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An investigation into suspicious betting activity surrounding Eastern Michigan men’s basketball has taken a sharp turn. The NCAA announced Friday that three former starters — Jalin Billingsley, Da’Sean Nelson, and Jalen Terry — failed to cooperate with officials examining potential illegal wagering.
Good to Know
Concerns first surfaced when integrity firms that monitor sportsbooks flagged heavy betting on the first-half spread of the January 14 matchup between Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. According to IC360, wagers of unusually high value caused the line to move from CMU -3.5 to -6.5 right before tipoff. The favorites led by six at halftime and went on to win by 19 points.
Integrity analysts soon noticed similar activity linked to other contests, including Eastern Michigan’s December 21 game against Wright State and a March 7 meeting between UAB and Temple. These reports prompted NCAA enforcement staff to open a full review.
By late January, the NCAA had reached out to Eastern Michigan and requested access to devices and communication records. On January 29, the three players agreed to allow digital copies of their phones but later refused to take part in interviews.
Roughly six weeks later, after the season ended, their attorneys notified the NCAA that the players would no longer cooperate. The legal team also ordered destruction of the phone copies that investigators had collected.
The refusal effectively halted the NCAA’s ability to gather additional information. All three players had already finished their college eligibility, limiting the governing body’s disciplinary options.
Under NCAA rules, anyone involved in an official investigation must comply with requests to provide evidence and sit for questioning. A failure to cooperate can lead to loss of eligibility or bans from sports-related activities. The Committee on Infractions stated.
“When individuals choose not to cooperate — particularly when cases involve potential integrity issues — those choices can and will be met with serious consequences, including prohibitions on athletically related activities, the loss of eligibility and/or being publicly named in an infractions decision.”
In this case, because Billingsley, Nelson, and Terry had exhausted their eligibility, the committee’s authority to impose further punishment was limited. The NCAA said reinstatement would be required if any of the players sought to return to collegiate competition in the future.
Integrity firms noticed abnormal betting patterns before Eastern Michigan’s January 14 game against Central Michigan, prompting alerts to NCAA officials.
Their attorneys informed the NCAA that they would not participate in interviews and instructed that the phone data collected be destroyed.
Because their eligibility has expired, immediate sanctions are limited. However, reinstatement would be required if they ever return to college sports.
The NCAA maintains that integrity violations and refusal to cooperate can lead to public naming and permanent loss of eligibility.