Four former Alabama State men’s basketball players took part in a plan to influence the outcome of a December 2024 game against Southern Mississippi in exchange for money from outside bettors, according to an NCAA infractions decision released Thursday (June 5).
The NCAA said betting-related integrity violations involved former players Amarr Knox, Shawn Fulcher, Corey Hines and Tony Madlock. Investigators found that before the December 5, 2024, matchup, “Known Bettor 1 offered money for the team to throw the institution’s game against the University of Southern Mississippi.”
According to the ruling, Fulcher added teammates to a group chat with the bettor on Dec. 4, 2024. The players later joined a FaceTime call on the morning of the game. The NCAA stated that “the group agreed on the Facetime call to throw the game.”
Investigators concluded that Knox and other teammates “conspired and agreed to lose or attempt to lose by more points than the betting spread identified by sports book operators.” The players later received a combined $2,000 from people connected to the scheme.
Fulcher and Madlock each received $700, while Knox and Hines each received $300. The NCAA said Fulcher’s share was larger because the bettors were his contacts, while Madlock provided advance information that he would not play because of an injury.
Details from the NCAA decision on the Alabama state basketball players
The NCAA found that Knox violated standards of honesty and sportsmanship by participating in the arrangement and intentionally underperforming for financial gain. His case was resolved through a negotiated agreement approved by the Division I Committee on Infractions.
The ruling also determined that Hines and Fulcher knowingly shared information with individuals involved in sports wagering. In one finding, the NCAA said Fulcher “provided information to individuals that the institution would lose by more points than the betting spread identified by sports book operators, in a conspiracy with outside bettors for pecuniary gain.”
Madlock was found to have provided information before the game and later accepted payment. The NCAA further concluded that Hines and Fulcher failed to cooperate fully by giving false or misleading information during the investigation.
The Alabama State case is one part of a much larger federal investigation. Prosecutors have charged 26 individuals in an alleged point-shaving network that authorities say affected NCAA Division I men’s basketball games and contests in the Chinese Basketball Association.
Federal court records cited by the NCAA show that Fulcher and Hines were indicted in January 2026 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on charges including bribery in sports wagering contests, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud tied to the Southern Mississippi game.
In recent months, former Abilene Christian player Airion Simmons was permanently ruled ineligible by the NCAA after investigators said he accepted $3,500 and agreed to “play[ing] bad” during a March 2024 game against Tarleton State. Simmons, Fulcher and Hines all appear among the individuals identified in the wider federal case.
The Committee on Infractions classified the Alabama State violations as Level I, the NCAA’s most serious category of misconduct.
Featured image: Ron Cogswell via Flickr / CC BY 2.0
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