It was only a matter of time before the next major sports gambling scandal dropped. And this time, college basketball is in the spotlight.
Multiple sports have seen athletes involved in gambling schemes that compromise the integrity of the game since the widespread legalization of sports betting. Just this year, Major League Baseball saw Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase indicted for rigging pitches. The NBA saw a widespread mafia-backed scheme unearthed by the FBI that involved Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups wrapped up in an illegal poker game while Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat was also indicted for rigging lines.
The rapid proliferation has led to major concern that the next scandal is always right around the corner. And given the potential money involved and vulnerability of college athletes, the NCAA was always susceptible to be next in line.
According to CBS, there were 17 universities impacted across the country with 29 different games alleged to have been fixed in some capacity and 39 total players involved. The teams are all outside the Power 4 conferences, but include two Big East schools. The entire list of teams impacted are Butler, DePaul, Duquesne, East Carolina, Fordham, Georgetown, Kent State, La Salle, McNeese State, Nicholls State, Ohio University, St. John’s, St. Louis University, SUNY Buffalo, Tulane, and Western Michigan University.
Former NBA player Antonio Blakeney, who was a second-team All-SEC selection at LSU, is alleged to be at the center of the scheme which began during his days playing in the Chinese Basketball League. After he and his co-conspirators found success rigging games and bets there, it expanded to college basketball stateside.
NCAA president Charlie Baker released a statement about the indictment, complimenting the NCAA for its monitoring activities into suspicious game action while also making another call for regulators and the gaming industry to remove collegiate prop bets entirely.
Full statement from NCAA President Charlie Baker on today’s federal indictment related to college basketball game-fixing. pic.twitter.com/HxpBaKUxzK
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoATH) January 15, 2026
According to ABC, the bribes towards college athletes ranged from $10,000 to $30,000. The architects of the scheme targeted underdogs with the hopes that the nefarious activity would help them to not cover the spread. In total, 20 people were charged in the vast point shaving operation. Among those individuals, 15 are college basketball players who played in one of the last two seasons while 5 are described as fixers. That does not include Blakeney, who the indictment says is being charged elsewhere as documented by ESPN.
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