Notre Dame suspends men’s swim team after probe reveals gambling scandal

Notre Dame suspended its men’s swimming program for at least a year after an investigation revealed several gambling violations, the university announced Thursday. 

The probe, which was conducted by an outside law firm, revealed “numerous violations of NCAA rules prohibiting gambling on intercollegiate swimming and other athletic competitions despite clear and recurrent training provided to all our student-athletes by our Athletics Compliance staff about those rules,”  according to a statement from athletic director Pete Bevacqua.

Investigators also found a “deeply embedded team culture dismissive of Notre Dame’s standards for student-athletes, including our expectation that they treat one another with dignity and respect,” per Bevacqua. 

The swim team’s coaching staff was reportedly not aware of the swimmers’ gambling activities and fully cooperated with the investigation. 

“According to the review, when the staff became aware of certain isolated incidents of unacceptable conduct, they treated them seriously and professionally,” the statement read. 

Bevacqua stated that a “small number of team members … did not participate in the conduct,” suggesting that at least a majority of swimmers participated in the betting scandal.

Sports Illustrated reported that the Fighting Irish — which finished 10th at the NCAA championships this past year — swimmers “effectively created its own sports book” to bet on their competitions. 

The swimmers would set up their own over/under lines for their races, per the outlet, and place bets on the outcome. 

SI also reported that some swimmers bet on other sports, including college basketball, although those actions are less punitive under the NCAA’s gambling guidelines. 

Last month, Notre Dame swimmer Chris Guiliano won the USA’s first gold medal at the Paris Olympics, winning the 4×100-meter freestyle relay alongside Jack Alexy, Hunter Armstrong and Caeleb Dressel.

Head coach Chris Lindauer was also an assistant coach with the U.S. during the Paris Games.