NCAA levies 15-year show-cause on former Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon for betting scandal

The NCAA has handed down punishment for the Brad Bohannon betting scandal that caused the former Alabama baseball coach to lose his job, and the ramifications for Bohannon are significant.

He was hit with a 15-year show-cause order by the NCAA, which restricts any member institution in the NCAA from hiring Bohannon to any athletically related position. Should they hire him during the show cause period, Bohannon will be suspended for the first five seasons of his employment.

Alabama also received three years probation and a $5,000 fine stemming from the violations.

Bohannon was fired last May, when allegations of improper betting began to surface as regulators in multiple states flagged suspicious activity.

The alleged activity also drew the interest of the NCAA, which quickly began an investigation to see if any improprieties had occurred.

“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 NCAA panel that ruled on Bohannon. “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 NCAA noted that Brad Bohannon did not cooperate with the organization’s investigation.

Bettor’s activity draws instant scrutiny

The suspicious betting activity involved an Alabama-LSU game, when a bettor connected to Bohannon tried to place a hefty bet after receiving inside info from Bohannon. Bohannon apparently helped facilitate the bet by providing information that was not yet public on player availability.

The NCAA notes that Brad Bohannon communicated with the bettor using an encrypted messaging app. Specifically, Bohannon texted the following before the game.

“(Student-athlete) is out for sure … Lemme know when I can tell (the opposing team) … Hurry.”

There was an attempted $100,000 wager placed on the Alabama-LSU game following that communication, but sportsbook staff limited the bettor to a $15,000 wager, according to the NCAA. Sportsbook staff declined additional bets due to suspicious activity that apparently included the bettor telling staff his bet was “for sure going to win” and “if only you guys knew what I knew” before proceeding to show the staff text messages from Bohannon outlining the player availability.

Luke Holman was supposed to start that Alabama-LSU game, but was scratched with back tightness shortly before the game. Bohannon opted to start Hagan Banks, marking his first time starting a game since March.

The Tigers won that game 8-6.

By then, though, the damage was done and Brad Bohannon was on his way out as Alabama’s coach as news of the betting scandal broke publicly.