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Defensive lineman Noah Shannon will not represent Iowa football at Big Ten Media Days next week due to his involvement in the NCAA investigation into sports gambling, the program announced Wednesday.
This is the first bit of news we are hearing on this front since both the Iowa and Iowa State sports programs were revealed to be under a probe back in May. Officials have mostly remained mum on the subject since.
At the time we were told the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission had begun an investigation of the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones sports programs over “potential criminal conduct related to sports wagering” that span across various sports.
The university reported it had received information about 111 individuals.
This includes 26 current student-athletes from baseball, football, men’s basketball, men’s track and field, and men's wrestling, as well as one full-time employee of the UI Department of Athletics.
The vast majority of the individuals are student-staff, former student-athletes, or those with no connection to UI Athletics.
And now Shannon. Initially he was announced as appearing at next week's event as a representative.
"Being selected to represent the Iowa Hawkeye football team at Big Ten Media Day(s) is a tremendous honor and privilege," Shannon said in a statement. "I am grateful for the opportunity. However, given the circumstances, I told coach (Kirk) Ferentz it would (be) best for him to select another player. Since the NCAA review is not yet complete, I don’t feel it is right for me to represent the team."
Last year, Shannon tallied 44 total tackles as part of Iowa's suffocating defense. He has started in 27 games.
The ramifications are severe should Shannon be found to have engaged in any type of betting improprieties, according to Tyler Tachman of Hawk Central:
According to recently adopted NCAA reinstatement guidelines, Shannon's college career would be in jeopardy if he bet on Iowa games (in any sport) and could lose half a season if he bet on any college football. But for all other wagering activity, he would face a loss of 30% of the season (3-4 games) if he wagered $801 or more; 20% of the season if he wagered between $501 and $800; 10% of the season for $201 to $500; and gambling education (no games missed) for $200 or less.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
