NCAA Permanently Bans Four Alabama State Basketball Players for Accepting $2,000 to Fix a Game

The NCAA announced on June 6 that four former Alabama State men’s basketball players have been ruled permanently ineligible after accepting payment from gamblers to fix the outcome of a game during the 2024-25 season. The players — Amarr Knox, Shawn Fulcher, Corey Hines, and Tony Madlock — were found to have engaged in game manipulation when Alabama State played at Southern Mississippi on December 5, 2024.

According to the NCAA’s Division I Committee on Infractions, two known bettors approached the players and offered a combined $2,000 to throw the game. The players accepted the offer and were subsequently paid, leading to their permanent bans from NCAA competition. The ruling ends the collegiate careers of all four players and adds to a growing list of game-fixing cases that have drawn scrutiny to the intersection of college sports and legal sports betting.

Who Was Affected

Among the four players, Amarr Knox carried particular significance as a key contributor to Alabama State’s run in the NCAA Tournament. The case is notable not only for the permanent ineligibility determinations but also for the low dollar amount involved — $2,000 total offered to four players, suggesting the betters were working at the lower end of what has emerged as a broader network of college basketball game-fixing schemes.

The Alabama State case fits into a wider pattern that federal prosecutors have described as an international criminal conspiracy targeting college and professional basketball games. A federal indictment unsealed in May 2026 charged 26 individuals — including more than a dozen former NCAA Division I players — in a sprawling point-shaving and betting scheme that targeted more than 29 games involving players from at least 17 programs. That case alleged payments ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game, considerably more than what was offered to the Alabama State players.

The Broader College Sports Betting Integrity Crisis

The Alabama State ruling comes alongside the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s announcement of its first arrest in the Fresno State basketball betting scandal and separate findings against players from Abilene Christian and other programs. The NCAA has permanently banned multiple players across programs in recent months, reflecting what the organization has described as an intensifying threat to the integrity of college athletics as legal sports betting has expanded to more than 30 states.

Sports-integrity monitoring services working with sportsbooks have proven increasingly effective at flagging suspicious wagering patterns that trigger investigations. As more states legalize sports betting, the monitoring infrastructure has grown, making it harder for game-fixing schemes to go undetected. Athletes in all states are prohibited by NCAA rules from wagering on sports in which they participate, and violations can result in permanent ineligibility. Those interested in the legal landscape of state-by-state sports betting laws can find current information on which states have legalized wagering and the rules that govern bettors in each market.