NCAA penalties for the University of Iowa athletes who violated sports betting rules are beginning to roll in this week.
Iowa’s athletic department issued a statement Tuesday sharing that official determinations on the 11 current student-athletes facing investigation have been handed out, although the specifics of those suspensions weren’t made public by the university.
“The University of Iowa and the UI Athletics Department have been working cooperatively with the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement (SAR) staff to determine the eligibility of student-athletes who were involved in sports wagering,” the statement said. “The institution has received the SAR determinations for the 11 individuals who are current student-athletes.”
Noah Shannon, a starting defensive lineman on the football team, received a year-long suspension from the NCAA. That news came out Wednesday, as head coach Kirk Ferentz addressed the suspension with the media. Shannon, who was not one of the Iowa football players criminally charged in the wagering investigation, plans to appeal the suspension.
The university cited privacy laws as the reason for not sharing player information in its statement. Shannon willingly made his suspension public.
“Because this information is protected through the Family Education Right and Privacy Act (FERPA), specific information will only be released once we have received the student’s consent. NCAA guidelines set forth a process for an appeal of the SAR staff’s decision,” the statement said. “The University will support student-athletes choosing to move forward with this process.”
Ferentz fired up
Ferentz spoke with the media Wednesday, and he shared that five Iowa football players are facing consequences from the gambling probe. Two players are facing “serious consequences, potentially,” two players are facing suspensions, and another player — Shannon — is appealing a suspension.
Kicker Aaron Blom and wide receiver Jack Johnson face criminal charges in the investigation.
Iowa’s head coach said he understands consequences for players impacting game integrity, but Shannon is not alleged to have wagered on Iowa football. Ferentz doesn’t feel Shannon’s infractions are worth missing an entire season.
“In Noah’s case, he has not committed a crime at all,” Ferentz told The Athletic. “So nothing criminal. I just feel like it’s a little bit harsh to me personally, and I’m hopeful that they’ll reconsider his case. … I know he bet on one of our other sports teams here, and I understand that may be a bad thing.”
Unfortunately for Shannon, recently tweaked NCAA rules give the longest suspensions to players who wager on their own team or their own college’s teams, even if they don’t play the sport they wager on. Theoretically, players could have inside knowledge of other athletic programs on campus, giving them an unfair advantage when wagering.
Shannon could have received a permanent loss of collegiate eligibility from the NCAA for wagering on any University of Iowa sporting event.
Kirk shared some commentary on how Iowa and Iowa State are the only 2 schools being investigated
"I find it highly unusual that were two major universities affected in the whole country"
"We could probably fill Kinnick with all the college athletes that have gambled" pic.twitter.com/kzQgtJwLYM
— Blake Hornstein (@BlakeHornTV) August 23, 2023
Ferentz, in addition to hoping Shannon’s appeal lessens his suspension, voiced frustrations over the NCAA probe focusing heavily on Iowa and Iowa State violations. The Cyclones, like the Hawkeyes, will be without key pieces this season due to wagering violations. Iowa State has yet to share any specific NCAA penalties given to its athletes.
“I can’t imagine that these are the only two universities that have students gambling,” Ferentz said.
He suggested the number of student-athletes who have gambled nationwide could fill Kinnick Stadium, which seats nearly 70,000.
