Five Plead Guilty in State Betting Probe Ahead of Iowa-Iowa State Game

Ahead of the highly anticipated battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy on Saturday, several current and former Iowa and Iowa State athletes have pleaded guilty to lesser charges as part of the state’s ongoing betting probe, according to court documents.

Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers, offensive lineman Jake Remsburg, and former offensive lineman Dodge Sauser all pleaded guilty to underage gambling in Story County, while former Iowa kicker Aaron Blom and former baseball player Gehrig Christensen did the same in Johnson County per court filings.

The court filings — read by Front Office Sports — were first reported by The Athletic, which adds that all of the guilty pleas carry $645 fines. All five players were initially charged with aggravated misdemeanor tampering with records, which could have carried a two-year prison term.

Story County declined to comment for this story, while Johnson County did not provide comment to FOS ahead of this story’s deadline.

Iowa State football running back Jirehl Brock, defensive tackle Isaiah Lee, and tight end DeShawn Hanika have waived their preliminary hearings, per The Athletic.

Several athletes across numerous sports at both universities are making their way through the legal system as it relates to the state’s betting probe. In May, FOS reported that 26 Iowa athletes and 15 from Iowa State were part of the investigation.

The progression of the legal cases is sure to cast a pall over this week’s annual rivalry football game between the two universities — and the players caught up in the investigations will be watching from the sidelines.