The 2026 indictment of a former Green Wave player for a point-shaving scheme isn't unfamiliar to the program, as it was part of one of the NCAA's most troubling point-shaving scandals in 1985.
Thursday proved to be one of the craziest days in recent history regarding illegal sports gambling.
According to David Purdum of ESPN, 39 players across 17 NCAA college basketball teams were listed in a indictment from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, with allegations claiming that these individuals participated in an elaborate point-shaving scheme.
One of the individuals accused of participating in this illegal form of sports gambling is former Tulane Green Wave standout Kevin Cross. Cross allegedly accepted bribes to fix a pair of games based off of point spread in the 2023-2024 season; he purposefully underperformed in a February 2024 loss to the East Carolina Pirates and attempted to do the same thing in March 2024 against the Florida Atlantic Owls, but the team pulled out a win despite his efforts.
This is not the first time that the Green Wave basketball program has been hit by a point-shaving incident, although this one might be much less serious in the long run.
The first incident, which made headlines in 1985, was initiated by Tulane student Gary Kranz on the day of a Green Wave home game against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. He approached then-forward Clyde Eads -- who he previously sold cocaine to -- with an idea: allow USM to cover the spread, and everyone could make a significant chunk of money.
Eads agreed and convinced fellow standout players John "Hot Rod" Williams, Jon Johnson, David Dominique and Bobby Thompson to join in on the effort as Kranz and friends placed a $7 thousand bet for the Golden Eagles to cover. After successfully fulfilling the bet, each player received a few hundred dollars. From there, the group participated in multiple other point-shaving attempts through the rest of the season.
The players were investigated and ultimately arrested on March 26, 1985, but the story didn't end there. There was something else illegal going on behind the scenes: head coach Ned Fowler and assistants were paying players.
With all of the allegations and charges in place, university president Dr. Eamon Kelly and the Board of Administrators ultimately disbanded the program, and athletic director Hindman Wall resigned a few weeks later. Although the intent was for the cancellation of the program to be permanent, the school ultimately brought it back three years later.
Now, back to the latest point-shaving indictment involving the program. At this point, university leadership has not released an official statement on the indictment of Cross. Additionally, no other Tulane players, coaches, staffers or other people with close ties to the program have been named in any allegations at this time.
While some might speculate that penalties for this round of indictments might be more severe, it's unlikely that anything will be as serious as it was in 1985 for the Green Wave. Given that only a single player -- who has since graduated -- was charged, and the fact that Tulane's decision to disband the program all those years ago was self-imposed, the NCAA more than likely won't go to such an extreme level. Another thing that helps the Green Wave's case: the university was willing to sacrifice the entire program in an effort to show its disapproval.
Regardless of what the outcome is, more details from all parties involved should come out in the coming days. Until then, all anyone can do is wait and see.