Reviewing Iowa’s gambling controversy, and why it’s unfolding like this: Mailbag

IOWA CITY, Iowa — There’s less than a week until 70,000 pile into Kinnick Stadium for 2023’s opening kickoff. Until then, there is plenty to discuss, complain about and analyze. So rather than me tiptoe into this mailbag, let’s just get to your questions. (The prediction mailbag comes Monday.)

(Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity.)

If you were a betting man, what would you give the odds that if every state investigated the online gambling habits of their student-athletes at Power 5 schools with the same vigor that the state of Iowa used for theirs, 100 percent of the football coaches at those schools would be sweating bullets? — Chris B.

How did the gambling come to light? Who discovered it? How/why was it uncovered? No other athletes from any other colleges in the state are involved, really? No other state has athletes involved, really? — Paul B.

Did Gary Barta fail to have his compliance staff properly put on gambling prevention training?  — Kevin T.

Could you revisit the Arland Bruce IV situation? Is there concern that his tripping on a sure touchdown against Iowa State was not a trip? — Tim B.

By far, questions related to the ongoing gambling situation were submitted the most, and it’s understandable. There’s a mystery associated with it, and for fans, it’s frustrating to see Iowa and Iowa State singled out when it seems rational to believe other schools have similar issues.

I’m going to drift between some of the unconfirmed information I’ve been told to the actual court-related information obtained by The Athletic. From what I was told, an Iowa athlete had used his mother’s identification and credit card information without her permission to obtain a DraftKings account. She received an alert that her identity and credit information were stolen and worked with authorities to see who had stolen it. She realized it was her son and tried to diffuse it, but the process was in motion. A similar situation unfolded in Ames with an Iowa State athlete.

Gambling is a strictly regulated industry, so any time there’s an “integrity marker,” the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is notified and must check with books, casinos and other gambling outlets. With multiple athletes involved in underage gambling at both schools, Iowa’s Division of Criminal Investigation launched a probe. On May 2, DCI notified Iowa and Iowa State leadership of potential criminal conduct related to sports wagering. The universities received a list of athletes allegedly involved two days later. On May 5, both universities alerted the NCAA about the possible violations and declared 41 athletes — 26 at Iowa, 15 at Iowa State — ineligible pending NCAA reinstatement. Earlier this month, 14 current or former athletes were charged with aggravated misdemeanors related to gambling.

The truth is, had multiple athletes from different schools not used their parents’ information to obtain fraudulent gambling accounts, there’s little chance this situation would get investigated. Had neither Iowa nor Iowa State reported this situation to the NCAA, then the organization would have hammered the schools along with their athletes. But full cooperation likely will keep the penalties to the players themselves.

When comparing Iowa’s situation to that of the other 49 states, it’s kind of like getting caught speeding while driving the rate of traffic. For all the whataboutism you can bark at the cop, the bottom line is you got caught. I did have one unnamed athlete tell me his opponents were cheering their game hitting the under while players were leaving the field. So, yes, it does happen elsewhere.

Both schools fully educated athletes on gambling. But you can tell young people to avoid every vice on Earth and it still isn’t enough. Lord knows I was their age once, too.

As for Arland Bruce, according to an affidavit filed in Johnson County Court, he allegedly bet on 12 games, including 11 as a player. He is accused of betting on the 2021 Cy-Hawk game but not in 2022.

Any chance on Noah Shannon’s appeal? With the DL depth, how significant would his loss be? — Jim H.

I won’t wager a guess (sorry) on how his appeal will go. It seems like he’s the only one for whom Iowa plans to appeal. Backup kicker Aaron Blom and receiver Jack Johnson are facing aggravated misdemeanor charges for allegedly betting on Iowa games so I doubt they will play again. There are two other unnamed players with suspensions, and they have not consented to release their names, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

As for the players replacing Shannon, Iowa is blessed with rare depth. Not only is two-year starter Logan Lee back, but junior Yahya Black and sophomore Aaron Graves are future NFL linemen. I don’t say that lightly, either. In fact, both have a higher upside than either Shannon or Lee. Sophomores Jeremiah Pittman and Anterio Thompson normally would rotate heavily at that position group and they’ll eat some snaps, too.

Iowa will play Iowa State on the road on Sept. 9. (Jeffrey Becker / USA Today)

Odds the Big Ten goes to 10 football games in the future and the Cy-Hawk game is cancelled? — Tri K.

I suppose the Big Ten could go to 10 games but I don’t see that possibility until the league’s next media rights contract in 2030. To add that much inventory (18 more league games), the Big Ten could charge media companies a pretty penny. What could change that situation is if a private university in South Bend, Ind., decides to become a Big Ten member.

With the Big Ten and Big 12 expanding, the Cy-Hawk always is at risk. That’s why they have a provision to end the series without repercussions if one of the leagues expands their conference schedule. I don’t see it falling off the schedule any time soon unless either league moves to 10 games.

GO DEEPER

How will the Big Ten 2024 schedule play out?

Will Kadyn Proctor be the greatest personnel-related “what if” in Iowa football history? Melvin Gordon, Zach Wilson, the Aaron Kampman redshirt are all there, but it seems like RT is the clear weak spot on this team and the thing preventing it from winning a championship. — Jarrod S.

It has that potential, especially if Proctor starts at Alabama as a true freshman. Iowa did everything it could to keep Proctor after he committed in June 2022. The staff gave him space, allowed him to take trips to Oregon and Alabama despite his commitment and thought they made a great pitch. But the afternoon before signing day, Proctor flipped to Alabama.

Iowa wasn’t overly engaged with transfers or flipping other freshman tackles because it stayed loyal to Proctor, who had made around two dozen visits to Iowa City. This one leaves a mark.

GO DEEPER

Dochterman: Kadyn Proctor choosing Alabama over Iowa is pain, real pain

I still maintain Gordon was worse because if you look at that era from 2011-14, all Iowa was missing was a top-notch running back. Gordon certainly was that for Wisconsin and tipped the field between the longtime rivals. Every school in the region had an NFL-caliber running back — Gordon, Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah, Justin Jackson at Northwestern, David Cobb at Minnesota, David Johnson at Northern Iowa, Indiana’s Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard, Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott and Carlos Hyde — except Iowa.

I’ve read reports that Aramark has ordered 383 cases and 10 kegs of Swarm Beer for the season opener. The math on that works out to 10,842 beers available for the opener. Based on sellout capacity and assuming the small Utah State contingency doesn’t imbibe, five out of six Hawk fans won’t get the pleasure of drinking a single, NIL-super-funding Swarm beverage at the game. Has there been any discussion to beef up security to prevent the “Great Swarm Riot of 2023?” — Drew M., North Liberty, Iowa

No question that The Swarm has hit a home run with its golden ale, which has a flavor similar to New Glarus’ Spotted Cow. I know those are the figures released by CEO Brad Heinrichs for Week 1. Knowing Iowa fans like I do, I would anticipate several 16-ounce cans are downed in the parking lots before kickoff. But the arrest numbers have been good the last few years. There’s no need for more security. I saw how that impacted tailgating in 2010. It took years to recover from that PR hit.

How much would Logan Jones squat if Chris Doyle was still the strength coach? Can you explain your handshake agreement with Iowa athletics again? — Tm. R.

Logan Jones set a record with a 700-pound squat so my guess is with Chris Doyle instead of Raimond Braithwaite, he’d squat 700 pounds. Braithwaite does an outstanding job.

As for what you termed as a “handshake agreement,” it goes beyond Iowa athletics. All reporters basically have unwritten agreements with the schools they cover to not call the players and coaches on their cell phones as long as we can obtain some sort of access through interview sessions. That usually ends when there are bigger situations than an upcoming game.

After reading all these articles about the transfers that are going to play immediately and how hyped everyone is for them, I have a question: Has there been a single practice — or week or month — where all of the incoming transfers have practiced together as healthy on offense? At all? How in the world are they going to be any good if they have never even practiced together? — J.M.

I’m not sure that all of the transfers will start or even become major contributors, at least on the offensive line. As for quarterback Cade McNamara, receivers Seth Anderson and Kaleb Brown, tight end Erick All, fullback Hayden Large and linebacker Nick Jackson, all of them are expected to start or be valuable rotational players. They’ve worked together on offense, but I’m sure if it fails, the Eeyores of the fan base will rejoice because it provides them with fodder of which to complain.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz ‘really optimistic’ Cade McNamara will play in the opener.

How will the Hawkeyes replace Noah Shannon? With a deep collection of talented DTs, led by Yahya Black and Aaron Graves.

And more takeaways.

— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) August 24, 2023

Two conference games on Peacock. What is going on with the Big Ten? Iowa is getting the short end of the stick. — Jim B.

It’s the wave of the future. People used to think the same way about BTN back in 2007. Peacock will stream nine games, and it sits alongside FS1 and BTN in the secondary selection process. The Big Ten was going to select a streaming option with this media rights deal, and it chose to partner with NBC/Peacock rather than a stand-alone option with Amazon Prime.

Does Beth Goetz really have the resume to be a Power 5 AD? — Travis L.

Goetz has a stronger resume than any of her Iowa predecessors. She was a deputy, then interim athletics director at Minnesota. She was the chief operating officer at UConn. She was the athletics director at Ball State for four years before coming to Iowa last September. In 2022, Goetz was named the NCAA Division I FBS Nike Executive of the Year and chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee.

Of the other 13 current Big Ten athletics directors, four came directly from other Power 5 schools (Minnesota’s Mark Coyle, Ohio State’s Gene Smith, Penn State’s Pat Kraft and Purdue’s Mike Bobinski) while another, Maryland’s Damon Evans, was a Power 5 AD before returning to collegiate athletics eight years after leaving his first post. Four were sitting athletics directors at Group of 5 or lower-division schools, three were deputy athletics directors and one came from the business world. Goetz’s resume is in line with her Big Ten peers.

We as Iowa fans have been fortunate to be protected from this last phase of conference realignment since Iowa already has a seat at the Big Ten table. However, David Ubben’s column this past week got me thinking: How safe is Iowa when the conference “contraction” phase begins? — Chris C., North Liberty, Iowa

Iowa is in a good spot should radical realignment conclude with contraction. UI generates enough revenue to remain solidly upper third in the Big Ten and that will change only slightly with the newcomers next year. It is competitive in the right sports and has a solid brand. In the new Big Ten, Iowa will reside in the same category as Wisconsin, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon and Washington.

I know the season is just about to start, but as Ari Wasserman likes to say, recruiting never stops and stars matter. Which states (if any) are pipeline states for Iowa in terms of recruiting? I know the focus has moved around a bit over the years (i.e. exiting Florida). What is the current strategy for the staff? — John B., Waukee, Iowa

The staff employs a four-tiered approach to recruiting. The state of Iowa is the priority and part of the first tier, along with the six border states and Kansas. The second tier comes from the traditional Big Ten footprint — Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. The third are areas of familiarity to staff members and opportunities such as Florida, Texas, Georgia, Arizona, Colorado and the Northeast. The last tier are from areas where there must be a strong reason to recruit a player such as a quarterback or a previous connection.

I have not seen an update on the number of Crossover Game tickets sold at Kinnick. Can you get an update? — John K.

As of Friday morning, there were 39,300 tickets sold, per Iowa athletics.

We’re 10 days away from kickoff and I’m still infuriated by the Richmond loss in the NCAA tourney two years ago. Am I alone in this? What’s wrong with me? — Kelly M.

Iowa men’s basketball had two prime opportunities to reach the Sweet 16 in both 2021 and 2022 and lost to lower seeds each year. There were four NBA draft picks on the 2021 squad, including the school’s all-time scoring leader, as well as the Big Ten’s all-time 3-point leader. The 2022 squad had a ton of momentum with the Big Ten tournament title and two first-round picks. Then … splat.

Without even a Sweet 16 appearance since 1999, Iowa men’s basketball fans like you are Sisyphus in pushing the TigerHawk rock up the mountain. It’s no wonder the Hawkeyes haven’t sold $4 million in men’s basketball tickets in a season since 2005.

(Top photo: Jeffrey Becker / USA Today)