The sports gambling investigation has accelerated. Federal authorities, initially reviewing suspicious betting patterns across sports, have intensified their focus on college basketball. On Friday, the NCAA infractions committee declared six men’s college basketball players ineligible for intentionally losing games by more than the point spread.
Before the NCAA announcement, Michigan coach Dusty May appeared on Yahoo! Sports Daily with Caroline Fenton and Jason Fitz on November 6 to discuss the rise in certain player activities. May detailed the program’s response steps and reported progress, with a focus on increasing player awareness and collaborating with law enforcement.
Dusty May Speaks About Michigan’s Actions in Curbing the Rise of Illegal Gambling in College Basketball
Asked about the gambling probe, May explained that the program educates players on the risks of illegal betting and stresses the importance of understanding the consequences.
“We try to instill fear in our guys that there’s no coming back from it,” the Wolverines coach said. “It’s not as if you’re suspended for a game. It’s not as if you go to prison, you do time and your basketball career is over forever. The gambling is tricky because once you go down that rabbit hole, it can go in a lot of different directions.”
Summing up, May said the school must use unconventional methods to steer athletes from illegal gambling and promote integrity.
NCAA Authorities Act on Illegal Gambling Activities
Last month, the NCAA said that at least 30 current or former players are being investigated for gambling. In September, three college basketball players from two Mountain West Conference schools were banned for betting on their own games.
The recent investigation focused on a player from a power-conference school, identified as the provider of information, and a second player, who was banned in September and used the information to bet on the first player through daily fantasy sports accounts.
Separately, the player, who had played for a Big 12 Conference program, provided data to his former girlfriend, who was betting on him during the same period as the other incidents.
The three other players from the Southland Conference were cited for involving themselves in game manipulation last season. According to reports, a student-athlete overheard the three discussing a plan with a third party to place a bet against their team last year. They allegedly manipulated their games from December to January to lose by more points than the spread for that period.
The school suspended the three players for the rest of the season while the investigation continues. The school’s head said they were not aware of the rule violations.
Meanwhile, a team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference was implicated for apparent illegal practices to manipulate games for a separate gambling syndicate. The school took action regarding the student-athletes involved and released a report. It stated that the implicated players were no longer enrolled at the school.