By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam
The Notre Dame men’s swimming program has been suspended for a minimum of one academic year after an investigation into potential gambling. The men’s swimming and diving programs are coming off their best combined finish at NCAAs in school history as they were 10th at the 2024 NCAA Championships.
Just after U.S. Olympic Trials in June, the school announced that the law firm, Ropes & Gray LLP to conduct an external review after “potential issues with the culture” of the team. Sources have told SwimSwam that the investigation has been ongoing at least since January and authorities were allegedly monitoring activity during US Olympic Trials.
The review found that gambling was an occurrence for most of the team members that were set to return for this upcoming season. Swimmers place “over/under” lines on swims at meets. One former member of the team says they even took wagers on “how many women would cry after their races.” In addition to betting on swimming, some of the athletes participated in betting on other sports such as the NCAA March Madness tournaments.
The school issued a statement today from athletic director Pete Bevacqu. “The 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,” said Bevacqu.
“This independent, external review also documented numerous violations of NCAA rules prohibiting gambling on intercollegiate swimming and other athletic competitions despite clear and recurrent training provided to all our student-athletes by our Athletics Compliance staff about those rules. These findings are contrary to the University’s values and all that we stand for in Notre Dame Athletics. In order to ensure that this behavior ends and to rebuild a culture of dignity, respect, and exemplary conduct, we have decided to suspend the men’s swimming program for at least one academic year.”
“While individual conduct varied, the overwhelming cultural dynamic on the team necessitates a full suspension. We profoundly regret that the small number of team members who did not participate in the conduct, and those who were planning on joining the team this fall, will also suffer the consequences of this decision”
“The coaching staff participated in and fully cooperated with all aspects of the external review. The review found that the 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. According to the review, when the staff became aware of certain isolated incidents of unacceptable conduct, they treated them seriously and professionally. We appreciate the continued service of the staff to our women’s swimming and diving programs and our men’s diving program during these difficult times.”
The program just finished its 2nd season under head coach Chris Lindauer. The men’s team had a historic 18th place finish at NCAAs in Lindauer’s first season before surpassing that finish this past March as they were 10th. The team also was 2nd at the 2024 ACC Championships, also a program-high finish.
130 out of the 132 points from the team at 2024 NCAAs came from swimming. Daniel Knapp was the only diver to score, with two points coming from a 15th place finish in the 1 meter event.
In addition to success at the NCAA level, the team also sent rising senior Chris Guiliano to represent the US at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Guiliano earned one gold and one silver as a member of the US men’s freestyle relays. According to Sports Illustrated, Guiliano is not thought to be one of the swimmers wagering on his own team. Lindauer was named an assistant coach for the US in Paris as well.
According to NCAA rule 10.3, sports-wagering is prohibited for student-athletes. “The following individuals shall not knowingly participate in sports wagering activities or provide information to individuals involved in or associated with any type of sports wagering activities concerning intercollegiate, amateur or professional athletics competition. (a) Staff members of an institution’s athletics department; (b) Nonathletics department staff members who have responsibilities within or over the athletics department (e.g., chancellor or president, faculty athletics representative, individual to whom athletics reports); (c) Staff members of a conference office; and (d) Student-athletes.”
The NCAA updated its guidelines on sports wagering and betting guidelines in June 2023. The updates show more severe consequences when betting on their own games and sports compared to betting on other athletic events such as professional ones. Those updates include:
- “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. This would also apply to student-athletes who wager on their own games or on other sports at their own schools.”
- “If a student-athlete wagers on their own sport at another school, education on sports wagering rules and prevention will be required as a condition of reinstatement, and the loss of 50% of one season of eligibility will be considered.”
- “For all other wagering-related violations (e.g., wagering on professional sports), cumulative dollar value of the wagers will be taken into consideration with the following terms for reinstatement:
- $200 or less: sports wagering rules and prevention education.
- $201-$500: loss of 10% of a season of eligibility, plus rules and prevention education.
- $501-$800: loss of 20% of a season of eligibility, plus rules and prevention education.
- Greater than $800: loss of 30% of a season of eligibility, plus rules and prevention education.”
“For cumulative wagering activities that greatly exceed $800, NCAA reinstatement staff are directed to consider whether additional loss of eligibility, including permanent ineligibility, are appropriate.”
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Notre Dame Men’s Swimming Program Suspended A Minimum Of 1 Year After Gambling Investigation