College coaches have a seemingly endless list of things to worry about in 2024, but add another gray-hair-inducing concern to the list: a team-wide gambling ring.
Notre Dame discovered such activity within its men's swimming program and on Thursday the Irish announced they have suspended the entire men's swimming team for the 2024-25 academic year.
“After receiving reports of possible misconduct on our men’s swimming team, the University of Notre Dame engaged the law firm of Ropes & Gray LLP to conduct an in-depth review, which is now complete. The external review confirmed and expanded on our initial concerns about a deeply embedded team culture dismissive of Notre Dame’s standards for student-athletes, including our expectation that they treat one another with dignity and respect," AD Pete Bevacqua said in a statement.
Sports Illustrated reported that Notre Dame swimmers utilized a group chat as a functioning sports book, where they set over/unders on their own teammates' performances in certain races.
The decision was announced Thursday to give Fighting Irish swimmers, particularly the incoming freshmen, time to transfer before the fall semester begins on Aug. 27 in South Bend. Swimming is a winter sport whose schedule runs concurrent with basketball, beginning in early October and ending in late March.
However, certain swimmers may find a hard time finding schools willing to take them. The NCAA guidebook dictates punishment for athletes who wager on their own teams and/or their own sports "potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility in all sports. This would also apply to student-athletes who wager on their own games or on other sports at their own schools.”
Notre Dame's investigation found that the culture of intra-team gambling was confined to the men's swim program. The coaching staff cooperated fully with the investigation, was not aware of their athletes' activities, and will not face punishment, and neither will the women's swim program.
"While individual conduct varied, the overwhelming cultural dynamic on the team necessitates a full suspension. We profoundly regret that the small number of team members who did not participate in the conduct, and those who were planning on joining the team this fall, will also suffer the consequences of this decision. We deeply value our responsibilities as educators and our commitment to our student-athletes, and will work with other University offices as appropriate to provide support to those affected by our decision," Notre Dame said.
Perhaps most troubling for Notre Dame investigators, the Irish had their best season in years in 2023-24. The Fighting Irish enjoyed the first top-10 NCAA finish in program history this past March, and sent the first male swimmer to the Olympics in program history.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.