Three UTEP men's basketball players have been dismissed from the program for gambling on athletic events, but the school said there is no evidence of point shaving or betting on Miners games.
Leading scorer McKenzie Moore and reserves Jalen Ragland and Justin Crosgile have been kicked out of the program. All three received an automatic one-year suspension and will also lose a year of eligibility. Moore and Ragland are juniors and Crosgile is a senior, meaning they won't play for the Miners again.
"To date, there was no indication that point shaving was involved. However, per NCAA rules, any type of sports gambling is prohibited and results in a one-year suspension and loss of a year of eligibility," the school said in a statement. "All three players are upperclassmen, and therefore their college basketball careers are over. They are no longer enrolled at UTEP and are no longer a part of our basketball program."
The school made the announcement on Tuesday following an FBI investigation.
"We evaluate every film and we did not suspect that they were betting on any UTEP events," Miners coach Tim Floyd said.
Moore and Ragland have not played the past two games and were suspended indefinitely by the school. Crosgile played the past two games, and the school learned of his involvement from the FBI.
"We are privy to the fact that they violated rules, but we do know that up to now they were not betting on UTEP games," Ricardo Adauto, the school's executive vice president of legal affairs, said in the news conference.
The school said it received information late last month that two players -- Moore and Ragland -- may have been involved in gambling on sporting events. Adauto said the school reported the allegations to the local FBI office.
The 6-foot-6 Moore, a junior, was averaging 13.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Ragland, a 6-7 wing, was averaging 3.7 points. Crosgile was averaging 5.4 points.
UTEP (10-5) will play Charlotte on Thursday.
