Alabama Baseball Gets NCAA Probation

Fired Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon got a 15-year show cause penalty from the NCAA as part of its punishment after he was linked to a sports bettor who wagered on an Alabama baseball game last spring. The NCAA announced its ruling Thursday.

But it gets worse: Alabama's baseball program was placed on three years NCAA probation and the school has been fined $5,000. The NCAA wrote that Alabama had a person "of authority [who] condoned, participated in or negligently disregarded the violation or related wrongful conduct," and there was "intentional, willful or blatant disregard for NCAA bylaws by a person with institutionally derived authority."

A small positive note: the NCAA and Alabama agreed that the facts of the case didn't merit scholarship reductions or a postseason ban, and the school's penalties were classified as Level I - Mitigated.

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"The institution accepted responsibility for the violations and expended substantial resources to work proactively and quickly with the enforcement staff to identify the scope of the violations," the NCAA wrote in its report.

The NCAA said Bohannon failed to cooperate with its investigation, refusing to participate in an interview with the NCAA's enforcement staff or provide information to them, including access to his electronic devices. His infractions for violating the NCAA's wagering and ethical conduct rules were classified as Level I - Aggravated.

"Integrity of games is of the utmost importance to NCAA members, and the panel is deeply troubled by Bohannon's unethical behavior," Vince Nicastro, deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of the Big East and chief hearing officer for the NCAA's panel, said in a statement. "Coaches, student-athletes and administrators have access to information deemed valuable to those involved in betting. Improperly sharing that information for purposes of sports betting cuts to the heart of the honesty and sportsmanship we expect of our members and is particularly egregious when shared by those who have the ability to influence the outcome of games."

Bohannon would receive a five-year suspension if he is hired by any school during his 15-year show cause penalty.

The NCAA found that Bohannon sent several encrypted messages on the Signal app to Bert Neff, who was betting on the Alabama-LSU baseball game last April 28. Bohannon informed Neff that starting pitcher Luke Holman would not start the game due to injury before Bohannon provided the information to LSU.

Bohannon's text message, according to the NCAA's report, was, "HAMMER … [Student-athlete 1] is out for sure … Lemme know when I can tell LSU… Hurry."

Neff tried to place a $100,000 bet on LSU but was told by the sports book in Cincinnati the limit was $15,000. Neff then insisted upon placing additional bets with the sports book, which were declined because of his suspicious activity. Neff was a youth baseball baseball coach in Indiana, while Bohannon spent the 2004-15 seasons as an assistant baseball coach in nearby Kentucky.

From the NCAA's report: "This suspicious activity included the bettor's insistent demeanor to get the bet placed and statements to sportsbook staff that the bet was 'for sure going to win' and 'if only you guys knew what I knew.' The suspicious activity also included the bettor showing sportsbook staff messages from Bohannon and explaining that the messages were Bohannon informing bettor that Alabama was scratching its starting pitcher before the game and before Bohannon alerted LSU."

ESPN reported Thursday that Neff pleaded guilty federal charges Wednesday of obstructing a federal investigation, including destroying evidence, tampering with witnesses and providing false statements to the FBI. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years and up to a $250,000 fine.

Alabama must inform its baseball prospects about its three-year probation and make information about the NCAA's decision "direct and conspicuous" on its website and media guide. However, the NCAA noted Alabama had "very little institutional culpability, [there was] no student-athlete involvement and [the NCAA investigation] was materially aided by the institution's prompt investigation, disclosure of the violations and its exemplary cooperation."

The NCAA considered Alabama a "repeat violator" after its men's basketball program was placed on three years probation in 2020 stemming from earlier infractions by then-associate athletics director Kobie Baker. But NCAA added "this [baseball] case involves distinct behavior in a different sport program" and warranted no "departure upward" from usual penalties.

The NCAA said Alabama has hired EPIC Global Solutions to provide "a comprehensive gambling harm and student-athlete protection education program for student-athletes, coaches and athletics administrators." The school also provided gambling education from U.S. Integrity to all athletes and staff members last August, while the SEC has a partnership with ProhiBET that monitors athletes, coaches and administrators' activities to ensure compliance with NCAA rules.

Bohannon was fired May 4, days after Neff's suspicious activity launched an investigation by the Ohio Casino Control Commission.