NCAA reduces some sports betting penalties

College athletes who wager on teams at their own school — but not on their own team — will face penalties beginning at a loss of one year of eligibility, according to modified reinstatement guidelines from the NCAA.

The NCAA’s Division I council coordination committee on Wednesday adjusted the guidelines, which previously called for permanent eligibility loss in those cases. The new guidelines will be applied to athletes currently serving wagering-related suspensions reported on or after May 2, when Iowa and Iowa State announced that athletes at their schools were being investigated for wagering.

“To be clear, Division I members do not encourage student-athletes to engage in sports wagering at any level, and the actions today to modify reinstatement conditions should not be interpreted as support for wagering behaviors,” Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, chair of the committee, said in a statement. “NCAA members continue to prioritize integrity of competition and felt that reinstatement conditions for violations of wagering rules should reflect that focus and, when possible, also accommodate opportunities for preventative education.”

The modified reinstatement guidelines will not help athletes such as Iowa football player Noah Shannon, who returned to the roster and resumed practicing with the team last month, hoping an adjusted policy would allow him to return to competition. Shannon in August was suspended for the season, for making at least one wager on an Iowa team outside of football. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz on Tuesday expressed his doubt that Shannon would be allowed to return. Unlike other athletes in the state, Shannon was not charged criminally for wagering.

“To me, it’s personal commentary, I think [reinstatement is] the right thing to do,” Ferentz said. “I’m not confident that’s going to happen. But there’s no doubt in my mind it would be the right thing to do. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”