Did anyone notice ESPN’s new ‘Cover Alert’ chime followed by a graphic during last Friday’s Western Michigan-Michigan State game?

It marked the first of its kind in college football programming, an obvious content shift toward an immensely-popular sub culture outside of sports that rakes in billions of dollars annually within the U.S.

You can’t watch a college or professional sporting event on cable television without seeing a FanDuel or DraftKings commercial or courtside advertisement. These daily fantasy sites have mega deals in place with ESPN and pay a premium for content.

According to Sports Business Journal, DraftKings is expected to shell out several hundred million dollars over the next two years to promote its brand on ESPN.

There’s no getting around sports gambling’s success. Recent research shows an estimated $100 billion will be bet on the NFL and college football this season.

ESPN’s jumping into the market full-steam ahead and has been slightly ahead of the curve several years with segments such as Chris Berman’s NFL picks against the spread, Chris Fallica’s gambling conversations on College GameDay, etc.

ESPN’s statement to USA Today about the network’s new emphasis on gambling read:

“Coverage of sports betting has been carefully considered over a long period of time. We recognize that fans are increasingly interested in this conversation and that millions engage in legal sports betting. Our coverage has mirrored that larger trend in recent years and this is another step. We will approach this subject the way we do any beat we cover — providing information while examining trends, topics and stories that are shaping the wider conversation. Our mission is to serve fans and we believe this is consistent with that.”

College football administators, for the most part, don’t think the emphasis on spreads and over/unders during pre-game shows blurs the integrity of the game when dealing with amateur athletes.

In wide-ranging interviews with USA Today, many were afraid to discuss the negatives of this kind of programming thanks to ‘business relationships’ with ESPN.

SEC schools shared a record-setting $435 million in revenue for the 2014-15 year and much of that came via The SEC Network and College Football Playoff’s success — via ESPN.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey on the changing culture in college football coverage to USA Today: There is an existing concern about the inexorable march toward gambling being more and more central to sport. It has clearly gotten more momentum based on messaging out of the NBA last year. We have to be mindful of the realities of the culture developing around us.

Others shared similar viewpoints.

Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne:

“Anytime there’s anything to do with sports gambling and college sports, understandably that will be something I would hope at some point will be discussed.”

Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione:

“Somebody might say, ‘We’re rights-holders to certain properties, we have the choice’. But this subject has been sensitive for so long, I’m really surprised it has risen to this level.”

“I can’t speak for everybody, but I noticed it — and I’m concerned. A lot of us had heard about the plans to talk a little bit more about it during telecasts, but we didn’t necessarily know what it really meant. When you see it, it sort of takes on a different meaning.”