Six Iowa wrestlers suspended due to gambling investigation

The state of Iowa has been at the forefront of the college gambling scandal. Athletes from both Iowa and Iowa State were found betting on collegiate athletics. A few suspensions have been handed out but the NCAA punished multiple Hawkeye wrestlers on Tuesday afternoon.

According to Pat Mineo of The Wrestling Room, four Iowa wrestlers will be suspended for an entire year. Those names are Abe Assad, Nelson Brands, Tony Cassioppi, and Cobe Siebrecht. All four wrestlers were entering their senior seasons.

Two additional wrestlers will receive a partial suspension, just missing a few matches — with the exact numbers not being reported on quite yet. Patrick Kennedy and Cullan Schriever have avoided the harshness that their other four teammates received. Both Kennedy and Schriever were considered juniors within the program.

Mineo is also reporting appeals have been filed by all six.

Depending on how the appeals process goes with the NCAA, a few other factors could be decided. Whether or not the six players, but most likely the four with a year-long suspension, can maintain a year of eligibility will all depend on how the appeal goes according to Mineo.

“Details on free year, medical hardship, redshirts, etc are contingent on appeals process,” Mineo said on Monday via Twitter. “Doesn’t look like the NCAA is going to let them get away without it having an impact!”

More on Iowa wrestling, suspensions

Iowa wrestling is one of the proudest programs in the entire country. Competing in the Big Ten, the Hawkeyes have taken home the conference championship 37 times. A staggering 24 team national championships have been won as well — the second most in NCAA history.

Head coach Tom Brands is currently in charge, responsible for four of the 24 national titles. One has come in recent years, taking down the rest of the country in 2021. The remaining ones came as a three-peat, beginning in 2008 and expanding until the 2010 season.

During the 2022-2023 season, Iowa won 15 of their 16 matches played. All eight home meets sent the Hawkeye faithful home happy. Penn State, who was ranked No. 1 at the time, was the only team who was able to beat Iowa.

As it turned out, the Nittany Lions wound up stopping the Hawkeyes from pulling off a truly incredible season. The Big Ten and national championship trophies were won by Penn State, traveling back with the team to Happy Valley.