The NCAA has taken disciplinary action against five current or former Iowa State football support staff members for combining to make more than 6,200 online bets totaling more than $100,000 on professional and college games, including men’s and women’s basketball games involving the Cyclones.
The five were identified during a state investigation into sports wagering activities in campus athletic facilities from 2021-23. They face no criminal charges.
In a negotiated resolution finalized last week, Jace Heacock, Chase Clark, Michael Dryer, Kyle Highland and Mason Williams acknowledged they knowingly violated NCAA sports wagering bylaws and all are subject to a one-year show-cause order through April 24, 2026.
Any of the five hired by another school’s athletic department will be required to attend the annual NCAA Regional Rules Seminar at his own expense and serve a two-week suspension during the show-cause period.
Iowa State’s athletic department declined to comment on the case Friday.
The NCAA classified the violations as Level II for the individuals involved, meaning the breaches could compromise the integrity of the NCAA collegiate model.
Heacock, son of defensive coordinator Jon Heacock, was a football graduate assistant in 2021 and 2022. He was hired back as director of football analytics April 24. His biography on ISU’s athletic website did not mention where, or if, he worked in 2023 and 2024. He was found to have placed 787 bets totaling about $55,359.
Clark, former assistant director of football equipment operations, placed 2,305 bets totaling about $18,676, including 46 bets on ISU men’s and women’s basketball. He now is an assistant equipment manager for the Detroit Lions.
Dryer, former assistant of equipment operations, placed 1,182 bets totaling about $11,536, including 25 bets on ISU men’s and women’s basketball. His LinkedIn page indicated he worked in sales for a sporting goods company after he left Iowa State.
Highland, former football recruiting operations assistant, placed 509 bets totaling about $6,365, including eight bets on ISU men’s and women’s basketball. He now is Army’s assistant director of football operations.
Williams, former associate for athletics equipment operations, placed 1,455 bets totaling about $11,679, including 12 bets on ISU men’s and women’s basketball. He now is head equipment manager at Valparaiso.
The state Department of Criminal Investigation turned over the names of the five men to Iowa State officials as part of its investigation into underage online sports wagering at colleges in the state. Dozens of athletes at Iowa and Iowa State were caught in the sting and charged with, among other things, underage gambling and identity theft.
Many of the athletes pleaded guilty and paid a fine; charges were dismissed against others. More than three dozen athletes have joined in a civil lawsuit against the DCI, alleging the agency violated their rights and smeared their reputations.
Washington is Williams’ team
Barring injury, there’s no debating who Washington’s next quarterback will be – and it’s one coach Jedd Fisch has thought highly of for a long time.
Sophomore Demond Williams Jr., who appeared in 13 games for the Huskies as a freshman and completed over 78% of his passes, initially enrolled at Arizona when Fisch was still running the show in Tucson. As Washington wraps up spring practice with its annual scrimmage on Friday night, it has become clear to Fisch that Williams isn’t just the undisputed play-caller.
“He’s certainly evolved as a leader,” Fisch said. “You can certainly feel and see him out there. The fact that it’s his team now, he’s not sitting back. He can understand that it’s truly, truly up to him if the offense is struggling to get the offense going. Truly up to him if the offense is having success to keep the success going.”
Williams spent most of last season as the backup to Mississippi State transfer Will Rogers, but flashed his potential in the Sun Bowl against Louisville by completing 26 of 32 passes for 374 yards and four touchdowns. This spring, the quarterback continued to exhibit his deft passing touch, especially on short, rhythm routes.
Despite a shorter stature, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Williams could very well be the kind of quarterback Fisch wants to run the Huskies’ offense.
“We got 14 weeks (until the regular season starts) and we got to get really good together,” Fisch said. “I’m going to commit to seeing how good we can be as a quarterback-play-caller tandem. And then on the same token, I know he’s going to commit to see how good of a player he can be, so I’m excited about it.”
This time last year, Fisch had his hands full in terms of simply fielding a full roster for the spring game in his first year as Washington’s coach. At no position was that felt more than offensive line, because the Huskies had just seven offensive linemen available for the spring game last May.
On Wednesday, Fisch said he anticipated 17 offensive linemen would be able to participate.
“The difference is – I mean it’s even hard to describe because No. 1, they look better,” Fisch said. “Their size is better. They’re moving better. They’re playing at a really high level as a group.”
Fisch highlighted the addition of Carver Willis, a sixth-year offensive tackle who spent the last five seasons at Kansas State. Willis was an honorable mention All-Big 12 player in 2024.
“Big get for us on the offensive line,” Fisch said. “He’s certainly shown to be everything that we thought he was going to be.”
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
