Iowa and Iowa State are under investigation for sports gambling just one week after a similar issue caused Alabama to fire its baseball coach.
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is investigating both schools for what the University of Iowa described as “potential criminal conduct related to sports wagering” on its university website.
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Iowa said it has 26 current male athletes in basketball, football, baseball, track and field, and wrestling on the list provided on May 4 by law enforcement. It also has one full-time athletics department staffer included on the list, but the individual is not a coach.
On the other hand, Iowa State University has 15 active students-athletes on the list from football, wrestling, and track and field. The school said in a statement that it “will take appropriate actions to resolve these issues.”
Last week, Ohio’s casino commission and the Southeastern Conference began investigating the University of Alabama after two suspicious bets were placed on the BetMHM Sportsbook at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The bets were from an unidentified customer who placed the bets on LSU to defeat Alabama in baseball on April 28.
Alabama fired its head baseball coach Brad Bohannon last week for “violating the standards, duties, and responsibilities expected of University employees,” the University of Alabama said on Thursday. No student-athletes were involved in the investigation.
Sports wagering has boomed in the last half decade since the Supreme Court overturned the federal ruling banning sports gambling in 2018. However, the NCAA does not allow sports wagering for athletes or employees at any level.
