The NCAA has imposed penalties on five current or former individuals.
Iowa State
members of the football support team who collectively placed over 6,200 online bets amounting to more than $100,000 on professional and collegiate matches, which included both men’s and women’s basketball games featuring the Cyclones.
The identification of the five was made during a
government probe into gambling on sporting events
at university sports venues between 2021 and 2023. They have not faced any criminal charges.
Last week, Jace Heacock, Chase Clark, Michael Dryer, Kyle Highland, and Mason Williams reached an agreement where they admitted to violating NCAA rules regarding sports betting. As a result of this acknowledgment, each faces a one-year show-cause penalty lasting until April 24, 2026.
Each of the five individuals employed by another institution’s athletics program must cover their expenses for attending the yearly NCAA Regional Rules Workshop and undergo a two-week suspension during the show-cause period.
The athletic department at Iowa State chose not to comment on the matter on Friday.
The NCAA categorized the infractions as Level II concerning those implicated, indicating these breaches have the potential to undermine the integrity of the NCAA’s collegiate framework.
Jon Heacock’s son, who served as a football graduate assistant from 2021 to 2022, was reinstated as the director of football analytics on April 24. The Iowa State University athletics webpage detailing his background made no reference to his employment status for the years 2023 and 2024. Investigations revealed that he had placed approximately 787 bets amounting to around $55,359.
Clark, former assistant director of football equipment operations, placed 2,305 bets totaling about $18,676, including 46 bets on ISU men’s and women’s basketball. He now is an assistant equipment manager for the Detroit Lions.
Dryer, who previously handled equipment operations, made 1,182 wagers amounting to approximately $11,536, which included 25 bets on both ISU’s men’s and women’s basketball games. According to his LinkedIn profile, he pursued a career in sales at a sports goods firm following his tenure at Iowa State.
Highland, who previously worked as an assistant for football recruitment operations, made a total of 509 wagers amounting to approximately $6,365, which included eight bets on both the Iowa State University men’s and women’s basketball teams. Currently, he serves as the Assistant Director of Football Operations for the Army team.
Williams, former associate for athletics equipment operations, placed 1,455 bets totaling about $11,679, including 12 bets on ISU men’s and women’s basketball.
The state’s Department of Criminal Investigation handed over the identities of the five individuals to Iowa State authorities as part of their probe into illegal online gambling involving minors at colleges within the state.
Dozens of athletes at Iowa and Iowa State
were caught in the sting and charged with, among other things, underage gambling and identity theft.
A majority of the athletes admitted guilt and settled with fines; remaining individuals had their charges dropped. Over three dozen athletes have participated collectively in this case.
lawsuit filed against the DCI
, claiming the agency breached their rights and tarnished their reputations.
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The narrative has been updated to eliminate an inaccurate work location for Williams.
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AP college football:
https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
and
https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
