The NCAA has taken disciplinary action against five current or former Iowa State football support staff members for collectively placing over 6,200 online bets totaling more than $100,000 on professional and college games, including men’s and women’s basketball games involving the Cyclones. These individuals were identified during a state investigation into sports wagering activities in campus athletic facilities from 2021-23 and do not face criminal charges.
In a negotiated resolution finalized recently, Jace Heacock, Chase Clark, Michael Dryer, Kyle Highland, and Mason Williams admitted to knowingly violating NCAA sports wagering rules and are all subject to a one-year show-cause order until April 24, 2026. If any of these individuals are hired by another school’s athletic department, they will be required to attend the annual NCAA Regional Rules Seminar at their own expense and serve a two-week suspension during the show-cause period.
The Iowa State athletic department declined to comment on the case. The NCAA has classified the violations as Level II, indicating that they could compromise the integrity of the NCAA collegiate model.
Heacock, the son of defensive coordinator Jon Heacock, served as a football graduate assistant in 2021 and 2022 before being rehired as director of football analytics in April 2024. Clark, a former assistant director of football equipment operations, is now an assistant equipment manager for the Detroit Lions. Dryer, a former assistant of equipment operations, works in sales for a sporting goods company. Highland, a former football recruiting operations assistant, is now Army’s assistant director of football operations. Williams, a former associate for athletics equipment operations, is currently the head equipment manager at Valparaiso.
The state Department of Criminal Investigation provided the names of these individuals to Iowa State officials as part of its probe into underage online sports wagering at colleges. Numerous athletes at Iowa and Iowa State were implicated in the investigation, facing charges such as underage gambling and identity theft. Many athletes admitted guilt, paid fines, while charges were dropped for others. A group of over three dozen athletes have filed a civil lawsuit against the DCI, alleging rights violations and damage to their reputations.
