Five current or former Iowa State football coaching staff members have been punished by the NCAA for sports gambling that included bets on the school's men's and women's basketball programs. They face no criminal charges.
In total, the five coaches combined to make more than 6,200 online bets totaling more than $100,000 on games. Some of those bets came on professional events, some were on college sports.
The violations have been classified as Level II, meaning they could compromise the integrity of the NCAA collegiate model.
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The coaches are Jace Heacock, Chase Clark, Michael Dryer, Kyle Highland and Mason Williams.
Now, any of the five hired by another school’s athletic department will be required to attend the annual NCAA Regional Rules Seminar at his own expense and serve a two-week suspension during the show-cause period. They are all subject to a one-year show-cause order through April 24, 2026.
Heacock, son of defensive coordinator Jon Heacock, was a football graduate assistant in 2021 and 2022. He was hired back as director of football analytics on April 24. His biography on ISU’s athletic website did not mention where, or whether, he worked in 2023 and 2024. He was found to have placed 787 bets totaling about $55,359.
Clark, former assistant director of football equipment operations, placed 2,305 bets totaling about $18,676, including 46 bets on ISU men’s and women’s basketball. He is now an assistant equipment manager for the Detroit Lions.
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Dryer, former assistant of equipment operations, placed 1,182 bets totaling about $11,536, including 25 bets on ISU men’s and women’s basketball. He now works in sales for a sporting goods company.
Highland, former football recruiting operations assistant, placed 509 bets totaling about $6,365, including eight bets on ISU men’s and women’s basketball. He is now the Army’s assistant director of football operations.
Williams, former associate for athletics equipment operations, placed 1,455 bets totaling about $11,679, including 12 bets on ISU men’s and women’s basketball. He is now head equipment manager at Valparaiso.
The five were identified during a state investigation into sports wagering activities in campus athletic facilities from 2021 to 2023.
The state Department of Criminal Investigation turned over the names of the five men to Iowa State officials as part of its investigation into underage online sports wagering at colleges in the state. Dozens of athletes at Iowa and Iowa State were caught in the sting and charged with, among other things, underage gambling and identity theft.
Many of the athletes pleaded guilty and paid a fine; charges were dismissed against others. More than three dozen athletes have joined in a civil lawsuit against the DCI, alleging the agency had violated their rights and smeared their reputations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball star Caleb Love played the hero in the team’s upset over the No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones on Monday night.
The Wildcats were down 71-68 with 2.2 seconds left in the game when Love received the inbound pass. He took a couple of dribbles and heaved up a prayer from well beyond half-court and nailed the shot. Love’s Wildcats teammates celebrated as the team forced overtime.
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Arizona locked in and defeated Iowa State, 86-75. Love had 22 points in the win.
"Best moment of my life," he said after the game. "Obviously, it wasn't going our way throughout the game, but you've got to trust your work, to stay confident."
Love, a senior transfer from North Carolina, did not have the best of shooting nights in the win but came up clutch when it mattered the most. He was 8-of-22 from the field overall and only 4-of-13 from 3-point range. He had two assists and two steals as well.
It was the heave that made all the difference.
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"We actually practice half-courters in practice for fun, and he's decent at it, but I'm probably a little better," Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said. "He let it go, it was on line — all you can do is get it on line and don't leave it short. When it went in, it was pretty amazing."
Arizona, which came into the game unranked, definitely needed a big-time win for its tournament resume as it improved to 14-6 on the season. The team improved to 4-2 against ranked opponents after losing their first two against Duke and UCLA earlier in the season.
Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey led the team with 18 points. He was 7-of-13 from the field.
Iowa State fell to 17-3 on the season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Arizona State dominated Iowa State in Saturday's Big 12 championship.
The College Football Playoff selection committee will now be tasked with deciding whether the Sun Devils' strong performances to close out the regular season, coupled with the blowout win in the title game, should propel the team to one of the playoff's coveted top four spots.
ASU was ranked five spots behind Boise State in the most recent playoff rankings entering college football's conference championship weekend.
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The Broncos entered Friday's Mountain West title game in the 10th slot in the playoff rankings, and some projections have Boise State at No. 4. The structure of the new 12-team playoff stipulates that the top four seeds win their conference championships.
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If Boise State lands in a higher position than the Big 12 champion in the final playoff rankings, the Broncos would be the fourth-seeded team.
Shortly after ASU won its first Big 12 title, head coach Kenny Dillingham touted the Sun Devils' 11-2 record and delivered a clear message to the selection committee.
"Last year, they kept Florida State out because their quarterback didn’t play. We’re 11-1 with our quarterback. Eleven and one, and we’re Big 12 champs. I think we should be treated like an 11-1 team," Dillingham argued.
Dillingham was referencing the Florida State team that made it through the regular season with an unblemished record and won the 2023 ACC championship game. However, the selection committee factored in an injury to starting quarterback Jordan Travis, and FSU fell to the fifth spot in that season's final playoff rankings.
Several key players on the Seminoles' roster opted out of the Orange Bowl since it was not one of the semifinal games that year, which led to a lopsided loss to Georgia.
ASU has not dropped a game since October when it fell 24-14 to Cincinnati. Quarterback Sam Leavitt did not play in that game. The Sun Devils' first loss of the season happened on the road in September when Texas Tech secured a 30-22 victory.
The final playoff rankings of the season are scheduled to be released Sunday night. The top four seeds get a first-round bye.
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Usually, schools and fans wait until the College Football Playoff is officially set before hurling criticism and scrutiny toward the selection committee, but that did not happen Tuesday night.
Iowa State Cyclones athletics director Jamie Pollard and SMU Mustangs athletics director Rick Hart got into a tiff on social media following the penultimate rankings release.
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The Mustangs will vie for an ACC Championship with an 11-1 record and a nine-game winning streak, while the Cyclones (10-2) will compete for a Big 12 title with a win likely being their only shot at making the College Football Playoff.
That did not appear to sit well with Pollard.
"Disappointing that strength of schedule clearly does not matter for SMU, Indiana and Boise State. Message is clear - win as many games as possible regardless of who you play," Pollard wrote on X. "Time to rethink non-conference scheduling. Very different standards than the basketball committee."
Iowa State was not among the 12 teams in the playoff in Tuesday's rankings. SMU was ranked third.
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Hart fired back at Pollard.
"Jamie, respect you but bad take. ISU had No. D, Iowa, Ark. St. non-con. SMU had Nev., HCU, TCU, BYU. (And scrambled due to Vandy dropping us.) SMU 1 of 2 to win all conf. games, 1 of 3 with 9 P4 wins, trailed a TOTAL of 6+ mins. last 9 games. I could go on… Stay off my lawn!" he wrote on X.
Pollard fired back.
"Rick, beat Clemson Saturday and I will respect your ranking," Pollard wrote. "Until then you did not play Clemson, Miami, Georgia Tech or Syracuse AND lost to BYU at home. Looks like your lawn may be artificial."
Hart added the school "will continue to control what we can control."
A lot is riding on the conference championship games to determine the final seeding.
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