The NCAA has issued a former HBCU coach an NCAA sanction for violating sports betting rules. Former North Carolina A&T assistant men's basketball coach Patrick Herron received a four-year show-cause order from the NCAA. According to HBCU Gameday, the negotiated resolution shows that Herron placed at least $4,000 in bets on professional and college sporting events between Dec. 4, 2023, and Nov. 23, 2024.

While he didn't bet on any North Carolina A&T athletic teams, the NCAA also found that he worked with a childhood friend who was a bookmaker to distribute parlay sheets to four of his other friends. He also reportedly received a 20% commission on the bets generated. Herron's actions led the NCAA to consider them a Level I-standard violation, and the resolution indicates that Herron was trained on proper sports-betting protocol as an employee of North Carolina A&T.

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He ultimately reported what he did to North Carolina A&T head men's basketball coach Monté Ross on Nov. 23, 2024, as he sought help for a gambling addiction. Ross subsequently reported it to then-director of athletics Earl Hilton. Under Hilton's direction, North Carolina A&T opened an internal investigation and reported the violations to the NCAA.

Herron is now banned from any athletically related duties at an NCAA institution between September 2026 and September 2030. If he were employed at an institution in 2029, the third year of the show-cause order, he would have to be suspended for 30% of the regular season, which would equate to 10 games. In the fourth year, any NCAA institution that employs him must provide him with gambling education.