Iowa NCAA athletes may have broken betting rules

The University of Iowa is in the midst of a brewing scandal after the educational institution confirming that it had to suspend 26 athletes from five sports on suspicion of violating NCAA rules on sports wagering by student-athletes. One full-time employee of the athletic department has also been suspended. The university detailed the case in an official statement shared on its website.

The University of Iowa and the Department of Athletics may be facing a much more serious issue, though, as the university has been tipped off about at least 111 individuals who may be involved in various offenses. The sports the suspended athletes compete in include:

• Basketball
• Football
• Men’s Basketball
• Men’s Track and Field
• Men’s Wrestling

The list that the university has does not include any current or former coaches, which at least points to the integrity of the institution. According to the university’s release, the "vast majority" of individuals are either student-staff, former student-athletes or individuals that have no specific relation to UI Athletics.

The university said that it has acted with integrity in the matter, and it has responded quickly. On May 2, the institution was notified about potential offenses committed in relation to sports wagering that was in breach of NCAA rules.

The university acted swiftly by first notifying authorities on the very next day, May 3. On May 4, the university finally received a list of the people who were allegedly involved in sports wagering against the NCAA rules which explicitly prohibit individuals from doing this if they are involved in athletics programs.

On May 5, the university hastened the pace and notified several student-athletes they would have to skip upcoming competitions, alerted the NCAA, and reached out to outside legal counsel to seek more input and potentially open a detailed investigation. Meanwhile, the reports have already issued a response from the state Board of Regents, which said in a statement:

"We are closely monitoring the situation and have confidence that University administrators at each institution will take all necessary steps to ensure ongoing compliance."

The Iowa Gaming Commission has also got involved with the matter and confirmed that it is looking into Iowa athletics. The commission said that it would not be providing further details at the present moment – this was on Monday, May8.

Iowa is also one of the 33 states to have launched legal sports betting, and it is now facing the first major scandal involving a substantial number of student-athletes. The NCAA has told ESPN that it would not comment on current, pending, or potential investigations because of confidentiality rules.

The University of Iowa is not the only institution of higher learning to have been named in the case. Iowa State has confirmed that 15 of its own students are also suspected of violating the rules. Earlier this month, the University of Alabama fired baseball head coach Brad Bohannon after it was alleged that Bohannon bet against his team in the game with Louisiana State University.

Image credit: Unsplash.com