NCAA and Federal Gambling Probes Loom Over Men’s College Basketball Season

When the FBI made dozens of arrests in a widespread gambling probe involving NBA players and coaches on Oct. 23, they said their investigations did not involve college basketball.

But NCAA hoops—which began its season this week—is likely next.

The NCAA and federal investigators—led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania—have opened investigations into gambling probes in NCAA Division I college basketball. 

The probes have ensnared at least 30 current and former players as well as some of the perpetrators indicted by a grand jury in the NBA scandal. Most of the teams involved are not power-conference programs, but rather NCAA Division I “mid-majors.”

The NCAA’s Investigations

The NCAA has investigated about 30 current and former men’s basketball players, the governing body said two weeks ago, and confirmed in a statement to Front Office Sports Tuesday. 

In September, the NCAA said it has investigated players for their time at Arizona State, Temple, the University of New Orleans, North Carolina A&T, and Mississippi Valley State (none of the players were enrolled at their former schools as of this year). In its statement to FOS, the NCAA added that investigations into players are “including but not limited to the schools that have already been publicly identified.”

Other schools whose players have reportedly been investigated, per multiple reports, include: Iona, Alabama State, Stony Brook, and Robert Morris. (It is unclear if these are the schools the NCAA was referring to when it said that some schools where players were being investigated had not yet been named publicly.)

“The NCAA is aggressively pursuing any potential sports betting violations, including and especially cases that could impact the integrity of college sports, like cases involving game/scoring manipulation, insider information-sharing and/or student-athletes betting on themselves,” the NCAA said.

Meanwhile, cases involving former players from San Jose State, Fresno State, and Eastern Michigan have already been adjudicated. 

In September, the NCAA banned Fresno State men’s basketball players Mykell Robinson and Jalen Weaver, and San Jose State men’s basketball player Steven Vasquez. All three players “bet on their own games, one another’s games and/or provided information that enabled others to do so” during the 2024-25 season, the NCAA said. “Two of the student-athletes then manipulated their performances to ensure that certain bets were won.”

In October, the NCAA announced it had been alerted to suspicious betting activity involving an Eastern Michigan men’s basketball game in January 2025. Three former Eastern Michigan basketball players—Jalin Billingsley, Da’Sean Nelson and Jalen Terry—refused to cooperate with NCAA investigators, so the governing body couldn’t determine if they violated policy. The players had exhausted their NCAA eligibility.

Several players have also been named in media reports outside of NCAA official statements.

Last season, the University of New Orleans suspended four players—James White, Jah Short, Dae Dae Hunter and Jamond Vincent—for alleged NCAA gambling violations, basketball analyst Jeff Goodman reported.

Ahead of this season, multiple men’s basketball players across the country have been held out of competition. 

• Western Michigan player Justice Williams isn’t playing due to an NCAA investigation “of events that precede his enrollment at Western Michigan University,” a spokesperson confirmed to FOS. The spokesperson did not comment on the Sports Illustrated report that he was involved in the sports betting investigation. Williams previously played at LSU and then Robert Morris.
• Wisconsin men’s basketball player Elijah Gray was dismissed from the team due to “events preceding his enrollment.” A spokesperson did not comment on ESPN’s report saying he was involved in the NCAA’s sports betting investigation. Gray played at Temple last year.
• Dayton said men’s basketball player Adam Njie was being held out of competition due to eligibility concerns before he enrolled at the school, though a spokesperson wouldn’t  confirm if it was related to the gambling probe, as ESPN reported. Njie previously played at Iona.
• Eastern Kentucky player Amarr Knox is currently not eligible to participate in games, a spokesperson confirmed to FOS. The spokesperson did not comment on the SI report that Alabama State, his former school, is involved in the gambling investigations. The school’s statement said: “Knox and the University are currently working with the NCAA staff and we are hopeful for a quick resolution.”

The NCAA’s Tuesday statement reiterated that “penalties start at a permanent loss of eligibility” for players who have committed “integrity-related violations” like sharing information or changing their performance for the sake of bets. Players are prohibited from betting on college sports at all, but would face less severe violations for betting on college games without using any proprietary information.

Other Sports Betting Concerns

Meanwhile, NCAA president Charlie Baker has been outspoken about states banning prop bets on college sports. “The NCAA has been consistent in working to protect student-athletes from harassment by bettors, supporting schools with education for student-athletes about potential gambling harms, and prohibiting sponsorships with gambling operators, all while encouraging state and federal lawmakers to ban risky prop bets, which are most concerning from both a harassment and game manipulation standpoint,” the governing body said Tuesday.

The question of whether college athletes can bet on pro sports is currently in flux, however. In October, NCAA committees in all three divisions approved a new rule allowing pro sports betting. But the rule is going through a review period and has been delayed until Nov. 22. All Division I schools can submit a protest to the rule; the rule will be revoked if two-thirds of schools object to it. 

Federal Investigations 

The NCAA’s investigations are separate from those done at local and federal level. The NCAA did not directly respond to an FOS question regarding whether it has cooperated with federal investigators.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has been conducting an investigation into a college basketball gambling probe, with the FBI interviewing college athletes, according to multiple reports. 

In December and January of last season, dozens of suspicious bets on mid-major games were flagged, according to documents obtained last month by ESPN. The activity was similar to suspicious betting activity that took place the previous season. The investigations found that at least some of these bets were related to a gambling syndicate involving several of the same people allegedly involved in the NBA betting scandal. Some of the same accounts who bet on NBA players Jontay Porter and Terry Rozier also bet on college games. 

Professional gamblers Marves Fairley and Shane Hennen, who were both indicted by a grand jury as part of the NBA betting scandal, are believed to be “at the heart” of the college betting probe, according to SI.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania did not respond to an emailed request for comment. The reports suggest that indictments are likely forthcoming.