Former Baylor Official Placed Nearly 3,000 Impermissible Fantasy Bets With PrizePicks, 113 Involving School
WACO, Texas (AP) — A former Baylor athletic official has received a show-cause penalty from the NCAA after he placed nearly 3,000 impermissible daily fantasy bets on professional and college games over a five-year period, including 113 that involved Baylor teams and student-athletes.
The NCAA says Sam Hancock, a former director of resource development at the Big 12 school, placed 2,950 impermissible bets totaling $45,979 on three different sports betting platforms from July 2019 through September 2024.
According to the NCAA case summary posted this month, Hancock acknowledged that he engaged in sports betting before his employment at Baylor and continued to do so after being hired, despite receiving rules education from the school and knowing that his conduct violated NCAA rules.
NCAA rules that went into effect last October allow sports betting violations that do not compromise the integrity of collegiate contests and/or involve lack of institutional oversight to be processed at different levels for the involved individual and school.
The case originated last August 31, when Baylor received notification that Hancock participated in impermissible sports betting activity through the daily fantasy betting website PrizePicks. The school self-reported the violations to NCAA enforcement staff after interviewing Hancock, who confirmed that he had placed impermissible bets.
Under the show-cause order that goes through April 9, 2027, any NCAA institution employing Hancock would have to require him to seek and participate in gambling counseling, and attend the annual NCAA regional rules seminal at his own expense. He would also have to be suspended for two weeks during the first year of his employment within the show-case period, when he could not participate in any athletics activities.
