Gaming officials across different states are investigating a November football game between UNLV and New Mexico for suspicious betting activity, according to a report from The Action Network. 

UNLV won the Nov. 4 game 56-14 as a 16.5-point favorite at some sports betting apps, but the game opened with UNLV as just a 10.5-point favorite. The Action Network’s reporting suggests that new accounts were created solely for wagering on that game, which caused the game to be flagged for suspicious betting activity. 

In the game, UNLV led 35-7 at halftime and cruised to the 42-point win. It shouldn’t come as a major shock to see UNLV outperform its relative expectations, though. The Rebels went 10-3 against the spread this season, one of the best ATS marks nationally. UNLV posted a 9-4 record this season and played in the Mountain West Conference championship despite being picked to finish ninth in the conference before the season. New Mexico went 4-8 this season.

The unusual betting activity was flagged by a major U.S. sportsbook, and University of New Mexico was notified about a week later by a third-party watchdog, U.S. Integrity. The NCAA was unable to comment on specifics of any investigations regarding the game.

“The NCAA takes sports betting very seriously and is committed to the protection of student-athlete well-being and the integrity of competition,” an NCAA spokesperson told Sports Handle. “The Association works with integrity monitoring services, state regulators, and other stakeholders to conduct appropriate due diligence whenever suspicious reports are received. Due to confidentiality rules put in place by NCAA member schools, the NCAA does not comment on current, pending, or potential investigations.”

New Mexico Athletic Director Eddie Nuñez shot down any suggestions that his football program intentionally lost or intentionally failed to cover the spread. 

“I know we got our ass beat, but we also got our butts beat in other games,” Nuñez told Action Network. “I want people to understand — whatever happened, we are not associated with it. We looked around and looked into it, and there was nothing different (than any other game), except getting our ass kicked.”

The Lobos fired head coach Danny Gonzales on Nov. 25, after a disappointing four-year run. Gonzales was 11-32 as the program’s head coach, and he never won more than four games in a season. Nuñez told Action Network the firing was unrelated to any potential suspicious wagering activity and solely driven by the team’s subpar on-field play. 

Bronco Mendenhall was announced Wednesday as the team’s replacement for Gonzales. The former BYU and Virginia head coach is 135-81 as a head coach. Mendenhall was introduced Thursday and wasn’t asked about the investigation, but he did share his vision for the program.

“I love developing young men of integrity and character and intellect, socially aware, and players that are willing to give back,” Mendenhall said. 

The investigation into the UNLV-New Mexico game isn’t the first sports betting-related issue facing the NCAA in 2023. 

Alabama baseball head coach Brad Bohannon was fired this spring for his role in a betting scandal that took place on April 28. Bohannon reportedly gave inside information to Bert Neff Jr. ahead of Alabama’s game against LSU. Neff then attempted to place a significant wager with an Ohio sports betting operator on the game, which led to the activity being flagged as suspicious. 

Bohannon was subsequently fired by Alabama, and the Ohio Casino Control Commission is planning to ban both individuals from betting in Ohio.

Over the summer, multiple athletes at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University received NCAA penalties for various wagering violations. The violations ranged from allegedly wagering on their own games to athletes betting on other sports, which is considered an NCAA violation.

The NCAA’s relationship with sports betting continues to evolve, as the association has urged lawmakers to protect athletes from harassment stemming from angry bettors. Ohio has adopted a law specifying bettors who harass athletes can be banned from wagering in the state.

One of the NCAA’s primary focuses as it relates to sports wagering is ensuring the integrity of competition.