The NCAA announced a major sports betting-related investigation on Thursday. It involves 13 former men’s basketball players at six schools.
The allegations include numerous violations of sports betting rules. They include the following infractions:
- Betting on and against their own teams
- Sharing information with third parties for wagering
- Knowingly manipulating scoring or game outcomes
- Refusing to participate in the enforcement staff’s investigation
The investigation includes athletes from Eastern Michigan, Temple, Arizona State, New Orleans, North Carolina A&T, and Mississippi Valley. NCAA officials also have additional cases in the investigation process.
“The NCAA monitors over 22,000 contests every year and will continue to aggressively pursue competition integrity risks such as these,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said. “I am grateful for the NCAA enforcement team’s relentless work and for the schools’ cooperation in these matters.”
Widespread Violations
The issues came to light through the NCAA’s integrity monitoring program and network of sources. It revolved around unusual betting activities around regular season games.
Then, enforcement staff followed up and substantiated those reports via text messages, direct messages on social media, and other communication methods.
The Committee on Infractions noted that staff members at the institutions were not involved in the violations. The universities involved will also not face any sanctions.
On Wednesday, the NCAA resolved three similar cases. The NCAA gave permanent bans to Fresno State’s Mykell Robinson and Jalen Weaver, and San Jose State’s Steven Vasquez. All three allegedly were involved in point shaving and betting on games during the 2024-25 season.
The Latest NCAA Sports Betting Scandal
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the virtual ban on sports betting outside Nevada in 2018, the NCAA has faced several sports betting scandals.
In 2023, then-University of Alabama head baseball coach Brad Bohannon lost his job after he gave inside information to a better who wagered against the Crimson Tide.
Shortly after the Alabama scandal, there was another in Iowa. The NCAA charged more than a dozen athletes with illegal sports betting. Bakers believes online sports betting operators can curb theses scandals by limiting certain bets.
“The rise of sports betting is creating more opportunity for athletes across sports to engage in this unacceptable behavior, and while legalized sports betting is here to stay, regulators and gaming companies can do more to reduce these integrity risks by eliminating prop bets and giving sports leagues a seat at the table when setting policies,” he said when announcing the investigations.
Sports Illustrated speculated that a gambling ring currently under investigation as part of the Jontay Porter scandal may also be linked to NCAA athletes. The case is now reportedly heading to the indictment stage.
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