Four former Iowa Hawkeyes athletes plead guilty to reduced underage gambling charge

Four former University of Iowa athletes have pleaded guilty to underage gambling, the latest development in the state’s investigation of collegiate athletes.

The former Hawkeyes include football players Jack Johnson, Arland Bruce IV and Reggie Bracy and basketball player Ahron Ulis.

Each was first charged with tampering with records in early August as part of the state's sports gambling investigation. That charge is an aggravated misdemeanor that could have carried a two-year prison sentence if found guilty. Instead, the tampering charges were dismissed and each of the guilty parties will pay a $645 scheduled fine for underage gambling.

The guilty pleas came less than two weeks after five other athletes, including Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers, also pleaded guilty to underage gambling after initially being charged with tampering with records.

There will not be any additional charges filed against these four athletes or anyone who helped facilitate the underage gambling, according to the pleas.

Under NCAA rules, athletes are permanently ineligible if they are found to have placed wagers on sporting events that involve their school. NCAA gambling rules also stipulate a loss of 50% of eligibility for a single season for betting on another school in the same sport that a student-athlete plays in.

Three of the four Hawkeyes who entered guilty pleas transferred after last season

Bruce, Bracy and Ulis all transferred from the University of Iowa after last season.

Bruce transferred to Oklahoma State in the spring and did not see game action before allegations of illegal gambling came to light. Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy confirmed that Bruce was away from the team in mid-August, weeks before the Cowboys made their season debut.

In the initial complaint, Bruce was said to have placed 18 wagers on 11 Hawkeye football games that he participated in. 

Bruce is specifically alleged to have placed two "under" bets in 2022, first in Iowa’s 33-13 victory over Northwestern in October, a game in which Bruce tallied two catches for 19 yards and rushed three times for 27 yards and a touchdown. It was just the second career touchdown for Bruce in his two years as a Hawkeye. The over/under was set at 37.5 total points.

He also placed an "under" bet in the Hawkeyes’ 21-0 victory over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl this past New Year's Eve but did not participate in the game. The total closed at 31.5 at kickoff.

Bruce used a DraftKings account in his father’s name to place bets. Bruce will turn 21 on Sept. 26.

Bracy, a defensive back, transferred to Troy in the offseason, announcing his intention to leave last December, just days after Bruce. He was also suspended by Troy once charges were brought against him in Johnson County District Court in August.

"Reggie Bracy has been suspended from all team-related activity in response to allegations of his conduct while he was a student-athlete at another institution," Troy said in a statement. "We will have no further comment at this time."

Bracy was originally alleged to have shared the DraftKings account registered under Bruce’s father’s name with Bruce. In his guilty plea, he admitted to placing wagers while underage. He turned 21 on Nov. 6, 2022.

Ulis made his way west to Nebraska after his third season with the Hawkeyes. Court documents alleged that Ulis placed more than 430 bets on NCAA football and basketball games, including at least one University of Iowa football game. His wagers allegedly totaled more than $34,800. Ulis turned 21 on Oct. 4, 2022.

Johnson was alleged to have placed around 380 bets totaling over $1,800. He pleaded guilty to the same charges and admitted to placing wagers on a DraftKings account in his mother’s name. He turned 21 on June 15, 2022.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached atrhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.