Shockwaves in College Football: NCAA Drops Unexpected Verdict on Staff Betting Scandal

College football fans know how stadiums can feel like roaring lions on gameday, intimidating even the toughest opponents. But what happens when the real drama moves off the field—into the murky world of sports betting? Iowa State’s football program just found out the hard way. Five members of their staff didn’t just place a few casual wagers; they racked up over 6,000 online bets totaling north of $100,000, gambling on a mix of college and pro games, even their own basketball teams. No, this isn’t some bad locker room gossip—it’s an NCAA mess with serious consequences that will echo through college football until 2026. The kicker? The show’s main players include the son of Iowa State’s defensive coordinator and staff members now working everywhere from the NFL to Army. So, just how deep does this scandal run, and can the Cyclones shake off this cloud while their stadiums still send shivers down opponents’ spines? Dive in and unravel the tangled web beneath the Turf.

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One major college football program is under fire after a new NCAA ruling regarding a betting scandal among it staff.

According to ESPN, five Iowa State football staff members were found to have made more than 6,000 individual sports bets online. 

The value of the wagers totaled more than $100,000, and the bets were split between college and pro games.

The games the staffers bet on included Iowa State men’s and women’s basketball games.

A state investigation was conducted into the program, and five staffers were implicated after a look into sports betting at college athletic facilities within the state of Iowa.

Jace Heacock, Chase Clark, Michael Dryer, Kyle Highland and Mason Williams were the staffers in question. They will not face criminal charges for their actions, but they will be punished by the NCAA.

All five of the staffers have acknowledged that they knowingly violated NCAA sports betting rules, and all will be subject to a one-year show-cause order, meaning their penalties will follow them in college football through late April of 2026.

If any of the staffers are hired by another athletic department, they must serve a mandatory two-week suspension and attend the NCAA’s regional rules seminar at their own expense.

ESPN found that Heacock was the most prolific of the five bettors, making 787 bets totaling just over $55,000. 

Heacock is the son of Iowa State defensive coordinator Jon Heacock, and held a graduate assistant’s role before being hired back as director of football analytics last week.

Chase Clark made the most total bets of the group with 2,305 wagers – including 46 on Cyclones men’s and women’s basketball games. He worked as assistant director of football equipment operations for the Cyclones and is now an an assistant equipment manager for the NFL’s Detroit Lions.

Highland and Williams currently work at Army and Valparaiso respectively, and Dryer works in sales for a sporting goods company.

The staffers were not the only individuals implicated as a result of the investigation, as dozens of Iowa and Iowa State athletes have been charged with identity theft and underage gambling, among other crimes.

Many of those athletes have joined a lawsuit against Iowa’s Department of Criminal Investigation, the organization responsible for the investigation and subsequent charges. In that lawsuit, they allege that the Iowa DCI violated their rights and ruined their reputations.

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