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After student-athletes were shelved last week from competition, the University of Iowa and Iowa State University have acknowledged their athletics programs are under investigation by the state’s Gaming and Racing Commission for potential transgressions.

A total of 126 individuals from the two rival schools — including current or former members of both the Hawkeyes’ and the Cyclones’ football programs — are subjects in the probe.

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The investigation is exploring those individuals engaging in betting on NCAA competitions, which is against the organization’s rules.

Iowa is one of more than 30 states across the country to have legalized sports gambling in recent years as government regulations have been relaxed, and the Iowa Gaming and Racing Commission’s 2023 Fiscal Year To Date report showed “sports wagering handle” in the tens of millions of dollars across numerous casinos throughout the state and net receipts of nearly $50m in some instances.

Action Sports Network’s Darren Rovell first reported that a probe had specifically been launched to examine members of Iowa’s baseball team, just a week after the University of Alabama fired its baseball coach amidst a similar gambling scandal. 

Of the more than 100 individuals being investigated at Iowa, the school said all but 26 current student-athletes and one full-time employee are no longer at the school. 

In its statement addressing the matter, the University of Iowa’s Office of Strategic Communication said, in part, the following:

“The University of Iowa and the Department of Athletics are aware of the sports wagering investigation and are fully cooperating. We have alerted the NCAA of the potential violations and we have hired outside counsel to assist in the investigative process.

“The athletics department provides education on NCAA rules regarding the the prohibition of sports wagering as well as the potential consequences.”

Iowa, which provided much more clear information than that from Iowa State, also revealed the timeline of events in the probe, which is focusing on Hawkeyes from five different men’s sports — football, baseball, basketball among them — as well as a current full-time employee of the Iowa Hawkeyes’ athletics department.

Per Iowa, the matter evolved in less than a week’s time:

May 2: University of Iowa leadership was notified of potential criminal conduct related to sports wagering that also suggested possible NCAA violations.

May 3: Law enforcement notified the university that additional information would be provided the following day.

May 4: The university received a list of individuals alleged to have participated in sports wagering.

May 5: The University of Iowa took the following action:

– notified several student-athletes that they would not be participating in upcoming competitions;

– alerted the NCAA to potential violations; and

– engaged outside legal counsel to advise the university and potentially lead an investigation.

ISU’s probe of 15 individuals is focused on three sports: football, track and field, wrestling.

“The university has notified the NCAA,” ISU’s statement read, “and will take the appropriate actions to resolve those issues.”