The bettor who made the wager at the heart of two sports gambling investigations at Alabama and Cincinnati baseball programs has been identified.
Sports Illustrated reported on Friday evening that Bert Eugene Neff Jr., a native of Mooresville, Ind., and father to a Bearcats sophomore pitcher, placed a large bet on LSU to beat Alabama ahead of its April 28 game. The Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds, has surveillance footage connecting Neff to now-fired Crimson Tide coach Brad Bohannon.
On Wednesday, the University of Cincinnati confirmed assistant coach Kyle Sprague and director of operations Andy Nagel were fired on May 17 as a result of an internal investigation. According to SI, they were dismissed due to having knowledge of Neff’s wagers.
It’s unclear if bets had been made on Cincinnati baseball. Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne confirmed on May 10 that no UA players are involved.
It was just the latest probe into a Division I school for accusations of illegal sports gambling, joining Iowa and Iowa State. Alabama fired Brad Bohannon on May 4 shortly after U.S. Integrity, an independent, third-party monitoring firm flagged the bet, which was much larger than a standard wager on a college baseball game.
Since Bohannon’s firing, Alabama baseball has gone on a roll. It’s reached the 40-win mark for the first time in 13 years and is one win away from the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament under interim coach Jason Jackson.
This post will be updated.
Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].
