The sports betting scandal that rocked both the University of Iowa and Iowa State University earlier this summer has now brought some official charges being filed. While there are a number of student-athletes that are a part of this investigation, Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers is the biggest name that has been released.
Dekkers is expected to be done with his college football playing career after he allegedly wagered on a number of football games. The initial charges are tampering with records related to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations.
The Des Moines Register has been on top of this story since it first broke, and it has revealed that Dekkers was just 20 years old when all of the wagers were placed. According to the story, Dekker received help from his parents in an attempt to cover up the wagers, but the truth has now gotten out.
Dekkers was supposed to be the starting quarterback for the Cyclones this season, and that would have been his second year under center. He has announced that he was skipping preseason training camp, and he allegedly wagered on games in which he played in.
Another ISU football player, Dodge Sauser, was also charged with the same crime, and this was another scenario in which he wagered on games that he was playing in. While it appears that the Iowa State football team will be hit the hardest from the scandal, there was also a big name at the University of Iowa involved as well.
Ahron Ulis was a starter last season with the Iowa Hawkeyes basketball team, and he has since transferred to Nebraska. It’s not likely that he will ever be able to suit up for the Cornhuskers, as he is being charged with illegal wagering as well.
The NCAA has not yet commented on this story as it continues to gather data. New rules were implemented in relation to student-athlete gambling as the NCAA wants to keep this from happening, but it will also hand down some big penalties.
Alabama Coach Fired
The problems at Iowa and Iowa State were not the first issues that the NCAA had to deal with when it comes to sports betting. Things really got bad during the SEC baseball season when wagers started pouring in on the Alabama baseball team.
Ohio was one of the states that actually pulled games featuring the Alabama Crimson Tide team from the approved list of wagers after it was discovered that there were some strange things going on. An investigation was launched quickly by Alabama, and they ultimately dismissed head coach Brad Bohannon after it was revealed that he was relaying information to a bettor.
Problems in NFL As Well
The NCAA is not the only group that is dealing with problems with sports wagering as it has had to suspend ten different players since last year, and some are going to be out for an entire year. One of those was Eyioma Uwazurike of the Denver Broncos; he was once a star player at Iowa State.
Even though players in the NFL are of legal gambling age, the league still has rules in place that prevents active players from making any bets on sporting events.
