Notre Dame on Thursday suspended its men’s swimming program for at least a year after an outside review found that members of the team violated NCAA rules by betting among themselves on the outcomes of their meets and failing to “treat each other with dignity and respect.”
“To ensure this behavior ends and to restore a culture of dignity, respect and exemplary behavior, we have decided to suspend the men’s swimming program for at least one school year,” athletic director Pete Bevacqua said in a statement.
Notre Dame did not provide details of the review, which was conducted by a law firm.
According to a person familiar with the situation, members of the team had set up a makeshift, in-house betting office where athletes could bet on the times they or their teammates posted in competitions. No athletes were found to have bet on opposing teams or other Notre Dame sporting events, the person said.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Notre Dame does not release the contents of the report.
The person said more than 60% of the team, which includes 25 swimmers, had participated in betting on team members’ performances. The review also found that some team members had bet among themselves on events such as the Super Bowl and March Madness basketball tournament games.
The person said a group text chat with members of the team was also found, full of derogatory comments and messages. No evidence of physical harassment or abuse was found.
Sports Illustrated was the first to report on the details of the gambling violations identified in the review.
Participation of the women’s swimming and diving teams and the men’s diving team could not be determined.
Bevcaqua said coach Chris Lindauer and his staff fully cooperated with the review. No coaches have been fired.
“The review found that staff were unaware of gambling or the scope and extent of other problem behaviors because team members effectively concealed such behaviors from coaches and staff through concerted efforts,” Bevacqua said. “The review found that when certain isolated cases of unacceptable behavior were brought to their attention, staff treated them seriously and professionally.”
Lindauer was an assistant coach for USA Swimming at the last Olympic Games and Fighting Irish swimmer Chris Guiliano won an Olympic gold medal as part of Team USA’s 400-meter freestyle relay.
According to the person who spoke to AP, the review found no evidence that Guiliano participated in the betting.
“While these have been difficult months, I am confident that Notre Dame has taken the right steps to ensure this misconduct does not continue,” Lindauer said in a statement. “I am confident that we will emerge from this situation stronger.”
Notre Dame said school officials received reports of misconduct after last school year and hired the law firm Ropes & Gray to investigate in June.
Team members are allowed to transfer, but anyone found to have violated gambling rules faces sanctions from the NCAA.
“The national office is aware that Notre Dame has declared several student-athletes ineligible due to potential violations of the sports betting rules,” NCAA spokeswoman Meghan Durham Wright said in a statement. “We continue to work with the school as it determines what happened. The NCAA does not comment on specific participation cases due to student privacy laws, and we have no further comment at this time.”
The NCAA has changed its gambling violation sanctions in recent months to mitigate penalties for small bets and bets on sports other than those in which athletes participate.
“We hope this decision sends a clear and unambiguous message reinforcing that commitment and expectation,” Bevacqua said. “And as we do after any major action, we will continue to review our internal processes and reporting structures to ensure we are doing everything we can to provide a positive experience for all Notre Dame student-athletes.”
Other college sports teams have also been involved in gambling cases recently. Alabama has fired baseball coach Brad Bohannon in May 2023 after Ohio authorities discovered suspicious bets involving his team had been placed at a Cincinnati casino.
At about the same time, Iowa authorities announced that they Investigation into illegal sports betting by college athletes from Iowa and Iowa State. Criminal charges were filed against about two dozen athletes, with most accepting settlements and some having their charges dropped when a judge granted a defense motion that there was insufficient probable cause to investigate.
Nevertheless, all of them were declared ineligible by the NCAA, including five starters on the ISU football team. Several athletes filed a civil lawsuit against the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
