Beth Goetz expecting ‘some feedback’ from NCAA in near future on gambling investigation

IOWA CITY — The University of Iowa could soon receive “some feedback” from the NCAA about the “reinstatement process” for athletes caught up in this summer’s sports gambling investigations, interim athletics director Beth Goetz said Thursday.

“We're optimistic that we are just hopefully days away, perhaps, from getting some feedback at least initially on what that means for our student-athletes who currently are here and have remaining eligibility,” Goetz said in a news conference.

What exactly that “feedback” will entail is unclear, however.

“We don't really have any indication of what the response will be,” Goetz said. “I think all of you — as well as we have — have seen what the prescribed penalties are, but part of the NCAA process is always to provide mitigation, so what are the other things that may have contributed to any violation that occurred?”

The NCAA released updated guidelines earlier this summer suggesting athletes who bets on their own team or own school “will potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility in all sports.”

Those who bet on a different team in their sport could potentially lose eligibility for 50 percent of a season, according to the guidelines. Prescribed penalties for those who bet on professional sports vary by dollar amount wagered, ranging from sitting out 30 percent of a season to needing only “sports wagering rules and prevention education.”

The university said in May that 26 current athletes from five men’s teams — football, baseball, basketball, track and field and wrestling — are involved in the investigation. Not all those have faced criminal charges, though the probe appears to be ongoing.

As of last week, the Johnson County Attorney’s Office has filed charges against six current or former Iowa athletes — current kicker Aaron Blom, current wide receiver Jack Johnson, former wide receiver Arland Bruce IV, former safety Reggie Bracy, former basketball guard Ahron Ulis and former baseball catcher Gehrig Christensen — as part of the investigation. Football student manager Owen O’Brien also has been charged.

Eight current or former Iowa State University athletes also face charges.

All are charged with tampering with records, an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison. The law enforcement investigation is separate from the NCAA investigation. Most of the names of athletes involved in the NCAA investigation — but not charged in the criminal investigation — have not been released.

Current Iowa defensive lineman Noah Shannon said in a news release last month he was involved in the NCAA investigation and therefore chose not to attend the Big Ten’s football media days. Head football coach Kirk Ferentz has expressed public support for Shannon as he awaits his NCAA fate.

“Noah is one of the best kids we have on our football team,” Ferentz said last week. “He's a strong, respected leader, tremendous young person, and has been nothing, from my standpoint, other than a model football player for us. I'm really proud of everything he's done.”

Recommended Reading

Iowa football notebook: Noah Shannon speaks about gambling probe

Iowa Athletics has submitted all of the information the NCAA has requested so far, Goetz said. “I think we were as cooperative and as transparent,” she said. “Our athletes were as well in this process. … If there are additional steps that we need to follow, we'll do so.”

Athletes involved in the investigation have not been allowed to participate in games since the allegations came to light in May.

Ferentz said last week the preseason involvement of football players under investigation varies on an “individual” basis. Most are practicing, but “some are out because of injuries, et cetera,” he explained.

The two current football players charged — Blom and Johnson — both were with the team at its open practice Saturday, but were not in uniform.

“The bigger picture I have to consider as a head coach is they may not be here on opening day or whatever,” Ferentz said. “And it might be one day, it might be 11, 12 games. None of us know that. You've got to keep that in mind, too.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com