The NCAA Committee on Infractions has determined that six former Division I men’s basketball players committed betting-related game manipulation and/or provided information to known bettors. The cases involved student-athletes who played for Arizona State, Mississippi State, and New Orleans universities. The NCAA said all three cases involved a lack of cooperation by student-athletes, who knowingly provided false or misleading information to investigators.
It has been determined that all six individuals violated the ethical conduct rules, resulting in permanent ineligibility. Cedquavious Hunter, Dyauavian Short, and Jamond Vincent all previously played for New Orleans. Donovan Sanders and Alvin Stredic are former Mississippi Valley student-athletes, while Chatton “B.J.” Freeman was an Arizona State student-athlete.
The NCAA Enforcement had been investigating these cases over the last several months. Cases regarding the unnamed student-athletes from Temple, Eastern Michigan, and North Carolina AT&T remain open. The NCAA has released additional details regarding the three former New Orleans basketball players.
According to last week’s findings released by the NCAA, a student-athlete reported overhearing Hunter, Short, and Vincent discussing a third party placing a bet for them on their December 28, 2024, game. That same student-athlete reported that during a timeout near the end of the game, Short instructed him not to score any more points. The school suspended all three players for the remainder of the season.
The investigation uncovered text messages on Vincent’s phone in which he texted three third parties with instructions to bet on that December 28 game because he and his teammates planned to “Throw the game.” Short’s phone included a text exchange between Short and Hunter, in which they discussed receiving $5,000. In total, the enforcement staff’s investigation demonstrated that Hunter, Short, and Vincent manipulated their performances for the purposes of financially benefiting themselves and others in seven games from December through January.
With the Mississippi Valley student-athletes, the integrity monitor indicated that betting trends for the school’s January 6 game were suspicious. The NCAA enforcement staff contacted Mississippi Valley to start the investigation. During the process, Sanders said that he and Stredic were offered money to throw the game in question by an anonymous caller, who instructed them to perform poorly in the first half.
The enforcement staff determined that Sanders knowingly provided information to a third party for the purposes of sports betting for two games and Stredic did the same for one game.
The violations against Freeman, the former ASU student-athlete, are tied to text messages that the enforcement staff uncovered between him and former Fresno State student-athlete Mykell Robinson. Records on Robinson’s phone indicated that there were four separate occasions between November and December of last year that Freeman knowingly provided information to Robinson.
It was determined that Robinson was betting on Freeman through daily fantasy sports accounts. Additionally, there were at least two occasions Freeman knowingly provided information to his then-girlfriend, who was begging on Freeman as well.
Sports betting has been in the NCAA spotlight over the last several weeks as a result of a policy change. In October, the NCAA Division I Administrative Committee adopted a proposal that would allow student-athletes and athletics department staff members to bet on pro sports. The Division II and III management councils approved the proposal. It was originally slated to become effective on November 1, but it’s now delayed until November 22.
Last week, NCAA President Charlie Baker received a letter from Congress regarding the policy change. It included a request by the Committee for the NCAA to submit a briefing by the end of this week.
Either way, betting on college sports, including player props, will remain banned.
