Texas and Mississippi State Self-Report NCAA Betting Violations

Texas’ Five Violations

The Texas athletic department owned up to five NCAA violations between July 11 and November 4, 2024. Five individuals, two football players, a non-student linked to women’s tennis, a student assistant, and an unspecified staffer, racked up $14,885.76 in bets on PrizePicks, a daily fantasy site legal in Texas but off-limits under NCAA Bylaw 10.3. That rule bans athletes, coaches, and staff from betting on any NCAA-championed sport, including fantasy setups.

ProhiBet, mandated by the SEC since the 2023–2024 season, sniffed out the wagers. One footballer, with a reported “problem” betting $9,600 (including two bets on Texas basketball), left the program and sought help, dodging penalties.

The other player lost eligibility but got it back after donating winnings to charity. The student assistant, caught betting on Texas games, got the boot, while the two non-students snagged warnings and extra training. Texas is beefing up education to keep it from happening again.

Mississippi State’s Trio of Missteps

Mississippi State reported three NCAA violations in 2024, all pegged as Level III, the lightest tier. First, a male practice squad member with the women’s basketball team placed six bets totaling $10 on NFL and college football games from September 28–30, just four days into his gig.

None touched Mississippi State games, but it still broke Bylaw 10.3. ProhiBet flagged it, and the school responded with more training for practice squad guys, a signed rules acknowledgment, and an account shutdown. The SEC signed off with no extra punishment.

The second hiccup involved a high school coach and ex-MSU footballer getting three free tickets to the Arkansas game, one too many under Bylaw 13.8.1’s two-ticket cap. A typo on the ticket list let his daughters tag along.

Mississippi State fixed its process, and the coach ponied up $80 to charity. Lastly, the track team overshot practice hours from November 3–9 in the off-season, thanks to a scheduling mix-up by Coach Chris Woods. The school doubled down with a penalty, cutting practice time twice per excess hour.

Both schools lean on ProhiBet to catch these lapses, a sign the SEC’s monitoring push is working. NCAA betting violations reportedly doubled to 100 in 2024 from 50 in 2023.