The growing U.S. sports landscape has seen leagues occasionally having to crack down on athletes and coaches violating gambling policies. That was the case on Tuesday when the NCAA announced sanctions against a former women’s basketball coach at the University of the South (also known as Sewanee for the city in Tennessee where the school is located) for betting on sports.
The coach wasn’t named in the report but the sanctions are believed to be directed toward Brody Curry, who coached the Lady Tigers in 2023 and was placed on leave from the university in April. An NCAA Division III Committee on Infractions hearing panel passed down the punishment as part of a report on allegations of gambling against Curry.
“Given the prevalence of sports wagering activities on college campuses, it is arguably even more important that those closest to student-athletes refrain from such behaviors to protect student-athletes,” the committee noted in the decision.
Details on the Case
The NCAA noted that the former coach violated NCAA sports betting and ethical conduct rules by making $93,000 in bets on college and pro sports over a 26-month period. The violations also put Curry In violation of head coach responsibility rules. The report noted that the school, head coach, and enforcement staff agreed with the findings in the report.
Investigators noted that Curry placed 407 bets on college sports totaling $28,000 and that 20 of those were on women’s college basketball games, but not on his own team.
“The violations came to light in March 2023 when the Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council informed the university about Curry’s sports wagering activities,” CBS Sports reported.
The committee handed out several punishments in the case including one year of probation for the university and a $1,500 fine. The punishment also includes a two-year show-cause order for the former head coach.
During this process, the university is required to provide the head coach with individual monthly rules education during the two-year probationary period. If Curry becomes employed during the show-cause period, he will also be suspended for the first five regular-season games during his first season of employment.
The NCAA is also mandating that a member of the Sewanee athletics department staff must attend the 2024 and 2025 NCAA Regional Rules Seminars.
Members of the Committee on Infractions are drawn from the NCAA membership and members of the public. The members of the panel who reviewed the Sewanee case included: Tom Di Camillo, commissioner of the State University of New York Athletic Conference; Kenneth Elmore, president of Dean College; Donna Ledwin, chair of the committee and commissioner of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference; and Tom Simmons, athletics director at Ohio Northern.
Other leagues have also faced similar issues in recent months including the NFL and NHL. Several NFL players were suspended in gambling-related cases leading up to the 2023-24 season.
