Alabama head baseball coach Brian Bohannon was fired Friday, May 4. The firing occurred, allegedly, because Bohannon had (once again, allegedly) been involved in the placing of some sizable wagers against his own team and on LSU, which was playing Alabama. I say "been involved in," using passive voice, because evidently he didn't make the wagers himself. To put this in a Cliff Notes context, Alabama has a really good baseball team, but LSU is a top five outfit and arguably as good as anyone.
The trick to his wager was that Bohannon switched starting pitchers before the game, plugging in an inferior pitcher. The pitcher originally scheduled to start had back tightness, a legitimate reason to be scratched, and was Alabama's ace. This meant that an LSU bettor would have, at worst, a really, really helpful and inappropriate line. At best, if the switching of the pitchers became public sufficiently before game time but after the wager was made, the bettor might possibly have an arbitrage opportunity by betting LSU early and Alabama late after the number had moved.
In the last 24 hours, more details have become public involving the person who placed the bet(s) for Bohannon. Evidently, Bohannon is no genius, as he contacted the person physically placing the bets by using his own phone, which is Alabama property. Duh and double duh.
The Fallout
So now everyone is wondering if all college sports are invisibly laced with similar plotlines and relationships. Well, Mormons aren't big on gambling (allegedly), so maybe BYU gets a pass, but the answer to the question is that it's certainly possible. And media covering this story, to my knowledge, haven't even touched on an easy, oblique way for underpaid college coaches, especially assistants, to profit from very, very gray machinations that are, basically, impossible to prevent.
I'll let readers ponder the possibilities and will open my June blogs with a paint-by-numbers explanation as to how college assistants could be making a few bucks from betting without directly wagering on teams. Stay tuned.
Bob Dietz
May 27, 2023
