What to Know After Texas Tech Transfer QB Brendan Sorsby Wins Injunction vs. NCAA

Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has won a temporary injunction against the NCAA that allows him to remain eligible even after he acknowledged making thousands of impermissible bets worth at least $90,000 on college and pro sports. Those include some bets on his own team when he was a freshman at Indiana. The court order sent shockwaves through college sports since one of the NCAA’s foundational rules, and one found in many professional sports as well, is the ability to ban players for gambling — especially those wagering on their own team. Big 12 Conference Commissioner Brett Yormark said the decision involving one of the league’s schools had caused “great concern amongst our membership” and scheduled an immediate meeting among athletic directors. The NCAA, which has twice denied Texas Tech’s petition to have Sorsby’s eligibility restored, has already filed notice it will appeal. What Happens Now? Even though the NCAA has ruled Sorsby ineligible, the injunction prevents the enforcement of that ban while the case plays out in court. Court records Monday listed a potential final trial date of Feb. 8, 2027, long after the conclusion of what would be Sorsby’s final season. Sorsby, if he abides by certain conditions, can rejoin the team immediately and play for the Red Raiders this fall after serving a two-game suspension proposed by his attorneys and approved by the judge. The NCAA is appealing to a Texas appellate court, seeking an accelerated appeal to overturn the injunction and again make Sorsby ineligible. The primary challenge? Getting a ruling quickly, with Tech’s season opener less than three months away on Sept. 5. The deadline for Sorsby to enter the NFL supplemental draft is much earlier, on June 22. A Shocking Outcome While some guidelines for penalties related to gambling have changed in recent years, NCAA rules still call for a permanent loss of eligibility for any player who wagered on his own team. The NCAA, in fact, has banned multiple basketball players over the past eight months. “We had an extraordinary and unprecedented ruling, that for the first time I think in recorded history, a league has been prevented from banning a player (for) betting on their own games,” said Gabe Feldman, director of the sports law program at Tulane Law School. He noted the ruling was also preliminary, limited in scope and limited in applicability. Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney who negotiated the $2.8 billion House settlement against the NCAA and now represents Sorsby, told the court in a June 1 hearing that the 22-year-old quarterback has a diagnosed addiction and anxiety-driven compulsion. He said the NCAA was obligated to consider the quarterback’s well-being and to support rather than punish him. Utah athletic director Mark Harlan disagreed, posting on social media: “We are all committed to supporting student-athlete well-being, but we also must have a definitive path forward that preserves the most basic tenets of competitive integrity in our industry.” Another Big 12 athletic director, Colorado’s Fernando Lovo, said the injunction is troubling “as his admitted actions are a clear violation of long-held standards of integrity in college athletics. Caring for student-athletes is important but so is accountability and this injunction is a clear affront to the competitive principles that been the foundation of college sports for more than a century.” Sorsby has Conditions to Meet The injunction says Sorsby must continue counseling for his gambling and participate in peer support through Gamblers Anonymous or a similar group. He also must continue treatment to address “the underlying anxiety that served as the primary driver of (his) gambling behavior.” His counsel must provide a monthly report to the NCAA detailing his compliance with those conditions. If Sorsby fails to conform to the conditions, the NCAA could apply for emergency relief from the injunction. Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said a comprehensive support structure, including clinical care, monitoring and compliance checks, is in place for Sorsby. How Did Sorsby’s Case End Up In Court? Sorsby was one of college football’s top available transfers after his past two seasons at Cincinnati that followed being at Indiana in 2022 and 2023. The Texas native got a reported multimillion dollar deal from Texas Tech, the defending Big 12 champion that went to the College Football Playoff last season. The NCAA in March received a tip from an online gambling book about Sorsby’s gambling activity over the past four years. Texas Tech was notified April 14, and about two weeks later, without referencing any NCAA investigation, said the quarterback was taking an indefinite leave of absence and entering a residential treatment program for gambling addiction where he spent more than a month. Sorsby filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on May 18, the same day Texas Tech ruled him ineligible. The school had to do that to pursue a request for his reinstatement that was submitted the following day. The NCAA denied that on May 22, then last week rejected an appeal. Reporting by the Associated Press.