Former Abilene Christian Basketball Player Banned for Point Shaving

ABILENE, TX — A former Abilene Christian University basketball player was permanently banned by the NCAA after investigators said he accepted $3,500 to intentionally underperform in a game as part of a sports betting scheme tied to federal criminal charges.

The NCAA’s Division I Committee on Infractions announced Friday that former player Airion Simmons helped orchestrate a point-shaving scheme during the 2023-24 season while playing for the Wildcats.

According to the NCAA, Simmons colluded with a teammate and agreed with a bettor to throw a March 2024 game in exchange for money. During a December 2025 interview with NCAA investigators, Simmons said a second bettor also contacted him about intentionally losing the game.

Federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania indicted Simmons and two bettors in January on charges that included bribery, fraud and conspiracy tied to a broader gambling scheme involving college basketball games.

Prosecutors said the operation involved gamblers recruiting players to intentionally underperform so bettors could wager against their teams and profit from manipulated outcomes. Authorities said players sometimes recruited teammates to cooperate by playing poorly, sitting out or limiting opportunities for uninvolved teammates to score.

The NCAA said the investigation began after a former Abilene Christian student-athlete who transferred into the program reported that Simmons and another teammate approached him in March 2024 about purposely losing a game for money.

The reporting player later participated in a FaceTime call with Simmons, another teammate and a bettor, according to the NCAA. During the call, the bettor allegedly instructed the players to throw the game in exchange for payment.

The student-athlete told investigators the game’s outcome had effectively been decided before he entered the contest and that his performance did not affect the result.

Investigators said Simmons informed bettors before the game that he had a hand injury and that another teammate would not play. Simmons was offered $3,500 to “play bad” and left the game after 11 minutes because of the injury, according to the NCAA.

Simmons later told investigators he met someone in a Dallas parking lot to collect cash for throwing the game. The NCAA said he did not share the money with the other athletes involved.

Although Simmons agreed to speak with NCAA investigators, the NCAA said he declined to participate further in the case process.

Simmons is the latest college athlete penalized in the ongoing point-shaving investigation. Two former Fordham University basketball players were also permanently banned by the NCAA last month.