KU Jayhawks coach Bill Self weighs in on gambling scandal rocking college hoops
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Federal indictment names 39 players, 17 Division I teams, 29 fixed games.
- Authorities say fixers paid $10K–$30K, bettors won millions on rigged games.
- NCAA opens integrity probes; Baker urges states to ban prop bets and protect sport.
College basketball on Thursday was rocked by the news of a point-shaving scandal involving 39 players on 17 NCAA Division I teams fixing at least 29 games.
The games — none involving Big 12 players or coaches — were part of a gambling ring that, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday in Pennsylvania, was in place for the past two seasons.
Schools named in the indictment: Abilene Christian, Alabama State, Buffalo, Coppin State, DePaul, Eastern Michigan, Fordham, Kennesaw State, La Salle, New Orleans, Nicholls State, North Carolina A&T, Northwestern State, Robert Morris, Saint Louis, Southern Miss and Tulane.
According to ESPN, 20 of 26 defendants played during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. Four of the players charged — Simeon Cottle (Kennesaw State), Carlos Hart (Eastern Michigan), Camian Shell (Delaware State) and Oumar Koureissi (Texas Southern) — have played for their current teams in the past week.
According to ESPN, allegations against Hart, Shell and Koureissi come from their previous schools. Cottle’s alleged involvement occurred in the 2023-24 season. None of the allegations against the players stemmed from games played this season.
According to ESPN’s David Purdum, “authorities described five defendants as fixers, who recruited players to participate in the scheme and offered bribes ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 to intentionally underperform. The bettors then placed and won millions of dollars in wagers on the fixed games, according to prosecutors.”
KU coach Bill Self was asked Thursday for his reaction to the scandal during a news conference held to discuss Friday’s KU-Baylor game, set for a 7 p.m. tipoff inside Allen Fieldhouse.
“I think coaches in America would be very shocked if this did not occur in some form or fashion the way the laws and the rules are now, that’s different than it’s ever been,” Self said.
“There’s a lot of great things going on out there, but a lot of great things no matter what, also have some unintended consequences that go along with them too. And by no means is there an excuse. By no means, are you condoning. By no means, any of that stuff. But the reality of it is when it’s so prevalent in day to day life now, that you could probably anticipate it being more widespread than what it ever has been.”
NCAA president Charlie Baker issued a statement regarding sports betting indictments in college athletics. Preceding the statement at NCAA.org was the comment that “the NCAA runs one of the largest integrity monitoring programs in the world and has implored states to eliminate prop bets because of the integrity risks those bets pose. The Association also has no commercial partnership with any betting company of any kind.”
Baker’s statement: “Our enforcement staff has opened sports betting integrity investigations into approximately 40 student-athletes from 20 schools over the past year. While some of the investigations are ongoing, 11 student-athletes from seven schools were recently found to have bet on their own performances, shared information with known bettors, and/or engaged in game manipulation to collect on bets they — or others — placed.
“This behavior resulted in a permanent loss of NCAA eligibility for all of them. Additionally, 13 student-athletes from eight schools (including some of those identified Thursday) were found to have failed to cooperate in the sports betting integrity investigation by providing false or misleading information, failing to provide relevant documentation and/or refusing to be interviewed by the enforcement staff. None of them are competing today.
“The Association has and will continue to aggressively pursue sports betting violations in college athletics using a layered integrity monitoring program that covers over 22,000 contests, but we still need the remaining states, regulators and gaming companies to eliminate threats to integrity — such as collegiate prop bets — to better protect athletes and leagues from integrity risks and predatory bettors. We also will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement. We urge all student-athletes to make well-informed choices to avoid jeopardizing the game and their eligibility.”
According to ESPN, Baker on Thursday “sent a letter to state gambling regulators asking for laws to be adjusted to better protect players and the integrity of the games, specifically calling for the elimination of prop betting.”
ESPN’s Pete Thamel gave some examples of some of the wagers listed in the indictment: Approximately $458,000 on Towson to beat UNC A&T; approximately $424,000 on Kent State to cover the first-half spread against Buffalo; $275,000 on South Alabama to cover the first-half spread of against Southern Miss; $256,000 on Northern Kentucky to cover the first-half spread against Robert Morris.; approximately $ 161,000 on Louisiana-Lafayette to cover the first-half spread against Southern Miss.
Also noted, according to Thamel, was a wager of $168,300 on the Guangdong Southern Tigers; an attempted $50,000 wager at a casino in Kentucky on Southern Mississippi to beat Alabama State; a $30,000 first-half line wager on St. Bonaventure over La Salle; $52,395 on St. John’s to cover the first-half spread against DePaul; and approximately $50,000 on Purdue F.W. to cover the first-half spread against Robert Morris.
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf in a news conference said: “Victims in this case span every sector of American life. The fans, the honest athletes, the teammates of these players who are working their tail off. ... Everyone is victimized by that.”
This story was originally published January 15, 2026 at 6:13 PM with the headline "KU Jayhawks coach Bill Self weighs in on gambling scandal rocking college hoops."
