Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Texas Tech faces intense backlash for supporting QB Brendan Sorsby after a judge temporarily blocked his NCAA suspension for major sports gambling violations.
- Sorsby allegedly wagered $90,000, including bets on his own former team, prompting the Big 12 to consider severe postseason bans or expulsion for the school.
- Allowing him to play signals that winning trumps integrity, but benching him until the trial concludes would prove Texas Tech takes rules seriously.
The court of public opinion has found Texas Tech guilty by association in the matter of Brendan Sorsby's eligibility lawsuit against the NCAA. After a local judge granted an injunction that made the 22-year-old eligible for the 2026 season despite gross violations of anti-sports gambling rules, the Red Raiders decided to stand by Sorsby.
"We owe it to the young man," chair of the university's board of regents Cody Campbell told ESPN on Wednesday. Sorsby's lawsuit claims he's seeking treatment for a gambling addiction, and the judge's ruling on his eligibility requires he miss the first two games of the season as punishment for breaking the NCAA's rules.
"The integrity of sport matters. So does the integrity of how we treat a 22-year-old who sought help, entered residential treatment and is working every day toward recovery," athletic director Kirby Hocutt also said. He added Sorsby isn't guaranteed to begin playing for the Red Raiders after Week 2, as the program will decide whether his recovery is progressing appropriately before allowing him to return.
Despite all that, Big 12 schools and the conference itself are exploring ways to punish Texas Tech in the absence of serious enough consequences being handed down to Sorsby himself. Those include declaring the Cincinnati transfer QB ineligible in conference play, banning Texas Tech from postseason play and even expulsion from the league.
"We are following a court order by a judge in our state," Campbell said. "What did we do wrong? Nothing. Thump your chest all you want, but the kid is eligible."
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton weighed in on the situation Thursday and warned the Big 12 that "any such action would be unlawful."
Texas Tech can avoid being dragged down with Brendan Sorsby with this simple move
While Sorsby definitely looks like he's getting away with a serious infraction, Texas Tech actually doesn't deserve most of the blame here, nor should they be punished for standing behind his recovery. But that's where the sympathy ends. Texas Tech, if it allows Sorsby to return to team activities or even play in games, would be treading very close to complicit territory despite the judge's ruling being binding (for now).
Complicit in what exactly? The same problem that has plagued college sports for decades. Doing anything and everything to win—no matter how illegal—and then just shrugging when they're caught and get off easy.
Texas Tech knows it needs Sorsby to be competitive in the Big 12. He was the top quarterback in the transfer portal for a reason. But if the integrity of the game actually matters like Hocutt claimed, the school would set an example and go a step further than limiting Sorsby's participation to just his recovery status.
Sorsby's lawsuit against the NCAA won't be settled until after the 2026 college football season is over. The court hearing the case scheduled the trial for February. The NCAA's appeal of his eligibility status should be sorted before the season starts or perhaps during it.
Texas Tech could dispel any pressure tactics from the conference and bad press by simply announcing Sorsby is benched until the legal proceedings over his eligibility have taken their full course. That would be consistent with the school's position regarding his recovery and show it takes the sports gambling violations seriously.
At some point Texas Tech officials like Campbell and Hocutt will have to explain why Sorsby is the exception to how sports gambling athletes have been punished in the past. It's not like he made a couple wagers and got caught. He bet on his own team when he was a member of the Indiana Hoosiers and spent roughly $90,000 over several years. That's nearing Pete Rose territory.
If the explanation is simply, "a judge said he's eligible so he gets to play," that's just sad. It's saying the quiet part out loud that winning matters more than integrity. Fixing the problem has to start somewhere and this is the perfect opportunity. Will Texas Tech have the guts to do the right thing?
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