The NCAA revoked the eligibility of six men’s college basketball players for allegations of sports betting on Friday in three separate cases at New Orleans, Mississippi Valley and Arizona State.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions released findings from an investigation that concluded Cedquavious Hunter, Dyquavian Short, Jamond Vincent, Donovan Sanders, Alvin Stredic and Chatton “BJ” Freeman either manipulated their performances to lose games, not cover bet lines or ensure certain prop bets were reached, or provided information that enabled others to do so during the 2024-25 regular season.
The development comes as the sporting world contends with mounting scrutiny over betting. Nearly three dozen people were arrested last month, including an NBA player and coach, for what federal law enforcement officials described as their involvement in various illicit gambling activities. Just this week, UFC President and CEO Dana White said he was in touch with the FBI regarding a match that involved unusual betting patterns.
For its part, the NCAA said last month it was investigating at least 30 current or former players for gambling allegations. The NCAA also banned three college basketball players in September for betting on their own games at Fresno State and San Jose State.
The violations at New Orleans against Hunter, Short and Vincent came to light after the NCAA received a tip about game manipulation. The NCAA said a student-athlete overheard the three players discuss a third party placing a bet on their game against McNeese State on Dec. 28, 2024. New Orleans lost 86-61.
That same student-athlete reported that during a timeout near the end of the game, Short instructed him not to score any more points. New Orleans suspended all three student-athletes for the remainder of the season while it investigated the allegations.
The NCAA investigation showed that the three players manipulated their performances in seven games from December through January to lose by more points than the spread for that game.
The violations against Freeman were uncovered when the NCAA reviewed text messages involving Mykell Robinson, who played at Fresno State. Records on Robinson’s phone indicated that on four separate occasions between November and December 2024, Freeman knowingly provided information to Robinson, who was betting on Freeman through daily fantasy sports accounts.
Freeman also knowingly provided information on at least two occasions to his then-girlfriend, who was also betting on Freeman.
The NCAA reached out to an integrity monitoring service to review Mississippi Valley games after a related, but separate NBA gambling ring that was uncovered earlier this year showed potential ties to college basketball, including the school.
The service indicated betting trends for the Mississippi Valley games on Jan. 6 against Alabama A&M were suspicious. Mississippi Valley lost 79-67.
During an interview with the NCAA, a men’s basketball student-athlete said that before the team’s Dec. 21, 2024, game, he overhead Sanders on the phone with an unknown third party talking about “throwing the game.”
Sanders asked the student-athlete to participate in the call because the third party had told Sanders the individual intended to bet on the game and wanted to know that another of Sanders’ teammates would participate in the scheme.
The student-athlete denied altering his performance or receiving money from Sanders or any other individuals. Sanders texted the same student-athlete after that game and told him to delete their messages.
During a second interview, Sanders could not explain the student-athlete’s account of the events or the text messages. He did say, however, that he and Stredic were offered money to throw the team’s Jan. 6 game by another anonymous caller, who instructed them to perform poorly in the first half.
The enforcement staff demonstrated 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.
This all comes in the wake of the NCAA potentially allowing student athletes and staff to bet on professional sports. It was originally approved by all three Divisions and was set to go into effect on Nov. 1, but late last month the Division I Board voted to delay the start date until Nov. 22.
A rarely used rule allows 30 days for each Division I school to vote to rescind a proposal if it is adopted by less than 75% of the Division I cabinet. Even if the rule passes, no college sports are allowed to be bet on by players.
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