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Last month, the NBA was rocked by a widespread betting investigation. Dozens of individuals with ties to the league, including a current head coach, were arrested on Oct. 23.
At the time, the probe was not believed to have involved college basketball players. However, federal investigators led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and NCAA officials later confirmed that an investigation had been opened to examine potential gambling violations at the Division I level of college basketball.
On Friday, the NCAA’s infractions committee announced it had “uncovered violations by six student-athletes who competed in men’s basketball at New Orleans, Mississippi Valley and Arizona State.”
The cases at the three schools are considered separate, but each shares similarities involving alleged betting with intent to manipulate games or student-athletes giving known bettors improper information.
“Additionally, all three cases involved lack of cooperation by student-athletes, who knowingly provided false or misleading information to investigators. As a result of the sports betting violations, the student-athletes all violated ethical conduct rules, triggering permanent ineligibility,” the NCAA said.
THREE FORMER EASTERN MICHIGAN BASKETBALL PLAYERS DEFIED SPORTS BETTING PROBE, NCAA SAYS
The NCAA named the following six individuals: Cedquavious Hunter, Dyquavian Short, Jamond Vincent, Donovan Sanders, Alvin Stredic and Chatton “BJ” Freeman. As of this year, none of those athletes are currently enrolled at their previous schools.
The NCAA determined that Sanders and Stredic received monetary offers to effectively throw a game in January against Alabama A&M. Prior to a December 2024 matchup with Tulsa, Sanders was heard talking about “throwing a game,” the NCAA said.
Hunter and Sanders refused to cooperate in their respective cases, the governing body of college athletics in the U.S. said. Meanwhile, Stredic, Vincent, and Short did not provide responses to enforcement personnel during the processing of their respective cases. Freeman agreed to cooperate in a resolution, according to officials.
Officials noted that the organization’s infractions committee does not “assess penalties for student-athletes who violated NCAA rules but did approve the findings, confirming that the violations occurred.”
On Friday, ESPN reported that the six players named in three separate cases had their NCAA eligibility permanently rescinded.
An estimated 30 current and former men’s basketball players have been investigated, the NCAA said in October.
Also, last month, at least three former Eastern Michigan men’s basketball players refused to cooperate with the NCAA’s investigation into questionable sports betting activities. The NCAA imaged the personal phones of Jalin Billingsley, Da’Sean Nelson and Jalen Terry in January. The examination stemmed from unusual betting activity associated with Eastern Michigan’s matchup against Central Michigan on Jan. 14, according to findings that were made available in late October.
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