Imago
Credits: Imago
Imago
Credits: Imago
Brendan Sorsby was never going to be the only case of someone gambling himself into trouble. A former Army football staff member now faces suspension after gambling over $500,000 on college and pro sports, damaging the university’s reputation.
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Army West Point’s former assistant equipment manager, Jaquan Mack, took part in sports betting activities from January 18 through May 1, 2023, and again from November 14, 2024, through October 29, 2025. The NCAA said Mack violated the rules of honesty and sportsmanship by knowingly gambling on sports competitions.
During that time, Mack placed around 648 bets worth about $541,575 on both professional and college sports games. Out of those bets, 116 were placed on NCAA games and totaled around $86,206. However, the NCAA confirmed that Mack did not place any bets involving sports teams from the schools where he worked.
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Because of the violations, Mack received serious penalties from the NCAA. The punishment includes a two-year show-cause penalty and a suspension. A show-cause penalty means that if a school wants to hire him during that period, the school could also face NCAA restrictions or extra monitoring.
The report also made it clear that Army West Point and Abilene Christian University (ACU) were not found responsible. The NCAA said the violations only involved specific individuals, including a former staff member and some students at ACU. Both schools fully cooperated with the NCAA investigation throughout the process.
This is not the first time Abilene Christian University (ACU) has faced problems with the NCAA. In 2009, the NCAA punished ACU’s football team because of problems involving recruiting, academic help for players, housing benefits, and failure to properly follow NCAA rules. Because of the violations, ACU received two years of probation, a $2,500 fine, limits on recruiting visits, and scholarship reductions in track and field.
🚨 NEW NCAA Violation 🚨
Army West Point
Former Assistant Equipment Manager Jaquan Mack impermissibly bet over $500K on college & pro games. He did not bet on Army West Point games.
Penalties include 2-year Show-Cause and Suspension. pic.twitter.com/pbPrnRJcVr
— NIL 𝘯𝘰𝘵 NLI (@NILnotNLI) May 15, 2026
The NCAA also forced the football team to vacate, or erase, all wins from games where ineligible players competed between 2007 and their NCAA reinstatement. Most of the violations happened in the track and field program. According to the NCAA report, head coach Don D. Hood gave improper benefits to recruits and athletes.
He signed apartment leases for recruits, gave free running shoes, helped organize holiday parties where athletes received gifts, clothing, gift cards, cash, and other benefits, and also provided a 10 percent discount on campus housing costs over several years. All of this led to serious violations and ended up putting major pressure on the university. Now, they are back in another major rift with the NCAA, and they have already taken strict action against their former basketball player.
ACU’s former basketball player faces the NCAA’s strict action
The NCAA permanently banned former Abilene Christian basketball player Airion Simmons after accusing him of helping sports bettors try to fix basketball games. Simmons played for Abilene Christian from 2019 to 2024. The NCAA announced the punishment on Friday through its Division I Committee on Infractions.
According to the NCAA, Simmons worked together with a teammate and agreed with a bettor to purposely intentionally lose a game in March 2024 in exchange for money. Throwing a game, trying to lose on purpose, or playing badly to help gamblers win bets is what Simmons allegedly did.
The NCAA investigation also found that Simmons later spoke with investigators in December 2025. During that interview, Simmons admitted that another bettor had also contacted him about losing a game for money. Because of the serious gambling and game-fixing allegations, the NCAA gave Simmons a permanent ban from college sports.
The infractions committee’s official statement said, “Simmons knowingly provided information to individuals involved in sports wagering activities and agreed to manipulate his performance.”
Airion Simmons is also facing serious legal trouble outside of the NCAA punishment. He has been charged with wire fraud and bribery. If he is found guilty, the wire fraud charges could lead to a prison sentence of up to 20 years, while the bribery charge could bring up to 5 years in prison.
This situation is a major setback for Simmons because his basketball career and future have been seriously harmed. It is also a difficult moment for Abilene Christian University because the case brings negative attention to the school and its athletics program.
