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After a seven-day battle that spanned multiple courtrooms, Brendan Sorsby has decided he will not play college football this season at Texas Tech.
The decision comes the same day the Big 12 filed a lawsuit in federal court in Texas seeking the authority to sanction Texas Tech for playing the quarterback this season, even with the NCAA’s ruling that he was ineligible to play.
Over the past three months, Sorsby had become embroiled in an NCAA investigation tied to thousands of bets placed during his college career, a number of which came while he was on the roster at Indiana. Those bets were flagged by law enforcement officials, who then turned them over to the NCAA.
The Big 12 is suing Texas Tech, seeking court approval to sanction the school over Brendan Sorsby
Over the past few weeks, Sorsby filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in Lubbock District Court, where an injunction was granted that would have allowed him to suit up this season for the Red Raiders. Then came the backlash from across college athletics, with the Big 12 conference searching for ways to possibly punish Texas Tech.
The lawsuit from Sorsby is expected to be dropped on Tuesday morning, sources tell OutKick. The school will also continue to support the quarterback in his off-field battle with a gambling addiction.
Texas Tech officials also will not seek repayment of money already paid to Sorsby, with sources noting that the quarterback had already taken home significant earnings.
Board of Regents Chairman Cody Campbell released a statement Monday night confirming those details.
“Texas Tech will not seek reimbursement of amounts already paid to Brendan through his NIL agreements with the university,” Campbell noted.
Future Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby yells during the first half of the game between the Houston Cougars and the Texas Tech Red Raiders at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas, on Jan. 24, 2026. (John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
This quickly spiraled out of control for the Red Raiders
The unfortunate part for everyone involved was how far Texas Tech went out of its way to potentially get him on the field this season. Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to Big 12 officials warning them that if the conference were to punish the school for playing Sorsby, the state would take them to court in return.
Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby speaks to the media during Big 12 Media Days at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas on July 8, 2025. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
To make the situation even messier, Texas Tech officials released a 21-minute video last week going over certain roadblocks that were put in place for Sorsby when he was served with an injunction.
The video was obviously not well received, and officials at Texas Tech endured a tremendous amount of backlash from opposing conference leaders from across the Big 12.
After the Big 12 filed suit, pressure intensified for Sorsby and Texas Tech
In the past 24 hours, the conversation in Lubbock shifted as the school learned that Big 12 officials were preparing to file a federal lawsuit regarding Sorsby.
Those in Sorsby’s inner circle began to feel the pressure to go ahead and enter his name in the NFL Supplemental draft and not have to deal with the immense pressure that wasn’t going to go away anytime soon.
“I have no idea why they would try to justify this over the last week, it just didn’t make sense. The amount of heat the young man was getting, along with what was still to come, wasn’t worth the effort,” a Power Four athletic director told OutKIck. “Texas Tech should have made this decision on its own when first confronted by the NCAA. This is why we have language in rev-share and NIL contracts that also correlate with NCAA rules.
“Once the school knew the rules had been broken, this should have been the end of the conversation.”
Brendan Sorsby of the Cincinnati Bearcats looks on before the game against the Utah Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah on Nov. 1, 2025. (Bryan Byerly/ISI Images)
BRENDAN SORSBY admits to betting nearly $90,000 during college career as NCAA CONTEST HEATS UP
In reality, Texas Tech overplayed its hand in this one, and the last few days of Cody Campbell appearing on the Dan Dakich show and trying to compare the situation to the Penn State fallout with Jerry Sandusky only made it worse.
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Now, despite all the damage this has done over the past few weeks, Sorsby will move on to a professional career. In the meantime, Texas Tech will do whatever it takes to repair any kind of rupture in relationships within the Big 12 this has caused.
For Brendan Sorsby, the focus will be on his continued battle with a gambling addiction while also preparing for life outside of college football.
