College campuses increasingly are striking deals with sports betting companies eager to promote their brands in stadiums, on radio broadcasts and on athletic department websites — places where they can be seen and heard by students. But the terms of those agreements are opaque despite the high-dollar and societal stakes.
Louisiana State University, Michigan State University and the University of Maryland have made their agreements through third-party companies, firms set up to sell sports sponsorships on behalf of the schools. That means the agreements can be shielded from public view; open records laws don’t apply to privately held companies.
