Iowa’s Noah Shannon and Iowa State’s DeShawn Hanika are out for the season following the NCAA’s ruling on sports betting

Iowa defensive tackle Noah Shannon and Iowa State tight end DeShawn Hanika will not return to competition this season because the NCAA Council Coordinating Committee requires all athletes who bet on their school’s teams – other than their own team – to complete a season suspend and lose one year of eligibility. The verdict came on Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what you need to know:

• Shannon was suspended for the entire season by the NCAA in August for playing on Iowa women’s basketball last season. His appeal was rejected by the NCAA.
• Hanika, a redshirt senior, was initially charged with two felony counts related to the ongoing gambling investigations involving Iowa State and Iowa athletics. 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 playing in all NCAA-sponsored sports, 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 was initially one of three Iowa players to return for a sixth season.

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

“For me it’s a personal comment, I think it’s the right thing to do,” Ferentz said. “I’m not confident that will happen. But I have no doubt it would be the right thing to do.”

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

“He’s a great leader,” defensive end Deontae Craig said. “I just think he brings back all the little things, teaching on the field, making adjustments live in the 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 had hoped for immediate reinstatement but will now likely sit out the season or lose their eligibility entirely.

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 is eligible to play for one more season.

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

What you say

“To be clear, Division I members do not encourage student-athletes at any level to engage in sports betting, and today’s action to change the conditions of reinstatement should not be interpreted as encouraging betting behavior,” said Jon Steinbrecher, chair of the Council Coordination Committee and commissioner of the Mid-American Conference, said in a statement. “NCAA members continue to value the integrity of competition and believed that the reinstatement conditions for betting rule violations should reflect this emphasis and also provide opportunities for preventive education, when possible.”

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

“Noah broke no laws. He hasn’t committed any crimes. And yet he is being grossly over-punished by a membership committee that refuses to see perspective and use common sense. I have said many times that I think it is strange that Iowa State is the sole focus of this investigation. Noah is sidelined as the NCAA rules on an investigation it did not initiate, using an inconsistent justice system to harshly punish an outstanding young man. It’s 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 this was upheld on appeal. Shannon remained enrolled in the classes.

When the NCAA Division I Council announced on Oct. 4 that it would re-examine policies regarding the reinstatement of suspended athletes involved in sports betting, Shannon and Hanika returned to football practice.

According to Story County Court documents, Hanika was accused of making 288 bets, including 70 on Iowa State basketball. Prosecutors missed the 45-day deadline to file charges against Hanika because he waived his preliminary hearing and his case was dismissed. Shannon was never criminally charged in the investigation.

Required reading

• Iowa is asking the NCAA for clarity on DT Noah Shannon and the eligibility of other student-athletes with game penalties
• Iowa Football’s Noah Shannon on the uncertainty of the NCAA gambling investigation

(Photo: Keith Gillett / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)