The University of Notre Dame has suspended its men’s swimming team for one academic year after investigations found members had been running a sportsbook to bet on their own performances.
In a statement, Notre Dame Vice President James E. Rohr and Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua said that an external review, “confirmed and expanded on our initial concerns about a deeply embedded team culture dismissive of Notre Dame’s standards for student-athletes, including our expectation that they treat one another with dignity and respect.”
The independent, external review documented numerous violations of NCAA rules prohibiting gambling on intercollegiate swimming and other athletic competitions.
Sports Illustrated was the first to report that the violations in question consisted of student-athletes running their own sportsbook in order to bet on their own swimming performances. Some swimmers also placed wagers on other sports and involving other schools, sources said, such as the NCAA basketball tournaments.
A majority of the returning 2024–25 team is believed to have placed wagers, which included over/under prop lines on swimmer’s times in races.
While individual conduct varied, the overwhelming cultural dynamic on the team necessitates a full suspension.
Notre Dame VP James E. Rohr and Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua
The Notre Dame staff statement said the review found staff was not aware of gambling or the scope and extent of other troubling behaviors because team members effectively concealed such behaviors from the coaches and staff “through concerted efforts.”
There is room for further punishment. Sports Illustrated noted that the punishments could follow individuals to new schools if they transfer, and they could even face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility. The NCAA introduced a new tiered system of how sports betting violations were punished last year.
NCAA legislation updated in June 2023 stipulates that “student-athletes who engage in activities to influence the outcomes of their own games or knowingly provide information to individuals involved in sports betting activities will potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility in all sports.”
“The national office is aware that Notre Dame has declared several student-athletes ineligible in light of potential violations of sports betting rules,” NCAA spokeswoman Meghan Durham Wright said in a statement. “We continue to work with the school as it determines what occurred.”
