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At least three former Eastern Michigan men’s basketball players have refused to cooperate with the NCAA’s investigation into questionable sports betting activities, college athletics’ governing body announced Friday.
Several matches from the 2024-25 season fall within the scope of the investigation.
The NCAA photographed the personal phones of Jalin Billingsley, Da’Sean Nelson and Jalen Terry in January. The review stems from unusual betting activity associated with Eastern Michigan’s game against Central Michigan on Jan. 14, according to findings made available Friday.
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The Eastern Michigan Eagles logo on the floor before a college basketball game against the Detroit Mercy Titans at the George Gervin GameAbove Center on December 18, 2022 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
The players chose not to participate in interviews and subsequently informed NCAA officials, through legal counsel, that they did not intend to cooperate with the investigation. The three former Eagles athletes also requested that the phone footage be deleted, the statement said.
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Failure of all three individuals to cooperate is considered an NCAA violation and may result in permanent loss of eligibility. However, the players named in the survey have already exhausted their eligibility.
NCAA officials noted that the lack of cooperation stalled the investigation because law enforcement personnel were unable to determine whether sports betting violations had occurred.
The Eastern Michigan Eagles logo on chairs before a college basketball game against the Detroit Mercy Titans at the George Gervin GameAbove Center on December 18, 2022 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
“When individuals choose not to cooperate – particularly when cases involve potential integrity issues – those choices can and will face serious consequences, including being banned from sports-related activities, loss of eligibility and/or being publicly named in an infraction decision,” a statement from the Division I Infractions Committee said.
The Eastern Michigan Eagles logo on a pair of shorts during a college basketball game against the Detroit Mercy Titans at the George Gervin GameAbove Center on December 18, 2022 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
PK Press Club Digital was unable to reach Terry and Nelson Or Billingsley for comment Friday.
Terry’s 16.6 points per game during the 2024-25 season leads the Eagles in the standings. Nelson, a former DePaul athlete who transferred to Eastern Michigan, averaged 16.1 points per contest last season. In July, Nelson reached agreement on a contract with Friborg Olympic Basket of the Swiss Basketball League.
Including the trio of former Eastern Michigan players, 13 athletes across six different schools are under investigation by the NCAA for alleged sports betting violations.
