Iowa men’s basketball manager Evan Schuster accused of betting on own team’s games
IOWA CITY — University of Iowa men’s basketball student manager Evan Schuster has been charged with tampering with records involving sports gambling — including allegations he bet on his own team’s games — as part of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s probe into sports wagering at two state universities.
Schuster placed 10 wagers across eight games on Iowa men’s basketball games during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons while working as a student manager, according to a criminal complaint that was signed Friday and made public Monday.
Nine of Schuster’s 10 bets involving the Iowa team were placed on a FanDuel account under his father’s name, according to the complaint, and the last one came from a FanDuel account under Schuster’s own name after he turned 21. Court documents allege Schuster bet on the following Iowa games:
- Feb. 25, 2022: at Nebraska
- Nov. 7, 2022: vs. Bethune Cookman
- Nov. 11, 2022: vs. North Carolina A&T
- Nov. 16, 2022: at Seton Hall
- Nov. 29, 2022: vs. Georgia Tech
- Dec. 6, 2022: vs. Duke (in New York)
- Jan. 21: at Ohio State
- March 16: vs. Auburn (in Buffalo, N.Y., as part of March Madness)
The Iowa men’s basketball games make up a small portion of Schuster’s overall betting activity, according to the complaint. He is accused of placing over 2,000 bets totaling more than $15,800 with the account under his father’s name.
The bets were “routinely and consistently placed from” Schuster’s personal iPhone, according to the complaint, and locations of the bets included his “university residence and areas of the university not routinely open to the public.”
The court document, filed by the Johnson County Attorney’s Office, cited four “legal and regulatory frameworks” that had violated, including underage gambling; violation of licensed sportsbook user terms and conditions; unfair wagering and conflict of interest; and tax implications. Sportsbook terms and conditions prohibit wagering by anyone whose jobs “involve direct contact with coaches, players, athletic trainers, officials, athletes or participants,” according to the court document.
Schuster has been a student manager on the men’s basketball team since 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The tempering with records charge is an aggravated misdemeanor, punishable by up to two years in prison.
“The University of Iowa continues to fully cooperate with the investigation," team spokesman James Allan said in a text message to The Gazette.
The Iowa track and field team also has an athlete on its roster also named Evan Schuster, but he is a different person who is not involved in the sports wagering probe.
The basketball student manager is the eighth person connected to Iowa athletics to be charged as part of the DCI’s sports wagering investigation. Another eight current or former Iowa State athletes also face tampering with records charges.
It is unclear whether additional people from Iowa or Iowa State will face charges.
