Greensboro Gets Probation, Fine Over Coach's Gambling

Just as legalized wagering on college sports finds its sea legs across the country, the NCAA announced a three-year probation and fine for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro athletics department, which has confronted issues within two of its sports.

According to the News & Record, UNCG self-reported violations related to gambling by former women’s basketball assistant coach Phil Collins, and men’s soccer coach EJ O’Keeffe. 

Aside from the probation, which took effect this week and continues through 2022, the NCAA assessed a one-time fine of $15,000.

“We make operating with the highest standards of compliance and integrity the cornerstone of our culture,” athletics director Kim Record said in a statement. "We have acted swiftly and decisively in both of these situations. While these separate incidents resulted in difficult decisions, we are confident that we have taken the right actions. We will always choose the path that aligns to our guiding principles: student-athlete well-being, teamwork, responsibility, integrity, development and excellence.”

Collins’ gambling was revealed on or around May 22, 2018, when former director of basketball operations Brooke Long told head coach Trina Patterson that she was aware of Collins’ wagering. 

Collins eventually admitted that he had gambled on professional and collegiate sports, including at least four single-game bets involving the UNCG men’s basketball team, as well as 10 parlays that involved the men's team. Collins admitted to losing $20,000 to $30,000 in gambling. 

The NCAA said that seven individuals within the UNCG athletics department were of Collins’ gambling but failed to report it. Director of basketball operations Brooke Long and assistant coach Asia Williams were both fired in June 2018 for failing to report Collins’ actions, and an assistant director of athletics for compliance left in October 2018.