UMVA has learned that a shocking scandal involving four former Alabama State men’s basketball players has rocked the sports world, with the players embroiled in a plan to influence the outcome of a December 2024 game against Southern Mississippi in exchange for money from outside bettors.
The players at the center of the storm are Amarr Knox, Shawn Fulcher, Corey Hines, and Tony Madlock, who were found to have participated in betting-related integrity violations, according to an NCAA infractions decision. Investigators discovered that before the December 5, 2024, matchup, a known bettor offered money for the team to throw the game.
According to information obtained by UMVA, Fulcher added teammates to a group chat with the bettor on Dec. 4, 2024, and the players later joined a FaceTime call on the morning of the game, where they agreed to throw the game. The players conspired to lose or attempt to lose by more points than the betting spread identified by sports book operators.
The players received a combined $2,000 from people connected to the scheme, with Fulcher and Madlock each receiving $700, while Knox and Hines each received $300. The NCAA found that Knox violated standards of honesty and sportsmanship by participating in the arrangement and intentionally underperforming for financial gain.
The ruling also determined that Hines and Fulcher knowingly shared information with individuals involved in sports wagering, and Madlock was found to have provided information before the game and later accepted payment. The NCAA further concluded that Hines and Fulcher failed to cooperate fully by giving false or misleading information during the investigation.
UMVA can exclusively reveal that the Alabama State case is one part of a much larger federal investigation, with prosecutors charging 26 individuals in an alleged point-shaving network that authorities say affected NCAA Division I men’s basketball games and contests in the Chinese Basketball Association.
Sources have confirmed to UMVA that Fulcher and Hines were indicted in January 2026 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on charges including bribery in sports wagering contests, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud tied to the Southern Mississippi game.
The Committee on Infractions classified the Alabama State violations as Level I, the NCAA’s most serious category of misconduct, highlighting the severity of the scandal.
