NCAA Issues Permanent Ban For Former Abilene Christian Player

The NCAA has ruled that former Abilene Christian basketball player Airion Simmons violated sports betting integrity rules, making him permanently ineligible under NCAA rules.

Good to Know

• Airion Simmons and two other Abilene Christian players allegedly agreed to lose a March 2024 basketball game for a bettor.
• Simmons later told NCAA enforcement staff about a second bettor who contacted him about throwing the game.
• Federal prosecutors indicted Simmons in January as part of a wider sports betting case involving 20 people.

Simmons received cash tied to the alleged plan, according to the NCAA. However, the organization said he did not pay the two other student-athletes involved. One of those players later reported the incident to the NCAA, which opened the door for the enforcement case.

The NCAA announced its decision on Friday. Simmons now needs help from an NCAA school to seek reinstatement, although permanent ineligibility makes that path difficult.

The NCAA said:

“Although the Committee on Infractions does not currently assess penalties for student-athletes who violated NCAA rules, their participation in violations is not without consequence. Student-athletes who are found to have violated NCAA rules are ineligible and can only be reinstated with the assistance of an NCAA school.”

Federal Case Adds To Wider College Betting Concerns

The Simmons case sits inside a larger federal sports betting investigation. The U.S. Attorney Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania indicted 20 people in January. The NCAA has already announced sanctions against Will Richardson and Elijah Gray, formerly of Fordham University, and Simeon Cottle, formerly of Kennesaw State.

College sports betting integrity has become a bigger concern as legal wagering spreads across the United States. Since 2023, the NCAA has asked state regulators to limit high-risk college betting markets, including player prop bets and first-half unders. The organization argues those markets can create extra risk for student-athletes, officials, and games.

After the January indictments, the NCAA renewed that request and called for state laws and regulations to better protect competitions.

NCAA president Charlie Baker said:

“The Association has and will continue to aggressively pursue sports betting violations in college athletics using a layered integrity monitoring program that covers over 22,000 contests, but we still need the remaining states and regulators to eliminate threats to integrity to better protect athletes and leagues from integrity risks and predatory bettors.”