Bruce Pearl’s future at Auburn; Billy Lange leaves St. Joe’s for the Knicks; NCAA busts/bans three players for fixing their own stat lines last season

Summary

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Eye On College Basketball — September 11, 2025

Episode Theme:
Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander break down Bruce Pearl’s rumored political future, Billy Lange’s sudden departure from St. Joe’s to join the Knicks, and the major NCAA bans for three players fixed their own stat lines in a sports gambling scandal. The episode is rich in insider analysis and broader commentary on the intersection of college basketball, career choices, and the growing threat posed by legalized gambling.

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Bruce Pearl’s Future at Auburn and Political Rumors

[01:12–09:47]

Discussion Highlights:

• Senate Speculation:
  An article in Jewish Insider sparked rumors that Bruce Pearl, the outspoken Auburn coach, might run for Alabama’s soon-to-be vacant Senate seat. Norlander quickly quashes the idea, stating he was told months ago Pearl had no true intention to run, despite his public coyness.

• Pearl’s Outspokenness:
  Both hosts discuss Pearl as college basketball’s most outspoken coach on social media, especially on topics like Israel and his Jewish faith. This has made him a controversial figure, but Norlander points out it hasn’t harmed Pearl’s career or recruiting as some might think.

  “He is the most outspoken college coach on social media … and that has obviously brought him a lot of adulation from one side and a lot of dislike from the other side. But he is his authentic, genuine self.”
  — Matt Norlander [02:16]

• Effect on Professionalism:
  Parrish notes Pearl’s personality hasn’t interfered with his duties or the media’s coverage and emphasizes a lesson about judging people beyond politics:

  “If Bruce Pearl and you only knew each other from social media … we might not think we have much in common or like each other at all… But that’s a man I enjoy. It’s a man I like. It’s a man I have a, a good relationship with…”
  — Gary Parrish [06:21]

• Retirement Timeline:
  Pearl has indicated he won’t coach into his 70s, with Norlander speculating he may only have 1–2 years left:

  “Pearl’s got probably maximum two more years of coaching in college basketball… If you told me that it was only one, I’d believe you.”
  — Matt Norlander [02:56]

• Legacy:
  Pearl is on track to retire as the greatest coach in history at both Tennessee and Auburn. Auburn is enjoying its best era ever under his leadership.

Timestamped Notable Moment:

• [09:47] “He is arguably going to go down in history, at least when he retires, as the greatest coach at two different SEC schools.” — Gary Parrish

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Coaching News: Billy Lange Leaves St. Joe’s for the Knicks

[12:58–19:49]

Discussion Highlights:

• Surprising Move:
  Billy Lange leaves St. Joseph’s just before his seventh season to join the Knicks staff, replaced immediately by Steve Donahue (fresh off being fired from Penn).

• Motivation for Departure:
  Both hosts agree Lange was likely facing dismissal after six underwhelming seasons (no NCAA tournament, 81–104 record), and the Knicks’ offer presented a strategic “escape hatch.”

  “I think this is an escape route. Billy Lange was unquestionably on the hot seat heading into this season… So he goes and he’s going to join Mike Brown’s staff … with the Knicks.”
  — Matt Norlander [13:21]

• Program Instability and Fan Base:
  St. Joe’s has been “adrift” since Phil Martelli and is now a decade removed from its last NCAA bid, with many alumni frustrated.

  “…with your history, you should consistently be one of the five or six best programs in a league with 14-plus schools. And that is not what St. Joe’s has been for the majority of the past decade.”
  — Matt Norlander [14:57]

• Donahue’s Challenge:
  The new coach, Steve Donahue, must rapidly turn things around or face another coaching search. A “middling” season (16–20 wins without a tournament spot) likely won’t be enough.

• Smart Career Move Comparison:
  Parrish compares it to Greg McDermott leaving Iowa State for Creighton, emphasizing taking a secure NBA position over an almost-certain firing.

  “So the Knicks call … They offer a nice parachute. You take it because, like, what is the point? Stop killing yourself trying to win when the odds are stacked against you. Come fly in our private plane, stay in our five-star hotels and be a part of an Eastern Conference contender. It just seems like a less stressful, more enjoyable life.”
  — Gary Parrish [17:25]

Timestamped Notable Moments:

• [17:25] Billy Lange’s pragmatic career decision analogy by Parrish.
• [15:05] Discussion of how far St. Joe's has fallen from its once-proud standing.

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NCAA Suspends Three Players for Stat-Fixing in Sports Gambling Scandal

[20:29–32:15]

Discussion Highlights:

• The News:
  The NCAA permanently banned three players (from Fresno State and San Jose State) for conspiring to manipulate their own stats and profit from prop bets on games they played in.

• Details of the Scheme:
  Matt Norlander recounts the NCAA’s official statement and investigative findings:

  • Players texted each other about “underperforming” to hit prop bet unders.
  • One player’s mother was involved in facilitating payouts.
  • Winnings were shared—$15,950 distributed among co-conspirators on one notable bet.

  “As part of a coordinated effort, the student athletes bet on their own games, won another’s games and/or provided information that enabled others to do so … Two of the student athletes then manipulated their performances to ensure that certain bets were won.”
  — NCAA official statement read by Matt Norlander [22:10]

• Integrity at Stake:
  Norlander and Parrish stress the existential threat gambling scandals pose:

  “Once the perception of any given league or sports competition is subject to real speculation or doubt … then it all falls apart. Because if you don’t have genuine honest competition, what do you have? You don’t have anything.”
  — Matt Norlander [27:40]

• Broader Fallout and Federal Cases:
  There are ongoing federal investigations into similar activities at other mid- and low-majors. Pat Forde (SI) reports “There are going to be charges, it’s going to be national in scope, it’s going to involve multiple players and programs.” [25:52]

• Why Mid-Majors?
  Parrish points out that athletes targeted so far tend to be lower paid and thus more vulnerable to illicit inducements.

  “I believe most of the schools, if not all … are mid majors or low majors where players by definition are going to have less money in their pocket.”
  — Gary Parrish [28:51]

• Prop Bets as the Problem:
  Both insist that “prop bets” (wagers on individual player stats) should be outlawed for college games, as they are the most easily manipulated.

  “They gotta be gone, Parrish. And the NCAA is lobbying for it now.”
  — Matt Norlander [29:50]

  “You gotta get the prop bets out of it.”
  — Gary Parrish [29:47]

Timestamped Notable Moments:

• [21:32–25:52] Norlander walks through the NCAA’s investigative findings, providing context for how quickly and thoroughly schemes are flagged by betting algorithms.
• [29:50–32:15] Strong advocacy for eliminating prop bets and explanation of how players manipulate them.

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Key Takeaways & Memorable Quotes

On Division in the Sport:

“In this day and age when, you know, politics are actually such a flammable topic ... He’s never let that interfere with, with the job that he has.”
— Matt Norlander [05:09]

On Career Choices:

“If you could be the coach at St. Joe’s and get it flipped ... maybe you’d like that over this. But that seemed unlikely at this point. So you parachute out and you know, thank God for the Knicks.”
— Gary Parrish [18:59]

On Integrity and Gambling:

“If you don’t have genuine honest competition, what do you have? You don’t have anything. You don’t have the public’s trust.”
— Matt Norlander [27:40]

On Eliminating Prop Bets:

“The way you could 100% get these scandals out of college athletics is take the prop bets out. If … nobody can make money on prop bets connected to low major and mid major players, then … players can’t get caught up in trying to manipulate college basketball games by hitting unders on prop bets.”
— Gary Parrish [31:22]

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Important Timestamps

• 01:12 — Bruce Pearl’s political rumors examined
• 05:09 — The effect of a coach’s online persona on recruiting
• 09:47 — Pearl’s legacy at SEC schools
• 12:58 — Billy Lange’s exit from St. Joe’s, Donahue’s appointment
• 15:05 — State of St. Joe’s basketball
• 17:25 — Coaching career calculus and NBA escape
• 20:29 — NCAA gambling scandal summary
• 21:32–25:52 — Timeline and mechanics of the stat-fixing investigation
• 29:50–32:15 — Advocacy for eliminating prop bets

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Overall Tone & Flow

This episode blends no-nonsense reporting with a conversational, personal vibe. Parrish and Norlander demonstrate candor and a deep industry knowledge, guiding listeners through not only the specifics of each story but also their bigger implications for the sport and its stakeholders. The tone is direct but occasionally reflective, especially regarding coaching careers and the human element behind headlines.

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For listeners and fans:
This episode is a must-hear if you care about where college hoops is headed—both on the sidelines and behind the scenes. The show covers headline news and digs into how modern trends like politicized social media and legalized gambling are reshaping the sport.

Transcript

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[Gary Parrish]

Hey there Gary Parish. Welcome back CBS Sports. I own college basketball podcast where we sometimes discuss camel fighting, dodo birds and leaky black. Matt Norlander is here with me. If you watch it on YouTube, you know what to do to the like button shouts to Brandon Davies. And if you haven't yet, subscribe to the CBS Sports college basketball YouTube channel. It would be awesome if you did that while you're here. Let's get into it. Not much of note has happened since we last got together earlier in the week, but there was an interesting report from a publication called the Jewish Insider stating that Auburn coach Bruce Pearl is quote, leaning against running for Alabama's soon to be vacant Senate seat. So Norlander, it appears Auburn will not lose its coach to politics, at least not yet. But tell me, how close do you think Auburn really was to maybe losing 65 year old BP in advance of, of this upcoming season to politics specifically?

[Matt Norlander]

I don't think, I don't think this was ever really like a real, real thing. I think Pearl has played a little bit coy. I mean I got told months ago that he was not going to actually go through with this and run to be a senator. Now I understand why and Bruce's case specifically, why this garners some intent, you know, some speculation. He's obviously not, he is the most, he's the most outspoken college coach on social media. I don't even know if we want to put that to college basketball. I think that's, I think that's fair and accurate to say he's extremely steadfast in his beliefs and that has obviously brought him a lot of adulation from one side and a lot of dislike from the other side. But he is his authentic, genuine self. And because of this, because he has not been able, not been afraid whatsoever to speak out on political issues, particularly as it pertains to Israel and his Jewish faith. That has led some to believe that he would be willing to potentially go into politics and run for Senate in a, in a cycle in which Tommy Tuberville is not going to seek reelection. But it has been indicated to me multiple times that this is not actually truly on the table, at least in this cycle. Never say never. He's 65 years old. I do think it's notable to at least discuss the fact that Pearl has been open about the fact he's not going to coach into his 70s. He recently joined John Rothstein show and indicated that he was not going to coach much longer. To me there's, there's enough on the wall here that would say to me that says that Pearl's got probably maximum two more years of coaching in college basketball. That's my speculation. If you told me that it was only one, I'd believe you. And frankly, we are not even a year moved from Tony Bennett doing what he did. I'm not going to predict that Bruce Pearl is going to up and retire before this, this season happens. But I wouldn't put it at, you know, 100 that he's going to coach. There's just enough out there that if and when he decides to step away, he'll have accomplished plenty in doing so, won more than 700 games as a D2 national championship and all of that. So that's my, that's my read. That's my intel on the situation. Bruce Pearl, barring a an extremely unexpected decision, is not going to be running for, for office here this year and, and doing so at the expense of the Auburn Tigers.

[Gary Parrish]

I had never thought about who is the most outspoken college coach on social media. But I can't argue with your assessment that it is probably a Bruce Pearl. And you're right, it brings adulation from one side. Disgust is perhaps too strong of a reward, but disappointment on the other. But I have noticed, at least I think I've noticed and found this interesting. It doesn't seem to negatively impact him in his job the way that some people might think that it would. Like I've heard other coaches say, man, you can't be out there saying some of this stuff, if you're trying to go into these homes and recruit these kids and it's going to come back to get you. And like, is there any evidence that it ever has?

[Matt Norlander]

No. I mean, who's to say, like, you know, whether or not there might have been a player or two that, that otherwise chose somewhere else? Because I have no idea. I've never asked. I don't know. But to the broadly what you're speaking at gp, I think that's, I think that's, that's fair to say and also I just don't just on a, on a reporting on the sport perspective here. Like, I don't know, Bruce Pearl's politics and his online social media behavior has never affected the way that he's been covered or how he does his job or my relationship with him, you know, college basketball reported to college basketball coach and all that, which I think is at least notable in this day and age when, you know, politics are actually such a flammable. Flammable topic there. But he is, he is, he has managed, I guess, as much as you could possibly ask him to. If he's going to be, if he's going to be that outspoken on certain things, he's never let that interfere with, with the job that he has. At least, as I'm only speaking it from my perspective, covering the sport and having dealt with him for well over a decade at this point, I think.

[Gary Parrish]

That'S an important point, particularly perhaps on a day like today. I don't know if you've been following the news, but it's been kind of crazy the past 24 hours. If Bruce Pearl and I, and I don't want to speak for you, but I think this is true. If Bruce Pearl and you only knew each other from social media, like, if we only knew each other from our computers, we might not think we have much in common or like each other at all. Like, I don't think Bruce Pearl is spending his nights watching the same stuff on TV that you watch at night or that I watch at night. And yet I echo what you say. I like Bruce Pearl every time I'm around them. I enjoy it. I enjoy talking to him. I, I don't want to speak for him. I think he likes me. And there's a lesson in there somewhere that even though we've gotten to a place in this country where it gets real ugly online and obviously it can get ugly in real life sometimes, and people sit around watching different networks at night and based on what you watch can help shape your your world viewpoints. And then you end up thinking you hate a bunch of people that you probably wouldn't even actually hate if you knew them in real life. You might just disagree with them on three or four or five issues. And like I, I just, Bruce is an example of that for me. He is very outspoken and, and, and, and two feet in, ten toes down on his beliefs. And I don't know how much of them I share with him. But, but, but take that, set it aside. Like that's a man I enjoy. It's a man I like. It's a man I have a, a good relationship with and could have dinner with tonight or coffee with in the morning and it would be perfectly cool. And I just think sometimes, particularly in times like this, maybe we should, you know, remind ourselves of that.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, no doubt about it. And as it speaks to overall his like job speculation, like there has been stuff, you know, just behind the scenes like, you know, would Bruce Pearl be stepping away before this upcoming season? This has been out there for a few months now, just kind of murmurs. I don't want to overstate it. So the news of him, you know, purportedly considering maybe running for Senate and not, you know, being asked about it at a local event in recent weeks and not outright saying no, it wouldn't happen like this, you know, kind of adds a little bit of fuel to the fire. And he's a hype, He's a. What I come down to on this is he's a high profile coach. He's probably one of the 10 most prominent coaches in college basketball, I think that's fair to say has been that way for the majority of his tenure since, I'd argue since, you know, 2007, 2008 or so. Essentially when he got Tennessee into that number one ranking back in the late aughts, he obviously had a very high profile severing from Tennessee and NCAA show cause, lying to the NC and all of that. Then he returns to Auburn. He brings this program to its highest heights in school history. And so he's 65. Is Bruce Pearl going to be the next high profile head coach to opt to leave college basketball and do so perhaps on an accelerated timeline? You know, he does want to, whenever he steps away, he even said he wants to step away when he still feels like he's at or near the top of his game, so to speak. And it seems like that's the way we're heading. Hopefully we get him for a couple more years there. He's obviously been a very, very good thing for Auburn. And who's to say what Auburn will be as soon as Bruce whenever Bruce decides to retire from coaching. Because right now they've got it about as good as they've ever had it.

[Gary Parrish]

He is arguably going to go down in history, at least when he retires as the greatest coach at two different SEC schools. Like that's I know you can argue the Tennessee thing, I don't think you can really argue the Auburn thing, but you can reasonably label him as the great coach in history at two different SEC programs. That's like, that's an amazing. Like, if that's the way you're described, you've. You've had an incredible career, so we'll see how many years is left in it. But you know, it does appear, at least for now, that Senate run speculation is has been dialed back a bit. Let's transition to some other coaching news. A10 development Billy Lang is leaving St. Joseph's he's going to be on the Knicks staff in the NBA. We'll get to that next. First though, let's get a word from our partner.

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[Gary Parrish]

Billy Lang is no longer the coach at St. Joseph's he has left to take a spot on the New York Knicks staff and Steve Donahue is going to replace him on Hawk Hill Norlander. First question, what's the best explanation for why Billy Lang left the ATN in September just shy of what would have been his seventh season at St. Joe's they're not good.

[Matt Norlander]

I think that's it. I think this is an escape hatch, an escape route. Billy Lang was unquestionably on the hot seat heading into this season. Was there six seasons, had a an 81 and 104 overall record. No NCAA tournament appearances. Best finish was this past season, tied for fifth in the A10. Has had a few players that have have been, you know, while at St. Joe's projected to be potential NBA level or near NBA level type talents and the results have not reflected that. So he goes and he's going to join Mike Brown's staff, I guess in a player development role with the Knicks. He's no stranger to the NBA. Billy Lang coached at Navy in the aughts and then he spent seven, eight seasons on staff with the Philadelphia 76ers before getting the St. Joe's job in 2019. And so we have our first coaching carousel move of, of the season. Now Donahue, who is 63, was just fired at Penn this past spring, was there for nine years. So he stays in city. Had joined the staff obviously earlier this spring. He is not the interim coach. He is, he has been named the next coach. He has, he has a multi year deal in place and you know, an unexpected coaching headline. Okay, the second week of September. I, I don't if, if Lang had, had had gotten himself a nice little paycheck to go to the NBA and wanted to get ahead of the posse, so to speak and go ahead and do that. That's his prerogative if he felt comfortable doing that. Knowing that Donahue would get promoted, he was. He was named the associate head coach when he joined the staff earlier this year and thought the program would be in as good if not a better place without him. More power to him. What as to what the players think about that remains to be seen. The players technically, although we are now in school starting so it's unlikely to happen technically, the players can go into the portal. Not that their coaches left. They have a 30 day window. Wouldn't expect anyone would leave. But it's college sports. Wilder things have certainly happened there. Big picture for me on St. Joe's real quick. This is a, this is a program that has been adrift. The ending of the Phil Martelli era was not good. Whether or not Martelli and St. Joe sort of ultimately had a split, I think it's still something that's up for debate in that very basketball invested city. Philadelphia is one of America's greatest sports cities because it, it cares as much about college sports and basketball in particular or nearly as much as it does all of its pro sports. Obviously we know what the Big Five means in that city and St. Joseph's alumni are extremely frustrated. I mean this upcoming season, if St. Joe's doesn't go to the tournament will mark 10 full years since St. Joe said an NCAA tournament team, period. They got to figure out their way here. The, the Atlantic 10 is a basketball first league. St. Joseph's should be. I'm not going to overstate it. I'm not going to say St. Joe's every year should be a top three team in that league. But you know, St. Joe's with your history like you should consistently be one of the five or six best programs in a league with 14 plus schools. And that is not what St. Joe's has been for the majority of the past decade. We'll see if Donahue can get it straightened out. We'll see if Donahue can be good enough this season to justify keeping him on going into next year as well. Because if not, well, you're going to have a pool of candidates. And that fan base is a fan base is not going to be satisfied. If St. Joe's wins 19 games but doesn't go to the NCAA tournament. There'll probably be some angst thinking can we bring someone in that can really rejuvenate and re energize this program so that you either better really good or really bad. Because anything between 16 and 20 wins probably isn't going to get you the answer that you're seeking there. Wish nothing but the best for Donahue, who has a very long coaching career, did really good things at Cornell, didn't work out at Boston College. He had a what, a four year stint there and then spent the past near decades at Penn overall. But yeah, coaching move didn't expect. Frankly I didn't expect this. I, I thought Lang would give it a go. If you asked me to predict what was going to happen, I would have expected him to have been fired at the end of this upcoming season just because we saw what what hadn't happened over the past six seasons. But, but here we are change on Hawk Hill and we'll see, we'll see what Donahue can do with it. What are your thoughts on the move?

[Gary Parrish]

I think you answered the question right. It's just a look at this practically and honestly and make the the smartest decision. He had already done six seasons, made the NIT each of the past two, but never made the NCAA tournament. And right [e-mail] for whatever it's worth, St. Joseph is projected to finish seventh in the Atlantic 10, 101st in the country. You finished seventh in the A10 in year seven to complete seven straight years with zero top four finishes in the A10 and zero appearances in the NCAA tournament. You're likely done in March. So the Knicks call in, you know, August or September. Whenever this initiated. They offer a nice parachute. You take it because like, what is the point? Stop killing yourself trying to win when the odds are stacked against you. Come fly in our private plane, stay in our five star hotels and be a part of an Eastern Conference contender. It just seems like a less stressful, more enjoyable life. I don't want to speak for Billy, but that's the way I would interpret it. And it's a little bit apples to oranges, but I remember making the same point and others making the same point whatever year it was when Greg McDermott was at Iowa State and the Creighton job opened and it was his if he wanted it. And I know people close to him were like, is the Creighton job better than the Iowa State job in this moment? No.

[Matt Norlander]

You would rather be the moment it was not. Yeah, I would. Even we don't need to. I don't want to get on. That's actually an interesting question. Overall, but in the moment it definitely was not.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, like whatever. If there was a gap before, it is smaller now than it used to be, obviously if based on a little more than league affiliation. But it was basically, if you could be the coach at Iowa State for the next 10 years or the coach at Creighton for the next 10 years, what would you rather be? Clearly the coach at Iowa State. But the problem is if you have a bad season at Iowa State next season, you are done and probably can't get a job, like even the Creighton job ever again. It's time to go. This is the smart thing to do. And he did. And oh, Buddy, it's worked out, I think better than most could have even expected. And with Billy, it's sort of a similar choice. If you could be the coach at St. Joe's and get it flipped and continue there for the next 10 years, maybe you'd like that over this. But that seemed unlikely at this point. So you parachute out and you know, thank God for the Knicks.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, I know Lang might find himself enjoying that NBA lifestyle for the next X. How many years he's given it a go, had two opportunities to run programs. It's obviously an opportunity that thousands in the basketball community would like to have the opportunity to do. Navy's a tough gig, don't get me wrong. And then St. Joe's just, it fell short. I know, I know St. Joe's fans were frustrated and on some level they're probably, they're probably celebrating because at least they feel, okay, we switched up a little bit. Can we, can we be a factor? Can we actually be a real player in the A10 again? We'll see, we'll see what happens with, with all of that. You want to move on to the. What I think is probably the biggest story of the week here with the, with the news the NCAA released on, on Wednesday.

[Gary Parrish]

Yeah, the ncaa and we'll get out of here on this. Announced that three basketball players from Fresno State and San Jose State, all, all, although all three at one point played at Fresno State, they've had their eligibility permanently revoked as a result of an investigation into violations of the NCAA sports gambling rules. Unsurprisingly, these were prop bets. They are the easiest to manipulate. And now you've got three college players, you know, they weren't playing in the Big Ten or the sec, but you know, these guys, you know, two of them at least were double digit scorers, you know, at Fresno State. And now they got caught up in something and now their College careers are over and this is just the latest one of these. And I don't think these are going to go away until we actually address it. I don't think you're going to be able clearly, you can't just scare people into not making these decisions because that's what we've been trying to do. You better not. But it's not working.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, this is, this is a big story. This is a story that in the, you know, with the particulars of this one, you know, it's cut and dry. The players have been, they'll never play college basketball again. We'll talk about that. But I also want to talk about the overarching issues with, with betting in college sports, with players, with active players and where and what's still to come. But yes, I don't know if it's Michael or Mikel Robinson, apologies on the, on the mispronunciation there. And Jalen Weaver. They were Fresno State players and then Stephen Vasquez was the Sando State player. They all were teammates or two of them were teammates a year ago, but they essentially engaged in point shaving because they were, they were aware of what each other was doing. They sent text messages which were provable. If you really dig into the, if you dig into the, the links the NCAA sent on, on each player's case. You know, one instance, one player was sending a note to his mother to send $200 to another one of the players through Apple Pay because he was going to hit the under on some of his, his, his prop bet numbers that night. Here's, here's an exact excerpt, about 300 words or so from the NCAA's release here just so, so our listeners and viewers can get if you're just, if you were kind of checked out on Wednesday and didn't see this, here's what we're talking about with this specific case. And by the way, the school, it's just the players, the schools were absolved of all this because it was believed to be after what's purported to be a fairly rigorous investigation. These were players doing this on their own accord and their teammates and their staff were not, were not aware of it. Quote, as part of a coordinated effort, the student athletes bet on their own games, won another's games and or provided that information that enabled others to do so. During the 2024, 25 regular season. Two of the student athletes then manipulated their performances to ensure that certain bets were won. As a result, they violated ethical conduct rules, triggering permanent ineligibility. Robinson And Vasquez had been roommates at Fresno State during the 2324 season. In January of 25, Robinson and Vasquez, who was then competing for San Jose State, so Vasquez had transferred. Schools discussed over text message that Robinson planned to underperform in several statistical categories during one regular season game. My injection here, that was the Colorado State game last season. NCAA release continues. Robinson, Vasquez and a third party bet a combined $2,200 on Robinson for his underlying performance in those categories. As a result Of Robinson's underperformance, a 15, 950 payout was redistributed among those who had bet, not just the players, but other people that were aware of it. That was happening during that same season. Robinson also placed 13 daily fantasy sports overline and underline prop bets totaling $454 on parlays that included his own performance. Robinson did not win on all the bets, but did collect 1618 on one occasion. Notably, Robinson placed multiple bets on Weaver, who was Robinson's teammate at Fresno State, including two bets placed before a game in late December 2024 after he and Weaver exchanged information about their respective betting lines. As a result of that coordination, weaver also placed a 50 prop bet on a parlay for himself, Robinson and a third student athlete and he won $260. End quote. We have mentioned, broadly speaking, the, the online, the, the probes between some, some schools and former players that were manipulating some lines. There's other schools, we'll get to that in just a second. But this is a reminder that while we can't say with 100% certainty that there are players that have done this and gotten away with it, it's certainly possible this story even came to light because you know, there are watchdog agencies and one of them notified Fresno State and the ncaa. And within days of that happening in January of this year, it triggered the investigation due to the prominence of, you know, gambling apps, daily fantasy on, on phones, the accounts that are associated with that. It makes it that much easier to one I guess fall into if you're particularly like a mid major player that's not making $150,000 in nil money. But it also makes it that much easier to track beyond what, what Vegas even has. And it's, it's, they're monitoring all these bets. If there's abnormal betting activity, if there's, if there's enough betting activity on certain things that is going to buck against the trend. They've got the algorithms, they've got the Data, they've got the computers to see. Okay, why, why would this game, why would this player. Why, why is this suddenly getting abnormal action? Those things will get flagged. Anything that any player thinks is worth going after risking, which is obviously it's never worth it. These players are never going to play college basketball ever again. You're not going to make them enough money to, to have it be worth it. That said, this is still out there. Keep in mind that right now the literally, the feds are looking at potential nefarious activity from former players at Temple, Eastern Michigan, New Orleans, Mississippi Valley State. The U.S. attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania GP has a case involving purportedly schools in the southern region of the United States. We don't know if that is specifically New Orleans, Mississippi Valley State that I just mentioned or others. So the breadth and scope of that is still unknown. Is that three schools you're looking at? Is it 10? Our buddy Pat 40 at Sports Illustrated, he quoted an anonymous source this week that said, quote, there are going to be charges, it's going to be national in scope, it's going to involve multiple players and programs, end quote. I'm bracing for that story to hit its indictment stage and become public this fall when, I don't know. But the story that came out this week with the Fresno State and San Jose State players, a big story, a serious story, a story that matters, a story that obviously is at the forefront of, of people that are concerned about the integrity of American sports, period. Not just, I mean, not just college basketball, we're talking college football, anything, the NBA right now. There's, there's also a federal probe into this gambling ring with people that have been charged and have pled guilty in the John Tay Porter case and, and everything that's tied up into that. So this is a, this is a huge story because to lay it plainly and most people watching, listening, kind of understand this, but it always, it bears worth repeating. Once, once the perception of any given league or sports competition is subject to real speculation or doubt that the actual integrity of the competition is, is up for persuasion or could not be on the up and up, then it all falls apart. Because if you don't have genuine honest competition, what do you have? You don't have anything. You don't have the public's trust. And that is why, you know, the proliferation of gambling and betting across this country has led to where we are here and there's a lot more to go. So it's important that the story was exposed. I think it speaks well of the system in place, generally speaking, that it's going to flag the stuff. Parish. But we are not done. We are far from done. There will be more schools, there will be more players, and there could be even bigger stuff to come in the months, in the months ahead.

[Gary Parrish]

I'll keep this short. I think it's hard not to notice that I believe most of the schools, if not all of the schools you named that are reportedly tied up in a situation like this are mid majors or low majors where players by definition are going to have less money in their pocket. What we found is that even millionaires are not excused from this because we have had issues in the NBA. But just logically, it seems like it's less likely to happen in the NBA or in the NFL than it is to happen at the low major and mid major level of college basketball, because professional athletes by definition are going to have more money and perhaps less incentive to, to, to do something like this than, you know, some broke kid at some broke school. So the solution, and I understand this is big business and it's more complicated than you can make it out on a podcast very quickly, but you've got to get the prop bets out of it.

[Matt Norlander]

Gotta, they gotta be gone, Paris. And then the NCAA is lobbying for it now. I don't know. And keep going. Sorry to interrupt, but I don't know if this is a state by state thing, whether it's the state regulators that are gonna have to be able to do that and not enforce it, because I know and I don't, I don't gamble on sports. I don't, I don't do any of that stuff. But I do know, like, for example, because I have friends that do it, like, I'm pretty sure in the state of Connecticut. I don't know if it's one betting service versus another, but I'm pretty sure if you live in Connecticut, like, you can't bet on Yukon games. So there's, there's certain stuff like that. It might apply in some states and that might apply in others, but as it pertains specifically to prop bets with that, because that also enables real persistent online harassment of college athletes, a lot of times these players are not going to go on to make millions as professionals. So I'm with you 100%. They need to eliminate prop bets for any and all sanctioned online gambling services that are out there.

[Gary Parrish]

And just for people who aren't familiar, the reason those are easiest to manipulate is, let's say you're, you know, the Fourth leading scorer at, you know, the worst Sunbelt program and you have a prop bet attached to you. It's Matt Norlander under 3.5 rebounds. That's the total over, under 3.5 rebounds. You have your people go out and bet the under. Like, I think Matt Norlander is not going to get four rebounds tonight. That's how I cash this ticket. And then Matt Norlander enters the game and, you know, before he gets his fourth rebound, maybe twist his ankle a little bit or pulls a hamstring a little bit or like, you know, suffers and it's like, hey, go. I got to get out of there. I felt something. Boom, that's a winning ticket. Now these things are getting flagged. That's how these people get caught. Because you have unusual betting patterns connected to things that typically have no betting patterns. And so, boom, flag. And here we are. But it seems pretty clear that, you know, these guys aren't the first ones that got caught and yet they were willing to try it themselves. You know, let's, okay, other people have got caught, but let's see if we can get away with it. And now they're caught. So the whole scaring, scaring people or educating people as a deterrent is not working at a 100% rate by definition. But the way you could 100 get these scandals out of college athletics is take the prop bets out. If you, if nobody can make money on prop bets connected to low major and mid major players, then low major and mid major players can't get caught up in trying to manipulate college basketball games by hitting unders on prop bets.

[Matt Norlander]

Yeah, it's a major. I mean, there's still going to be offshore stuff. So I suppose that you can't stop that. But if you eliminate the mainstream, every single, you know, app and online gambling sanctioned, again, sanctioned in the United States of America, getting rid of that would be, would be a major step forward. And you know, programs are required. It is mandatory for them to every program. It's not just men's college basketball. It's. It's the women's lacrosse team. It's, you know, the water polo teams for the schools out west. Every single, if you are a Division 1, I probably even Division 2 and Division 3 athlete, you go through, you know, I'm sure they don't look forward to sitting through it for 20, 30, 45 minutes, however long it is at the start of every school season or right before every season, there's an, there's an extensive, you know, deck, so to speak, that coaches or Compliance officers have every single player watch and sit through. So they say this is what is not allowed. And these are, this is the fallout. Like they, so everyone that, that has to play or gets to play Division 1 sports, they are aware of what is not allowed. Obviously you know, people are going to do what they're going to do. But we'll see if higher profile stories like this one here with Fresno State and San Jose State and the forthcoming one that's going to happen with the feds whenever we see that likely later this fall if that can, you know, further deter. But you know, at the heart of all this is the monitoring that happens and the fact that we have, it's, it's frankly by necessity for the, for the odds makers and for the bookmakers and for Vegas etc to be able to, to keep their businesses viable is, is you have to make sure that the integrity of the games are, are legitimate. And that's why you know, this stuff is so it's tracked on a level that the, that the human, the human brain can't even keep up with it. It all has to be done digitally through computers because they're tracking every single bed, the trends of everything. And again when we have abnormal activity, that's when it gets flagged, that's when it's investigated and that's when it leads to stories like this one.

[Gary Parrish]

All right, let's get out of here. Shouts to Devin Downey. Shouts to Chester, S.C. shouts to Terry Teagle. He's a legend. Huck Larnell. Thank you guys once again for watching listening to the I Own College Basketball podcast. If you're not subscribed, please go subscribe anywhere you see. Subscribe to podcasts, Apple, Spotify, there's more of us than there are of them. That should be reflected in the comments. So do that and we'll talk to you again real soon. Till then, take care.

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