By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The NCAA has made its point and shown who’s still the boss with how it has punished the student-athletes that were guilty of wagering on sports.

The same governing body that washed its hands of name, image and likeness has used the gambling investigation, which has involved multiple student-athletes from Iowa and Iowa State, to exercise its authority and influence.

The NCAA has made it abundantly clear, even in this age in which sports gambling is now mainstream, that student-athletes still are strictly prohibited from wagering on sports.

And fair enough.

Rules are rules.

Gambling on sports has cost Noah Shannon at least two-thirds of his final season as an Iowa defensive tackle, and the group that ultimately will make the final decision about whether he gets to play in any more games as a Hawkeye doesn’t meet again until Nov. 8.

Shannon will have missed nine games by then.

Message received.

Don’t gamble on sports, or else.

But the way in which Shannon’s punishment has been administered seems odd, and sort of mean, how he has been allowed to practice for a couple weeks, but not play in games.

It’s as if the NCAA threw him a bone, but then told him that he couldn’t chew on it until further notice.

The NCAA reportedly needs more time to gather additional information, which also seems odd since the gambling investigation started in either late April or early May.

That’s almost seven months for those counting.

Shannon has missed six games entirely without practicing, and then two games after having returned to practice as his punishment for gambling on sports.

His original suspension was for the entire 2023 season, but the NCAA has since softened its stand with some of its gambling suspensions.

Shannon didn’t bet on his own team, which would have been a deal breaker for the NCAA, and for Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz.

And he apparently didn’t bet enough to keep the NCAA from partially reinstating him.

He also has been accountable for his actions and even turned down a chance to represent Iowa at Big Ten Media Day in late July because he didn’t want to be a distraction.

That should count for something.

It was assumed by some in the media that Shannon would be fully reinstated this past week because the group that handles suspensions was scheduled to meet.

But that didn’t happen as the meeting was pushed back two more weeks.

In this case, two weeks is like an eternity, though, Shannon catches a break with this being a bye week.

It just seems that Shannon has suffered enough for what he has admitted to doing.

That it could take nearly a month for him to go from being partially reinstated to fully reinstated just seems almost vindictive.

The NCAA apparently doesn’t have a problem with a student-athlete serving just a one-game suspension for driving under the influence since it allows schools, including Iowa, to enforce that punishment.

There just seems to be a lack of consistency.

Shannon will eventually rejoin an Iowa defensive line that is loaded with depth and experience.

Shannon has started 29 games as a defensive tackle for the Hawkeyes. He is an experienced run stopper, and a respected veteran leader.

He made a mistake by gambling on sports because it’s against NCAA rules. But he didn’t break the law since he was old enough to gamble, and he apparently didn’t bet enough to be suspended for the entire season since the NCAA let him back.

It’s just weird that his reinstatement will come in two stages, from partial to full reinstatement.

But the strangest part about this gambling investigation is that no other schools have been caught doing the same, and that no other schools apparently are even being investigated.

Kirk Ferentz has mentioned that peculiar fact multiple times since the investigation was launched this past spring, and it’s baffling.

The NCAA has softened its stand on gambling because to not do so would be hypocritical since so many colleges and universities, including Iowa, are now partnering with gambling entities to make money and push their brands.

Sports gambling is as mainstream now as playing the lottery.

Shannon has paid a heavy price, considering he didn’t bet on his own team, and that he apparently bet a few enough times to where partial reinstatement was allowed.

He already has lost two-thirds of his sixth and final season as a Hawkeye, so the NCAA has succeeded in flexing its muscles and sending a message.

Now it’s time to show a little mercy.