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.
