Alabama Baseball Scandal Bettor Sentenced to Eight Months in Prison 

In mid-2023, an Indiana man was caught using inside information to attempt to bet against the University of Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team (stadium pictured) This week, he has been sentenced to eight months in prison and three years of supervised release. 

In April 2023, Bert Neff, a minor league baseball coach, attempted to place a $100,000 bet on an Alabama game while at the (now closed) BetMGM sportsbook in the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

It was later proven that Neff was in contact with Crimson Tide baseball head coach Brad Bohannon before placing the bet. Neff tried to bet on Louisiana State University to beat Alabama after hearing from Bohannon that the team’s star pitcher, Luke Holman, was ruled out shortly before the game.

However, the $100K bet from Neff raised eyebrows among sportsbook staff, and the bet was reported to authorities. 

Now, 15 months later, Neff has been sentenced for obstruction of justice at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Former Alabama coach Bohannon was fired from his $500K position days after the offending game, but has not faced criminal charges as of yet. 

The Wager

The charges for Neff related to his obstruction of the investigation into wagers placed on the 2023 game between LSU and the Crimson Tide. 

In late April last year, Neff attempted to place a $100,000 bet on LSU to win the match. However, staff at the BetMGM sportsbook in Cincinnati flagged such a big bet on a relatively minor college baseball game as suspicious.

When they denied Neff the wager, he reportedly incriminated himself to staff. “I’m for sure going to win. If only you guys knew what I knew,” he told sportsbook attendants, according to court documents. He then showed sportsbook staff messages from Bohannon, regarding an injury to Holman. 

“Holman is out for sure … lemme know when I can tell LSU … Hurry,” Bohannon apparently wrote to Neff. 

The bet, if placed, would have won, as LSU came out 8-6 winners. After failing to place the wager because of staff suspicions, an investigation was then opened up. It involved the National Collegiate Athletics Association, representatives from LSU and Alabama, and the FBI. 

When Bohannon was fired days later, Ohio suspended college baseball betting for several weeks. Neff tried to cover his tracks. This included destroying his phone, encouraging others to do so, and providing false statements to federal investigators. 

The Sentence and the Fallout 

In February this year, Neff filed a guilty plea on charges of obstruction of justice. He has now been sentenced to eight months in prison and a three-year suspended sentence. He has also been placed on the list of banned sports bettors in Ohio. He must present himself to authorities to start his prison term by October 29.

Neff’s son was also caught up in the drama. Neff Jr. played for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats baseball team, and his father allegedly shared information on the inside bet with members of staff there. A federal investigation found no illegal bets took place, but two Bearcats staff members were aware of the scheme and were fired for not reporting it. 

“Bert Eugene Neff is a professional gambler,” prosecuting assistant U.S. attorney Edward Canter wrote before the sentencing, according to ESPN.

“Faced with a federal grand jury investigation, he worked to game the system. The defendant destroyed evidence, tampered with witnesses, and provided false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He did not do this once. He did it on dozens of occasions, and he did so for the greater part of a year.”

The scandal also led to the firing of Bohannon. The former top-level college baseball coach was barred from all NCAA-related sporting positions for the next 15 years, and was added to Ohio’s list of banned bettors.