Cincinnati Baseball Staff Fired for NCAA Wagering Violations

• Two University of Cincinnati baseball staff members were dismissed after findings from an NCAA investigation.
• The two coaches reportedly knew about a player’s parent placing wagers on the game, but failed to report it to the NCAA.

CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati has joined the crowd of universities with sports betting issues following the firing of two baseball coaches. Cincinnati Athletics began an investigation for “potential NCAA infractions” involving the university’s baseball program and have since fired the coaches following initial findings.

According to local news source Fox 19, Director of Baseball Operations Andy Nagel and Assistant Coach Kyle Sprague were aware of wagers placed by a player’s parent.

NCAA violations of the Cincinnati baseball staff members are not the same as the Alabama sports betting scandal, or recent NCAA violations from other universities.

The University of Alabama head coach was reported to be in contact with a bettor, while student-athletes from Iowa State University and the University of Iowa are currently under investigation for placing sports wagers themselves.

With the University of Cincinnati, the NCAA violations come from staff members keeping quiet about sports betting violations occurring off the field with a parent, creating a new problem for the NCAA to consider. The NCAA policy states that staff members who are aware of an NCAA violation must report it to the athletic department, or the NCAA.

Staff members, coaches, players, agents, or anyone else involved with an NCAA program are prohibited from sharing information that hasn’t already been made public. Although the violations committed by members of the Cincinnati baseball staff didn’t alter the competitive integrity of a game, they were aware of a situation and failed to report it to the NCAA.

Without further comments from the University of Cincinnati and the NCAA, there is no evidence that the staff members were sharing information with a bettor, only that they were aware that betting infractions were occurring.

The legal Ohio sports betting regulator, the Casino Control Commission, is aware of the investigation results at the University of Cincinnati and will not be conducting an investigation of their own.

News tags: Alabama Crimson Tide | Baseball | Cincinnati Bearcats | Iowa Hawkeyes | Iowa State Cyclones | NCAA