Iowa’s Noah Shannon, Iowa State’s DeShawn Hanika out for season after NCAA ruling on sports betting

Iowa defensive tackle Noah Shannon and Iowa State tight end DeShawn Hanika will not return to competition this season, as the NCAA Council Coordination Committee will require all athletes who wager on teams at their school — excluding their own team — to sit out one season and lose one year of eligibility. The ruling came Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what you need to know:

Shannon was hit with a season-long NCAA suspension in August for gambling on Iowa’s women’s basketball last season. His appeal was denied by the NCAA.
Hanika, a redshirt senior, initially was charged with a pair of aggravated misdemeanors in connection to the ongoing gambling investigation involving athletics at Iowa State and Iowa. But on Oct. 2, Story County prosecutors asked a judge to dismiss those charges.
Current NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes, coaches and athletics administrators from gambling on any sport sponsored by the NCAA, including collegiate and professional sports.

What does this mean for Iowa?

With the loss of this season and one year of eligibility, Shannon cannot return to the Hawkeyes. Shannon initially was one of three Iowa players to return for a sixth season.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz vouched for Shannon’s return throughout the fall, including at his news conference Tuesday.

“To me, it’s personal commentary, I think it’s the right thing to do,” Ferentz said. “I’m not confident that’s going to happen. But there’s no doubt in my mind it would be the right thing to do.”

Shannon, who stands at 6 feet and weighs 295 pounds, finished his Iowa career with 107 career tackles, including 11 for loss and 4 1/2 sacks. Last year, he recorded 8 1/2 tackles for loss. Shannon has spent the fall working as a student assistant with the defensive line.

“He’s a great leader,” defensive end Deontae Craig said. “I just think he brings back all the little things, the on-field teaching, adjustments live in-game. He’s a great football player, a great person. And what you see is what you get with Noah Shannon.”

The ruling also impacts several Iowa wrestlers, who were hoping for immediate reinstatement but now are likely to sit out for the season or lose their eligibility altogether.

What does this mean for Iowa State?

Hanika (6-6, 255) led all Cyclone tight ends with 17 receptions for 244 yards and averaged a team-high 14.4 yards per catch in 2022. He also caught four touchdown passes last year. He has one season of eligibility remaining.

A Topeka Kan., native, Hanika has played in 34 games for the Cyclones from 2020-2022. He redshirted at Butler (Kan.) Community College in 2019. Hanika, a two-time All-Big 12 academic honoree, already has his bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and is working on a master’s degree in entrepreneurship.

What they’re saying

“To be clear, Division I members do not encourage student-athletes to engage in sports wagering at any level, and the actions today to modify reinstatement conditions should not be interpreted as support for wagering behaviors,” Jon Steinbrecher, chair of the Council Coordination Committee and commissioner of the Mid-American Conference, said in a statement. “NCAA members continue to prioritize integrity of competition and felt that reinstatement conditions for violations of wagering rules should reflect that focus and, when possible, also accommodate opportunities for preventative education.”

Ferentz said in a statement that he is “heartbroken for Noah (Shannon) and his family that the NCAA has come to this conclusion.”

“Noah did not break any laws. He did not commit any crimes. And yet he is being severely over-punished by a membership committee that refuses to see perspective or use common sense. I have said many times that I think it is peculiar that the state of Iowa is uniquely the focus of this investigation. Noah is being sidelined because the NCAA is ruling on an investigation that they did not instigate, using an uneven system of justice to severely punish an excellent young man. It is just wrong.”

Backstory

Shannon, an honorable mention All-Big Ten defender in 2022, admitted to betting on the Iowa women’s basketball team in the Final Four this spring. The NCAA suspended Shannon for the season and it was upheld upon appeal. Shannon remained enrolled in classes.

When the NCAA Division I Council announced on Oct. 4 that it would reexamine reinstatement guidelines for suspended athletes engaged in sports wagering, Shannon and Hanika returned to football practice.

Hanika was accused of making 288 wagers, including 70 on Iowa State basketball, according to Story County Court documents. Prosecutors missed the 45-day filing deadline to indict Hanika from when he waived his preliminary hearing and his case was dismissed. Shannon never was charged criminally in the probe.