NCAA upholds Noah Shannon’s suspension, ending his college playing career

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) - On Tuesday, University of Iowa Moon Family Head Football Coach Kirk Ferentz announced that the NCAA denied defensive tackle Noah Shannon’s appeal for eligibility for the 2023 season.

Shannon was the first Hawkeye to admit his involvement in the Iowa sports gambling investigation in July.

The NCAA suspended him after he gambled on at least one University of Iowa sports game. It was reportedly not an Iowa Hawkeyes football game.

At his weekly media press conference, Coach Ferentz said of the decision, “He’s been honest throughout this whole process, very transparent. About as honest as you can be. I want to emphasize he did not break any laws. My wife made that point a couple of weeks ago, just in emphasis. He is guilty of an NCAA violation. Very upfront about that. Basically I don’t agree or understand, quite frankly, the decision, especially when it comes to the severity of the punishment. To me, it’s really disappointing, especially considering our current environment right now, which believe me, the last couple of months I’m a lot more in tune to that than previously.”

Shannon is not one of the current and former Hawkeye and Cyclone athletes facing criminal charges for betting on sports. All of those charged are accused of using someone else’s account to place bets on sports.

With Shannon being a sixth-year senior, his college playing career at Iowa is effectively over. He also released a statement:

I want to apologize to the fans and everyone who supports Iowa Football. I made a mistake and I have taken responsibility for it. I am heartbroken that I will not be able to play alongside my brothers again, but I plan to stick with the team and support them any way that I can going forward.

I want to say thank you to my family, Coach Ferentz, the coaching staff, and all of my teammates and friends for their unwavering support. I am going to make sure that this mistake does not define me or my career going forward.

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