NCAA bans ex-Abilene Christian basketball player Airion Simmons for alleged role in throwing games

TL;DR

Airion Simmons, a former Abilene Christian basketball player, has been permanently banned by the NCAA for allegedly participating in a point-shaving scheme to rig games for bettors. He reportedly colluded with a teammate and accepted money to throw a March 2024 game.

Key points

Airion Simmons banned by NCAA for game-fixing allegations
Colluded with teammate and bettors to throw a game
Offered $3,500 to underperform in a March 2024 game

Airion SimmonsAbilene ChristianNCAA

A former Abilene Christian men's basketball player was permanently banned by the NCAA on Friday for allegedly helping rig basketball games for sports bettors. According to the NCAA's Division I Committee on Infractions, Airion Simmons — who played at Abilene Christian from 2019-2024— colluded with a teammate and agreed with a bettor to throw a March 2024 game for money. In a December 2025 interview, Simmons told NCAA investigators he was also contacted by a second bettor about losing the game for money. In January, Simmons and the two bettors were included in a sprawling indictment by federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania on various charges, including bribery, fraud and conspiracy. The point-shaving scheme generally revolved around gamblers who placed bets and recruited players with the promise of a big payment in exchange for purposefully underperforming during a game, prosecutors said. Those fixers would then bet against the players’ teams in those games, defrauding sportsbooks and other bettors, authorities said. Players often recruited teammates to cooperate by playing badly, sitting out or keeping the ball away from players who weren’t in on the scheme to prevent them from scoring. Sometimes the attempted fix failed, meaning the fixers lost their bets. In September 2025, a former Abilene Christian men’s basketball student-athlete transferred to the program and reported that in March 2024, Simmons, along with another teammate, tried to convince him to join them in purposely losing a game for money. Later, the student-athlete who reported the violations received a FaceTime call with Simmons, the teammate and a bettor, who told the group to throw the game for money. The student-athlete who reported the violations indicated that by the time he entered the game, the final outcome was already determined, and his performance had no impact on the outcome. Simmons told NCAA investigators he told the bettors he had a hand injury and his status for the game was unclear, and he shared that another teammate would not be playing in the game. Simmons was offered $3,500 to “play bad” in the game. He left the game with a hand injury after playing 11 minutes. Simmons said he met someone in a Dallas parking lot to get cash for throwing the game. He received the cash and did not pay the other student-athletes he had conspired with, the NCAA said. According to the NCAA, Simmons agreed to be interviewed by its investigators but declined to participate in the processing of the case. Simmons is the latest student athlete to lose his eligibility as part of the point-shaving scheme. Two former Fordham basketball players by the NCAA last month. \\_ AP college basketball: and

Q&A

What were the allegations against Airion Simmons?

Airion Simmons was accused of colluding with a teammate and bettors to intentionally lose a March 2024 basketball game for financial gain.

What is point-shaving in college basketball?

Point-shaving is a scheme where players intentionally underperform in games to manipulate the outcome for gamblers, often involving bribery and collusion.

What consequences did Simmons face from the NCAA?

Simmons was permanently banned from NCAA competition due to his involvement in the point-shaving scheme.

NCAA bans ex-Abilene Christian basketball player Airion Simmons for alleged role in throwing games

TL;DR

Key points

Q&A

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