INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA on Wednesday banned sports betting by three men’s college basketball players, saying they bet on their own games at Fresno State and San Jose State and were able to share thousands of dollars in payouts.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions has released the findings of a execution investigation which concluded that Mykell Robinson, Steven Vasquez and Jalen Weaver bet on each other’s games and/or provided information allowing others to do so during the 2024-25 regular season; two of them manipulated their performances to ensure that certain bets were won. Eligibility was permanently revoked.
The NCAA said a sports integrity watchdog notified Fresno State and NCAA law enforcement personnel in January that a Nevada sports betting operator had reported suspicious prop bets on Robinson. The investigation began a week later. The Associated Press could not immediately locate the former players for comment.
According to the NCAA, Robinson and Vasquez were roommates at Fresno State during the 2023-24 season. In January 2025, Robinson and Vasquez, now at San Jose State, discussed via text message that Robinson planned to underperform in several statistical categories during a regular season game. Robinson also placed several bets on Weaver, his teammate at Fresno State in 2024-25, the NCAA found.
The game that brought Robinson attention was the Jan. 7 game between Fresno State and Colorado State. The NCAA said he made three bets based on his performance: One was $200 to win $1,450; the second was $800 to win $5,800; and the third was $1,200 to win $8,700.
Investigators discovered that before that game, Robinson told his mother to wire money via Apple Pay to Vasquez so Vasquez could coordinate a $200 bet on Robinson’s underline line for Robinson. After the game, the NCAA said, Vasquez helped Robinson transfer $1,425 of the winnings to Robinson’s mother. On January 10, Vasquez provided Robinson with $200.
Also last season, Robinson placed 13 daily fantasy sports bets over and under the line, totaling $454 on parlays that included his own performance. He raised $618 on one occasion, the NCAA said.
Robinson bet on Weaver before a game in late December 2024 after he and Weaver exchanged information about their respective betting lines, the NCAA said. Weaver also placed a $50 prop bet on a parlay for himself, Robinson and a third athlete, and he won $260.
Vasquez and Robinson did not cooperate with law enforcement personnel’s investigation, the NCAA said. Weaver cooperated and agreed to the violation in his case.
All three have been released from their respective teams and are no longer enrolled at their previous schools. Neither school was punished.
Fresno State said it is willing to cooperate with the NCAA.
“The university proactively shared reported information regarding sports betting activities with the NCAA and worked collaboratively with NCAA staff throughout the investigation,” the school said in a statement. “While the eligibility consequences for former student-athletes are significant, the case ultimately resulted in a Level III/Secondary violation and no sanctions for the institution. The university continues to have confidence in the culture of Fresno State Athletics and is grateful to conclude this matter.”
San Jose State said in a statement that it was aware of the decision and noted that Vasquez had already been removed from the list several months ago. He graduated in May 2025.
This latest case comes eight years after a 2017 federal investigation in unofficial payments to players and their families, which at the time was against NCAA rules and constituted one of the biggest scandals in sports history.
Since then, the growth of legalized gambling in the United States has raised concerns among college sports leaders. allegations against schools involving bettingincluding some against three other basketball programs earlier this year.
The NCAA said in June that “several sports betting-related violations committed by NCAA school personnel” had been resolved in recent years and noted that its enforcement staff was working on issuing Notices of Allegations in several ongoing gambling cases.
“The number of sports betting-related cases from law enforcement personnel has increased significantly in recent years, and our staff – including our new Sports Betting Integrity Unit – has been effective in detecting and prosecuting violations,” Jon Duncan, NCAA vice president of enforcement, said at the time.
The nation’s largest college sports organization, which oversees some 500,000 athletes, also said it was considering a proposal that would allow athletes and staff members to bet on professional sports and shift enforcement efforts toward college sports betting and “conducts that directly impact the integrity of the game.” The Division I Council presented the proposal which will be reviewed this fall and implemented if Division II and III officials also approve it.
Current NCAA rules do not allow athletes or institutional personnel to participate in sports betting on sports featuring NCAA championships; an athlete’s betting on his own team or sport risks a lifetime ban from college athletics. These rules would not change under the current proposal.
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