Why Iowa seems to be ‘chosen ones’ in NCAA’s enforcement of sports wagering rules

IOWA CITY — Kirk Ferentz could not help but notice a possible dichotomy between Iowa and other states when it comes to enforcement of the NCAA’s sports wagering rules.

The Iowa head football coach learned this week that starting defensive tackle Noah Shannon is facing a full-season suspension for sports wagering, which would essentially end the sixth-year senior’s college career.

Another 10 current Iowa athletes and an unknown number of current Iowa State athletes also face sports wagering penalties from the NCAA.

The Associated Press reported in July the NCAA had 17 active investigations into sports wagering violations at the time, with 175 infractions since 2018. But the 11 current athletes at Iowa — along with many former athletes — involved in the NCAA’s investigation is disproportionately high for one athletics department.

As Ferentz sees it, the uneven playing field is “obvious.”

“For whatever reason, we're the lucky ones, we're the chosen ones,” Ferentz said with some frustration. “We just got to really benefit from this whole deal.”

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the state agency with jurisdiction over the state’s sports wagering laws, has been responsible for the criminal probe. The University of Iowa notified the NCAA of the potential violations after law enforcement already was involved.

Information provided to the NCAA by gambling operators and regulators are a “frequent source of detection,” NCAA spokesman Massillon Myers said in an email to The Gazette, although it is not the only mechanism for detecting and enforcing gambling violations.

“Member schools are also required to report violations to the NCAA,” Myers said. “The NCAA also partners with an integrity monitoring service that monitors over 13,000 collegiate contests annually.”

Myers did not say whether the NCAA is investigating sports wagering in states other than Iowa.

“The NCAA cannot comment on ongoing or potential investigations,” Myers said in the email. “However, state regulators and operators, who are often required by law to monitor betting activities, work closely with the NCAA and member schools when issues arise.”

Mobile sports betting, in at least some form, is legal and available in 24 states and Washington, D.C., according to the American Gaming Association. The 24 states are home to 11 of the 25 teams ranked in this year’s preseason Associated Press poll.

Some of those states have guardrails, however, that would make it much harder for college athletes to bet on their own teams than it was for Iowa and Iowa State athletes.

Illinois, for example, requires any bets on in-state college teams to be placed in person at an authorized operator. New York and Virginia are among the states that do not allow any bets on in-state colleges, regardless of whether someone is betting in person or on a mobile app.

But states like Louisiana, Kansas and Michigan do not have restrictions around in-state college teams, according to the AGA’s database, and their AP Top 25 football programs have not announced any major sports wagering penalties from the NCAA.

“I can't imagine we're the only state where college kids bet,” Ferentz said. “I just can't imagine that. I mean, seriously, it's like rounding up 20-year-olds that had a beer. That would fill Kinnick, I know that.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com