The NCAA is intensifying its efforts to regulate sports betting among college athletes, having announced on Thursday that it is pursuing enforcement actions concerning potential violations involving 13 former men's basketball players. The NCAA's enforcement staff is currently investigating alleged breaches of sports betting rules as well as related failure-to-cooperate violations linked to these players, who represented six institutions: Eastern Michigan, Temple, Arizona State, New Orleans, North Carolina A&T, and Mississippi Valley State. All aforementioned players are no longer enrolled at their former schools.
This announcement follows the NCAA's decision earlier this week to permanently ban three former players from Fresno State and San Jose State for multiple sports betting violations. The scrutiny of college sports betting comes at a time when various professional sports leagues are also grappling with gambling-related scandals.
On Wednesday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver revealed that the league is conducting an internal investigation involving Malik Beasley, a former guard for the Detroit Pistons. Reports have indicated that federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York are seeking information related to Beasley in connection with a gambling probe, although he has not been criminally charged.
Among the schools named in the NCAA's announcement, Arizona State's inclusion is particularly noteworthy due to its previously documented gambling issues. In January, the University of New Orleans suspended four of its players for potential NCAA violations linked to sports betting. Shortly thereafter, ESPN learned that a sports betting ring under federal investigation had placed bets against North Carolina A&T, Eastern Michigan, and Mississippi Valley State.
Arizona State has a notable history of gambling investigations. In 1997, guard Stevin "Hedake" Smith was arrested for his role in a point-shaving scandal, eventually pleading guilty to accepting bribes to manipulate four basketball games during the 1993-94 season. Smith later joined EPIC Global Solutions, a gambling harm reduction firm, in 2024, expressing a desire to share his story to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
In response to the NCAA's latest announcement, Arizona State issued a statement indicating its awareness of the investigation concerning former students but affirmed that the institution had fully cooperated with inquiries and had no involvement in any wrongdoing.
Looking ahead, the NCAA has extended its partnership with EPIC Global Solutions, a collaboration that has equipped over 100,000 student-athletes, coaches, and administrators with resources aimed at combating gambling-related issues, making it the largest program of its kind worldwide.
NCAA President Charlie Baker previously testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding sports betting, emphasizing the need for states with legal sports gambling to prohibit proposition bets involving college athletes. Earlier this week, he reiterated his advocacy for restrictions on such betting practices.
Baker noted, "The NCAA monitors over 22,000 contests every year and will continue to aggressively pursue competition integrity risks such as these."
The NCAA clarified that none of the institutions under investigation are alleged to have participated in the athletes' infractions, nor is it planning to impose penalties on the schools for the actions of their former students.
