The NCAA just imposed a five-year ban on former Alabama Crimson Tide baseball coach Brad Bohannan over his alleged role in a gambling scheme, the association announced in a statement.
The NCAA imposed a 15-year show-cause order, mandating that any team who hires him will have to suspend him for “100 percent of the baseball regular season for the first five seasons of his employment,” per the NCAA statement.
The NCAA claims Bohannon allegedly provided inside information to an individual who he knew would be betting on Alabama baseball. That individual has allegedly been identified by ESPN as Bert Eugene Neff, a 49-year-old man from Indiana.
Bohannon allegedly texted Neff “(Student-athlete) is out for sure … Lemme know when I can tell (the opposing team) … Hurry.” Shortly after the texts, Neff allegedly attempted to place $100,000 in bets at a sportsbook in Cincinnati, Ohio’s Great American Ballpark. The sportsbook staff allegedly limited his bet to $15,000 and stopped him from placing further bets “due to suspicious activity,” according to the NCAA statement.
According to an ESPN report, despite the fact that Bohannon was allegedly using an encrypted messaging system, surveillance video at Great American Ballpark allegedly confirmed the pair were exchanging texts. (RELATED: ‘Tails Never Fails’: Gambler Places A Whopping $100,000 On The Super Bowl Coin Toss)
The University of Alabama will also receive three years of probation, pay a $5000 fine and will be required to retain EPIC Global Solutions, a compliance software company, “to provide a comprehensive gambling harm and student-athlete protection education program for student-athletes, coaches and athletics administrators,” the NCAA statement said
Neff pled guilty to charges of obstructing a federal investigation, including destroying evidence, tampering with witnesses and providing false statements to the FBI, according to ESPN. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years and fines of up to $250,000, the outlet reported.