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The NCAA confirmed it is pursuing sports betting violations involving 13 former men’s basketball student-athletes who competed at six Division I schools, with Eastern Michigan being one. The others include Temple, Arizona State, University of New Orleans, North Carolina A&T, and Mississippi Valley State.
This announcement arrives amid escalating concerns about irregular wagering patterns that compromise the integrity of college basketball.
The NCAA enforcement staff outlined a range of alleged transgressions. Those include:
- Athletes betting on or against their own teams
- Sharing inside information with third parties for wagering purposes
- Intentionally manipulating game outcomes
- Refusing to cooperate with investigations
The state currently operates 12 legal online sportsbooks.
Schools are not involved in wrongdoing
Crucially, none of the schools, including Eastern Michigan, are alleged to have been involved in wrongdoing. Only the former student-athletes are, and the NCAA is not seeking penalties against any institutions.
Eastern Michigan’s appearance in the NCAA’s list comes shortly after sports betting integrity firms flagged two EMU games this past season for suspicious betting activity, particularly involving first-half spreads.
A Jan. 14 matchup with Central Michigan was flagged after a bettor attempted to place their “largest wager to date” on Central to cover the first-half spread. The bet was placed from out-of-state accounts in Connecticut and Tennessee. Oddly, the first-half spread jumped from CMU –3.5 to CMU –6.5 close to tip-off.
Another flagged game was a Dec. 21 contest versus Wright State, where betting patterns on the first half appeared erratic.
Eastern Michigan authorities responded by confirming awareness of the alerts. It worked with the Mid-American Conference and relevant integrity partners to review the matters.
Now, as the NCAA escalates its investigations into alleged betting violations, the inclusion of Eastern Michigan underscores a growing emphasis on monitoring competitive integrity across all levels of college sports.
With these 13 ongoing cases now public, NCAA President Charlie Baker reaffirmed the NCAA’s commitment to rigorous enforcement and urged regulators, gaming operators, and sports leagues to tighten controls, especially around prop bets and other wagering markets that increase vulnerability to misconduct.
