Iowa, ISU wrestlers involved in sports wagering probe get bad news from NCAA

Iowa and Iowa State wrestlers facing NCAA suspensions in the sports-wagering investigation were hoping to get some good news Wednesday. That didn't exactly happen.

The NCAA announced modifications for sports wagering reinstatement guidelines. A news release stated: "Effective immediately, reinstatement guidelines for student-athletes who wager on teams at their school — excluding their own team — will start at requiring one season of ineligibility and a loss of one year of eligibility. Student-athletes will also be required to participate in sports wagering rules and prevention education as a condition of reinstatement."

Under the NCAA's previous guidelines, athletes who bet on games involving their school were subject to permanent banishment. The new guidelines shorten that to one year, as long as the athlete did not bet on his or her own team.

The NCAA recently had signaled that it was considering eliminating suspensions for athletes who bet on their school (but not their own team). Instead, those suspensions were cut to one year.

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This was bad news for some wrestlers at Iowa and Iowa State who were hoping to get their eligibility back for this season.

Iowa's Nelson Brands and Abe Assad confirmed recently that they were facing NCAA suspensions. Other Hawkeye wrestlers are believed to be facing ineligibility due to the wagering probe.

More:Who fills the void left by Iowa wrestling's suspended athletes?

Iowa State's Paniro Johnson, a former Big 12 champion, allegedly bet on Cyclone sports events, according to a Story County criminal complaint. Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser said last week that "a few guys" on the Cyclones roster were caught up in the sports-wagering probe.

Brands earned All-America honors for the first time in his career by finishing fifth in the 2023 NCAA Championships in the 174-pound weight class. Assad did not disclose the length or the exact details of his suspension, but described it as "harsh." He is a multiple-time NCAA qualifier for the Hawkeyes. He ranked as high as eighth last season in national rankings before going 1-2 at the NCAA Championships.

Both Assad and Brands publicly criticized the NCAA for its handling of the sports wagering probe earlier this fall at media day.

The Hawkeyes and Cyclones now face the new season without a significant chunk of their returning firepower. Iowa coach Tom Brands and Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser will have to be creative in filling the gaps in the lineup.

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him atEmckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.