NCAA Announces Penalties For Ex-Alabama Coach Brad Bohannon In Betting Scandal

Image credit: Brad Bohannon (Courtesy Alabama athletics)

The NCAA’s Division I Committee on Infractions on Thursday announced penalties stemming from the betting scandal last spring that led to the firing of Alabama coach Brad Bohannon.

Bohannon was fired May 4, 2023, following reports of irregular gambling surrounding a game between Alabama and LSU on April 28, 2023. Casino monitors flagged suspicious activity at a sportsbook in Cincinnati and determined that Bohannon and a bettor had been in communication. The Crimson Tide scratched its starting pitcher about an hour before first pitch of the game in question.

Thursday’s NCAA report revealed further details of the incident and outlined the penalties for Bohannon and Alabama. The penalties are much harsher for Bohannon, who did not participate in the investigation. The NCAA assessed a 15-year show-cause order against him and if he is employed by a member institution during that time, he is suspended for the first five seasons. Alabama was fined $5,000 and will be on probation for three years. It also is required to provide a gambling harm and student-athlete education program for all athletes, coaches and staff in the department.

The NCAA report further detailed the incident, showing that Bohannon had been in communication through Signal (an encrypted messaging application) with the bettor and knew that person was gambling. Bohannon told the bettor that the starting pitcher was going to be scratched due to back tightness and that he had not yet told the LSU staff or made the information public, enabling the bettor to make a bet before a potential change in the odds for the game.

The bettor attempted to make a $100,000 bet on the game. When the sportsbook limited the bet to $15,000, he tried to place additional bets, which were declined. According to the NCAA report, the bettor even showed the sportsbook staff the messages he received from Bohannon in an effort to convince them to let him place the bet.

The NCAA report comes one day after Bert Neff was charged with destroying evidence, tampering with witnesses and providing false statements to the FBI in the case involving suspicious wagering in the Alabama-LSU game.

Prosecutors allege Neff received information from an individual employed by the baseball team of an Alabama university—identified as Individual-1 in the charges—informing him that the starting pitcher for the game would be out. Neff, an Indiana native, allegedly then disseminated that information to other individuals who wagered on the game.

There has never been any evidence that any athletes were involved in the incident.