Bert Neff, who tried to make a $100,000 bet on an Alabama-LSU baseball game at a BetMGM sportsbook in Ohio after receiving inside information from the Crimson Tide’s head coach, was sentenced to eight months in prison and three years of supervised release on Monday.
Neff pled guilty to obstructing a federal grand jury investigation earlier this year and could have received a 10-year sentence. Alabama’s former head coach, Brad Bohannon, has yet to be charged with any crimes after texting Neff to “hammer” LSU because he was about to scratch his starting pitcher due to an injury in a game that was played on April 28, 2023. (LSU wound up winning 8-6.) Alabama fired Bohannon shortly after the incident came to light, and he’s since been prohibited from being employed in an athletic role at an NCAA institution for 15 years.
After receiving the tip from Bohannon, Neff tried to bet six figures on the Tigers but was limited to $15,000. As with any unusually large wager placed on a college baseball game, the bet was flagged by BetMGM and an investigation was launched. It was during this investigation that Neff attempted to hide his wrongdoing by destroying cell phone evidence and providing false statements to the FBI, among other deceptive tactics.
Neff had a son on the 2023 University of Cincinnati baseball team, and two Bearcat assistant coaches were fired after it became apparent that they knew key details about Neff’s ‘Bama-LSU wager but declined to report them to the proper authorities.