The former University of Alabama baseball coach caught in a betting scandal was handed a 15-year show-cause penalty by the NCAA while an Indiana man who tried to capitalize on Brad Bohannon’s actions is facing legal troubles.
Following an investigation, the NCAA announced Thursday that Bohannon violated the wagering and ethical conduct rules, considered a Level 1 infraction, by passing along inside information to a known bettor in April 2023.
Bohannon, who was fired by Alabama in May 2023, refused to cooperate with the investigation or turn in documents and electronic devices, which are also NCAA violations.
Bohannon was hit with a three-year probation. The show-cause penalty means any school that hires Bohannon would face potential NCAA penalties. Bohannon was also fined $5,000, and if he does work in college baseball again, he will be suspended for five regular seasons.
The NCAA’s punishment is close to a lifetime ban as it makes little sense for any baseball program to hire Bohannon again.
The NCAA also ruled that Alabama must provide gambling-harm education to players, coaches, and athletic administrators.
"Integrity of games is of the utmost importance to NCAA members, and the panel is deeply troubled by Bohannon's unethical behavior," said Vince Nicastro, deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of the Big East and chief hearing officer for the panel. "Coaches, student-athletes and administrators have access to information deemed valuable to those involved in betting. Improperly sharing that information for purposes of sports betting cuts to the heart of the honesty and sportsmanship we expect of our members and is particularly egregious when shared by those who have the ability to influence the outcome of games."
The message
The NCAA investigation found that Bohannon contacted the known sports bettor Bert Neff Jr. and told him about Alabama’s starting lineup change hours before the game against LSU.
According to the NCAA, Bohannon texted this to Neff: “(Student-athlete) is out for sure … Lemme know when I can tell (the opposing team) … Hurry.”
Neff then used that information, which was passed along on a messaging app seen on the sportsbook's surveillance video, to wager $100,000 on LSU at the Great American Ballpark’s BetMGM Sportsbook.
The Cincinnati, Ohio, retail sportsbook only allowed Neff to bet $15,000, even after he persisted in betting more and told sportsbook employees that LSU “was for sure going to win” and “if you only knew what I knew.”
The game was flagged for suspicious activity and all Alabama baseball games were removed from the betting board by the Ohio Casino Control Commission. Several other states followed by prohibiting Crimson Tide wagering.
Cover-up attempt
Neff was charged this week with obstructing a federal grand jury investigation in the Northern District of Alabama, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Neff filed a plea agreement Wednesday to plead guilty to one charge of obstruction. He faces up to 10 years in prison, three years supervised, and a $250,000 fine, according to WVTM in Birmingham, Ala.
According to the DOJ, Neff tried to cover up his involvement in the Ohio betting scandal by destroying his cell phone, encouraging witnesses to do the same and delete messaging apps, and providing false statements to investigators.
Neff’s son played baseball at the University of Cincinnati, and while it’s unknown if Neff bet on Bearcats baseball games, the school did fire two staff members who reportedly had ties to Neff.
