The latest development in the drama between the Big 12 and Texas Tech over the gambling controversy involving quarterback Brendan Sorsby could be the final one.
The conference has withdrawn the federal lawsuit it filed in June against Texas Tech, bringing a formal conclusion to the high-stakes legal battle surrounding the former Red Raiders quarterback
With that decision, there appears to be a resolution of the remaining institutional conflict that arose after Sorsby’s extensive sports gambling violations and the subsequent court fight over his eligibility as a college football player.
How the Brendan Sorsby Situation Got Here
Sorsby, the highly touted transfer from Cincinnati who signed a multi-million dollar NIL deal with the defending Big 12 champions in January, became the center of one of college football’s most disruptive offseason controversies.
Back in April, the NCAA ruled the quarterback ineligible after he acknowledged placing thousands of impermissible bets totaling at least $90,000 on college and pro sports during his time with Indiana, then Cincinnati, and then Texas Tech.
Those bets included more than 40 wagers on Indiana’s football team when he was a redshirt freshman with the program in 2022, although none of the bets involved games in which he played.
Court Intervenes to Help Sorsby, Creating More Controversy
Sorsby entered a residential treatment program for gambling addiction and later sued the NCAA, resulting in a June decision from a judge in Lubbock, Tex., that granted the quarterback a temporary injunction that would have restored his eligibility after serving a two game suspension, clearing a path for him to play football in 2026.
That ruling was met with outrage across college football, both among fans and administrators, resulting in conference opponents and decision makers criticizing the decision as a threat to competitive integrity, and the Big 12 moving to protect its bylaws.
Big 12 Responds With a Serious Threat
The conference filed a federal complaint seeking the power to sanction Texas Tech if it played Sorsby in football, prompting another escalation involving the attorney general of Texas.
Facing considerable pressure and the risk of major Big 12 penalties that could have jeopardized its season at the moment the program was making a comeback, Texas Tech and Sorsby agreed to part ways.
A Resolution, Finally?
With Sorsby no longer on the roster and the underlying eligibility questions resolved, the Big 12 appears to have determined the lawsuit was no longer necessary. Any remaining issues have been handled within the league, which is simply moving forward.
But the episode still leaves lasting questions about enforcement of gambling rules, the power of courts to act against national governing bodies like the NCAA, and the limits of conference power in college football’s modern era.
James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He has covered football for a decade, previously managing several team sites and publishing national content for 247Sports.com for five years. His work has also been published on CBSSports.com. He founded College Football HQ in 2020, and the site joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022 and the On SI network in 2024.
