting on sports.

“It’s being put in our heads every single day,” he said.

Schools feel they have no choice. The spread of legalized sports gambling — and some early scandals — have captured the full attention of athletic departments and conference offices. All major conferences are paying independent betting monitors to make sure their athletes abide by the rules — and to catch those who are not.

All of this means the personal information surrendered by athletes — birthdays, addresses, Social Security numbers, cellphone numbers — is used in a way unlike the same information shared by their fellow students. Some combination of those details can tip off a betting monitor that something doesn’t look right.

“They’re just onboarding and they’re going through the documents just like any other student, though in this case, a student-athlete will have a higher obligation,” Creighton sports law professor David Weber said. He said athletes who provide personal information would have a difficult time saying they didn’t realize what they were signing.

The desire by universities to keep a close eye on the betting market was driven home over the past several months because of scandals at Alabama, Iowa and Iowa State.

More than a dozen current and former Iowa and Iowa State athletes and staffers face charges and the Cyclones may kick off their football season missing a handful of starters.

“I have learned a lot the past two months just about gambling,” Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I never really paid attention to it, other than we signed a form, probably the same form we signed when I was playing. We live in a real different world right now.”

Because of its location in the nation’s betting capital, UNLV has long prioritized educating athletes about the pitfalls of gambling. Junior quarterback Doug Brumfield said it is among the first topics the school covers with its athletes. Because he plays a high-profile position, Brumfield said he has received direct messages on social media asking questions such as who will be in the lineup. He said the school also does a good job of “keeping us away from stuff like that.”

GAMBLING BOOM

The Supreme Court cleared the way for legalized sports betting in May 2018; 37 states plus the District of Columbia now have it. Even before the ruling, Matthew Holt knew that many sports organizations were ill-equipped to ensure athletes, coaches and staff members weren’t among those laying money on whether the local team would cover the point spread.

He created U.S. Integrity, based in Henderson, Nevada, and already has signed up more than 150 clients that include the Southeastern Conference, Big 12 and…