NCAA updates guidelines to start at one-year suspension for those who bet on other teams at their school

IOWA CITY — The NCAA amended its sports wagering reinstatement guidelines, but not in the way many Iowa Hawkeye fans were hoping.

Penalties for athletes who bet on other teams at their own school will start at having to sit out one season while losing that season of eligibility.

Most notably, it means Iowa defensive lineman Noah Shannon’s college football career is indeed over. The sixth-year senior had been suspended for one season for a sports wagering violation. Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz previously said Shannon placed a bet on another Iowa sports team on campus.

Ferentz said in a statement Wednesday he is “heartbroken” for Shannon and said the decision is “just wrong.”

“Noah did not break any laws,” Ferentz said in a statement. “He did not commit any crimes. And yet he is being severely over-punished by a membership committee that refuses to see perspective or use common sense. ... Noah is being sidelined because the NCAA is ruling on an investigation that they did not instigate, using an uneven system of justice to severely punish an excellent young man.”

This move also affects Iowa men’s wrestlers such as Nelson Brands and Abe Assad, who are both seniors.

The NCAA’s previous guidelines suggested any athlete who bet on any team at their own school would “potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility in all sports.” The collegiate sports governing body deviated from that guideline, though, when penalizing Shannon.

“NCAA members continue to prioritize integrity of competition and felt that reinstatement conditions for violations of wagering rules should reflect that focus,” said Jon Steinbrecher, the chair of the NCAA’s Council Coordination Committee, in a news release.

Ferentz had signaled earlier this week that he was not getting his “hopes up too high” about a decision that would help Shannon.

“It would be great to get him back,” Ferentz said during a Tuesday news conference. “He’s a tremendous young person. … I'm not confident that's going to happen. But there's no doubt in my mind it would be the right thing to do.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com