A second mid-Atlantic men’s basketball program has come under scrutiny in a gambling investigation. The Maryland Lottery & Gaming Control Agency confirmed to Sports Illustrated on Friday that the Loyola (Md.) Greyhounds are the focus of an inquiry into unusual betting patterns.
“We are aware of the investigation, and based on the scope of this investigation, the Agency’s role is limited to providing licensee contact information,” agency spokesman Seth Elkin wrote in an email to SI.
Loyola’s season concluded on Tuesday with a loss to the Navy Midshipmen in the Patriot League tournament. The Greyhounds ended the season with a 7–25 record, marking their lowest winning percentage since their 1–27 season in 2004. On Friday, the school announced that sixth-year head coach Tavaras Hardy is stepping down.
“Loyola was made aware of an individual’s gambling violation that was promptly reported to the NCAA.
The individual was immediately removed from the program, and the NCAA accepted the self-report and took no further action.
The conference office investigated to ensure the integrity of League contests by reaching out to U.S. Integrity, the conference’s monitoring partner. U.S. Integrity analyzed contests and no anomalies were discovered.
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency provided contact information on operators licensed in the state, and those operators confirmed all previously known information,” the school said in a statement to SI.
On Thursday night, SI reported that gambling watchdog company U.S. Integrity sent out an alert to casinos regarding unusual wagering activity on the UAB Blazers–Temple Owls men’s basketball game.
“We are aware [U.S. Integrity] flagged it,” AAC men’s basketball director of communications Tom Fenstermaker told SI.
