Iowa

Gambling busts at Iowa State were the result of improper searches, athletes' attorneys contend

Published

11 months ago

January 29, 2024

Gambling busts at Iowa State were the result of improper searches, athletes' attorneys contend

Iowa State athletes caught in a gambling sting last year were criminally charged and lost NCAA eligibility as a result of improper searches into their online wagering activities, according to defense attorneys’ court filings.

Attorneys for former Iowa State football players Isaiah Lee and Jirehl Brock and wrestler Paniro Johnson wrote in motions for discovery last week that special agents for the state Division of Criminal Investigation had no reasonable cause to track their clients’ use of sports wagering apps.

The DCI public information officer and the three defense attorneys did not respond to Associated Press requests for comment.

Lee, Brock and Johnson were among about two dozen Iowa State and Iowa athletes criminally charged. Those three each face a felony charge of identity theft and aggravated misdemeanor charge of tampering with records. Former Iowa State football player Enyi Uwazurike, who faces the same charges as the other three in Iowa, is now with the Denver Broncos and was suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games in 2022.

Most of the Iowa and Iowa State athletes who were charged pleaded guilty to underage gambling, paid fines and had identity theft charges dropped. The identity theft charges stemmed from athletes registering accounts on mobile sports betting apps under different names, usually a relative.

The investigation and prosecutions drew national attention because athletes at the two schools were the primary targets and occurred as the NCAA was addressing concerns about nationwide expansion of legal sports wagering.

NCAA rules prohibit wagering by athletes, coaches and staff, with athletes losing varying amounts of eligibility depending on the violation. Lee and Brock were among five starters on the Cyclones football team who lost some or all of their eligibility and are no longer in the program.

Johnson, the Big 12 champion at 149 pounds last year, is on the wrestling roster but has not competed for the Cyclones. He has participated in open events as an unattached wrestler.

Lee’s attorney, Van Plumb, citing depositions taken two weeks ago, wrote that DCI special agent Brian Sanger conducted warrantless searches on the Iowa campus. Sanger found wagering apps were opened in freshman and sophomore dormitories, but he could not determine whether they were used to make wagers. Sanger asked his superiors for permission to expand the search and was told no, according to the filings.

Sanger then placed a geofence around an Iowa athletic facility and again found evidence of open wagering apps. He requested subpoenas for account information of hundreds of individuals without reasonable cause, Plumb wrote, and the result was indictments against Iowa athletes. Plumb contends their privacy had been invaded.

In his Jan. 19 deposition, Sanger said that while he didn’t recall why he conducted warrantless searches, he was concerned about possible match fixing and people infiltrating Iowa’s athletic teams to gain insider information.

Johnson’s attorney, Christopher Sandy, cited the deposition of DCI special agent Mark Ludwick, who said the search of athletes was illegal and that he was misled by other agents about the purpose of the investigation. He said special agent Troy Nelson had said the nature of the investigation was administrative with the targets being FanDuel, Draft Kings and other online gaming operators.

According to the filing, Ludwick reassured Lee the focus was on the gaming operators and no criminal consequence would come from what was said. Lee made statements regarding his online gaming activities; Ludwick said when he reported his interview to Nelson he was congratulated “for obtaining a confession.”

Ludwick, who told his superiors he would no longer participate and requested reassignment, said there was no geofence warrant and there was no reasonable suspicion to conduct the search. His deposition also was cited in a motion filed by Brock’s attorney, Matthew Boles.

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Iowa

Miami (FL) vs. Iowa State Prediction, Odds, Picks – December 28, 2024

Published

8 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Press Room

Miami (FL) vs. Iowa State Prediction, Odds, Picks – December 28, 2024

Data Skrive

The Miami Hurricanes play the Iowa State Cyclones in the Pop-Tarts Bowl as 3.5-point favorites on December 28, 2024 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The over/under is 55.5.

The Hurricanes lost to the Syracuse Orange, 42-38, in their last contest. In their last contest, the Cyclones lost against the Arizona State Sun Devils, 45-19.

Keep up with college football all season on FOX Sports.

USWNT dominates Guardians Top 100 & Christian Pulisic is the solo USMNT player | SOTU

Alexi Lalas and David Mosse reacted to Christian Pulisic being disrespected by the UK news outlet The Guardian, which ranked him as the 95th best soccer player in the world. On the other hand, the USWNT dominated the field, with five players in The Guardian’s Top 10 alone.

Miami (FL) vs. Iowa State Game Information & Odds

When: Saturday, December 28, 2024 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida
TV: ABC
Live Box Score on FOX Sports

More College Football Predictions

Miami (FL) vs Iowa State Betting Information updated as of December 25, 2024, 9:45 p.m. ET.
Favorite	Spread (Odds)	Favorite Moneyline	Underdog Moneyline	Total	Over Moneyline	Under Moneyline
Miami (FL)	-3.5 (-111)	-172	+144	55.5	-112	-108

Miami (FL) vs. Iowa State Prediction

Pick ATS:
Miami (FL) (-3.5)
Pick OU: Over (55.5)
Prediction: Miami (FL) 34, Iowa State 27

Predictions are made by the Data Skrive betting model.

Learn more about the Miami Hurricanes vs. the Iowa State Cyclones game on FOX Sports!

Miami (FL) vs. Iowa State Betting Insights

Per the spread and over/under, the implied score for the game is Hurricanes 30, Cyclones 26.
The Hurricanes have a 63.2% chance to win this meeting per the moneyline’s implied probability. The Cyclones have a 41.0% implied probability.
Miami (FL) has put together a 7-5-0 ATS record so far this year.
Iowa State has put together a 7-5-0 ATS record so far this year.

Miami (FL) vs. Iowa State: 2024 Stats Comparison

	Miami (FL)	Iowa State
Off. Points per Game (Rank)	44.2 (2)	30.2 (37)
Def. Points per Game (Rank)	23.9 (52)	21.5 (46)
Turnovers Allowed (Rank)	13 (28)	15 (40)
Turnovers Forced (Rank)	18 (55)	21 (28)

Miami (FL) 2024 Key Players

Name	Position	Stats
Cameron Ward	QB	4,123 YDS (67.4%) / 36 TD / 7 INT 196 RUSH YDS / 4 RUSH TD / 16.3 RUSH YPG
Xavier Restrepo	WR	69 REC / 1,127 YDS / 11 TD / 93.9 YPG
Damien Martinez	RB	823 YDS / 9 TD / 68.6 YPG / 5.7 YPC 16 REC / 198 REC YDS / 0 REC TD / 19.8 REC YPG
Jacolby George	WR	51 REC / 728 YDS / 7 TD / 60.7 YPG
Francisco Mauigoa	LB	87 TKL / 7 TFL / 2 SACK / 1 INT
Tyler Baron	DL	37 TKL / 7 TFL / 5.5 SACK
Wesley Bissainthe	LB	53 TKL / 3 TFL / 1 SACK / 1 INT
Mishael Powell	DB	30 TKL / 2 TFL / 1 SACK / 5 INT

Iowa State 2024 Key Players

FOX Sports created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Miami (FL) Hurricanes

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Iowa

Iowa WR's absence on bowl game depth chart not a cause for concern

Published

19 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

Iowa WR's absence on bowl game depth chart not a cause for concern

The Iowa Hawkeyes (8-4, 6-3 Big Ten) recently revealed their depth chart against Missouri (9-3, 5-3 SEC) in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.

Iowa freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee wasn’t listed, but Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz confirmed that it’s not a cause for concern.

“I don’t know when we wrote that depth chart, it was probably last month. He’s fine. Practicing well. In fact, coming off the field last night, asked him how he felt. He feels great. He’ll be in the rotation,” Ferentz said last Friday.

This update is consistent with what Ferentz has said in the buildup to the bowl game versus the Tigers.

Ferentz said both Vander Zee and offensive tackle Gennings Dunker were tracking to play in the bowl game two weeks ago after Iowa’s bowl foe was revealed on Dec. 8.

“Yeah, both those guys are on track right now,” Ferentz said. “Not sure where they’re going to be this week, but I think we are a lot closer.

“Reece got to work—we worked a little bit on Friday—he was out there, so that looks really encouraging. Dunk’s probably a couple days away yet, but he’s doing really well, on a good path. Both those guys are eager to play.”

Vander Zee has caught 14 passes for 176 yards and three touchdowns during the 2024 season. The 6-foot-4, 207 pound freshman hasn’t played since starting but then subsequently exiting the Northwestern contest and sporting a walking boot.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions.

Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF

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Iowa

Titans Linked to Sleeper Iowa State WR

Published

1 day ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

Heading into the NFL offseason, the top question surrounding the Tennessee Titans will be about what they’re going to do at the quarterback position.

Will Levis and Mason Rudolph are clearly not clear-cut options long-term.

Outside of that question, the Titans will also need to figure out how to add more weapons for whoever their starting quarterback ends up being. Pursuing another quality wide reciever should be something that they try to do.

In the 2025 NFL Draft, there are ways for Tennessee to address both of those issues. Taking a look at wide receivers in the third or fourth round would make a lot of sense.

With that in mind, Justin Melo of Titan Sized has suggested a sleeper wide receiver out of Iowa State. In his recent five-round mock draft, Melo had the Titans taking Jayden Higgins in the fourth round.

“Are the Titans going to reunite Tee Higgins with Brian Callahan? Callahan’s offense will need an offseason addition to play “X” receiver next season. If Higgins proves to be too expensive, drafting a big-bodied weapon like Jayden Higgins offers an alternative route. Higgins does an outstanding job high-pointing the football at the catch point,” Melo wrote.

Higgins has put together an impressive 2024 season with the Cyclones. He has caught 87 passes for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns.

Standing in at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Higgins would bring great size to the Tennessee wide receiver room. His size would make him a lethal threat, especially in red zone situations.

Throughout his entire college career, Higgins has racked up 227 receptions for 3,317 yards and 28 touchdowns. He has proven himself to be a more than capable playmaker.

Taking a flier on him in the fourth round would be a very wise investment. He may not pan out, but if he reaches his full potential he could end up developing into a starter.

He may be a sleeper and wouldn’t be a “flashy” addition, but Higgins has all of the makings of being a draft steal for a team like the Titans who could use a little more help at the position.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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