The University of Iowa and its athletics department announced that 26 Hawkeyes are part of a sports wagering investigation and the NCAA has been alerted of potential violations.
The university said it received information about 111 people, but “the vast majority of the individuals are student-staff, former student-athletes or those with no connection to Iowa athletics.”
The 26 athletes that are connected to the sports department compete in baseball, football, men’s basketball, men’s track and field and men’s wrestling. There is also one full-time employee of the athletics department under investigation, but it does not include any current or former coaches.
Several players were notified that they would not be participating in upcoming competitions. That was most apparent over the weekend in baseball.
Iowa said it has been fully cooperating since leadership was notified Tuesday of potential criminal conduct related to sports wagering and has “hired outside counsel to assist in the investigative process.”
The Hawkeyes also provided a timeline of events:
May 2: University of Iowa leadership was notified of potential criminal conduct related to sports wagering that also suggested possible NCAA violations.
May 3: Law enforcement notified the university that additional information would be provided the following day.
May 4: The university received a list of individuals alleged to have participated in sports wagering.
May 5: The University of Iowa took the following action: Notified several student-athletes that they would not be participating in upcoming competitions; alerted the NCAA to potential violations; and engaged outside legal counsel to advise the university and potentially lead an investigation.
May 8: The following message was sent to Department of Athletics staff and student-athletes:
Athletics Staff –
Last week the university and athletics department were made aware of potential NCAA violation related to sports wagering. The following statements from the State of Iowa Board of Regents and University of Iowa will be shared publicly shortly. We will follow-up with additional information as available.
Board of Regents statement
The Board of Regents is aware of concerns related to online gambling involving individuals associated with the University of Iowa and Iowa State University. The Board of Regents and the universities will fully cooperate with any investigations related to these concerns. We are closely monitoring the situation and have confidence that University administrators at each institution will take all necessary steps to ensure ongoing compliance.
University of Iowa statement
The University of Iowa and the Department of Athletics are aware of the sports wagering investigation and are fully cooperating. We have alerted the NCAA of the potential violations and we have hired outside counsel to assist in the investigative process.
The athletics department provides education on NCAA rules regarding the the prohibition of sports wagering as well as the potential consequences.
The entire news release from the University of Iowa can be seen by clicking here.
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