First, there was this.
The initial feelings that swept through the Big 12 upon learning a Texas judge had ruled that Brendan Sorsby should be permitted to play college football this season veered toward hopelessness.
“Feeling very despondent, angry, frustrated,” one Big 12 athletic director said at a convention for college sports administrators in Las Vegas, just a couple of hours after the order came down last Monday out of a district court in Lubbock County.
Texas Tech’s prized transfer quarterback, ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA for thousands of violations of the association’s gambling rules, including betting on his own team while at Indiana, would be suspended for only the first two games of the season.
One of the most unambiguous commandments across sports — you can’t bet on your own team without serious consequences — was tossed aside.
“Maybe this is what rock bottom feels like,” the AD said, incredulous and flipping a backpack over one shoulder.
Very quickly within the Big 12, however, shock and outrage turned to motivation.
“And then it was, ‘OK, we gotta do something,’” another Big 12 athletic director told The Athletic later in the week.
But what? With the NCAA once again neutered by a lawsuit, the Big 12 conference and its wheeler-dealer commissioner were thrust into a role they had not expected to be in: defending college sports’ right to run itself at a time when everything about it seems to be in disarray and gearing up for a fight against a member school that has been emboldened by a well-connected billionaire booster pushing back against any sanctioning.
The Athletic spoke with more than a dozen people inside and out of the Big 12 who have been involved in discussions about the conference’s response to the Sorsby ruling. They were granted anonymity to provide insight at a time when the Big 12 is directing its members to keep the process under wraps.
Soon enough the Big 12 will show its hand, and it appears the fight has only just begun.
See here and here for some background. What the Big 12 ultimately did was this.
The Big 12 filed a federal lawsuit Monday seeking a declaratory judgement and preliminary injunction that would allow the conference to enforce its bylaws and sanction Texas Tech if it decides to play the quarterback in the 2026 college football season.
The lawsuit is the latest escalation over Sorsby’s eligibility, following a letter from Texas attorney general Ken Paxton last week that warned any sanctions imposed by the Big 12 would be “unlawful” and met with legal action.
A Lubbock County district court granted Sorsby a temporary injunction on June 8, clearing the way for him to play next season despite his admission he broke NCAA rules by placing at least $90,000 in bets over the course of his college career, including on his own team when he played at Indiana.
Also Monday, the The NCAA asked a Texas appeals court to stay the temporary injunction. In documents filed with the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo, the NCAA asked for an emergency motion to stay the June 8 injunction and asked for a resolution by Aug. 28.
“The trial court’s temporary injunction sweeps beyond anything Texas law permits,” attorneys for the NCAA wrote. “It undermines the integrity of college sports, rewrites member-adopted rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, immunizes Brendan Sorsby from discipline for admitted and serial violations of NCAA anti-gambling rules, incentivizes a run on courthouses across the country to challenge even the most obvious and straightforward student-athlete eligibility decisions and demolishes the status quo.”
In a 47-page complaint filed in the Northern District of Texas, the Big 12 said conference officials, university presidents and athletic directors have requested Texas Tech not play Sorsby, but “TTU has not agreed.” Among the potential penalties, according to the filing, are a postseason ban and restrictions on revenue distributions. The Big 12’s filing lists the Texas Tech University System, chancellor Brandon Creighton, president Lawrence Schovanec, athletic director Kirby Hocutt and Paxton as defendants. The Big 12 is being represented by Sidley Austin.
Big 12 presidents met Monday to discuss any potential punishments for Sorsby, though immediate action was not expected, according to multiple reports.
“If a vote were to occur, however, some of the potential sanctions the Board could consider under the bylaws include monetary sanctions and/or a ban on competing in the Big 12 Championship Game,” the filing said.
There is “considerable concern” within the Big 12 that the conference would incur “reputational harm and irreparable damage to public and member trust in the integrity of league competitions” if Sorsby plays, according to the filing.
“In an industry that rarely agrees on anything, there is finally an issue that everyone seems to agree on (other than TTU and the Attorney General): universities should not field players who have bet on their own team’s games in college athletics,” the Big 12 wrote in its filing.
[…]
The Big 12 stated a supermajority of member schools – which would require 12 of the 15 league members, not including Texas Tech – has the power to enforce sanctions, according to the league’s bylaws.
The Big 12 is not seeking damages or challenging the Texas state ruling against the NCAA.
“To be sure, given the result in the NCAA injunctive relief case, TTU can choose whether or not to compete with Sorsby,” the filing reads. “And TTU can pay him consistent with the law. But the freedom to do so is by no means a freedom from consequences. It is well within the right of the Big 12 to discern and implement an appropriate sanction in response to TTU’s decision to compete with a student-athlete who has extensively, unethically, and unlawfully bet on college football.”
The Big 12’s complaint argues that in addition to “violating the laws of three states” – Indiana, Ohio and Texas – “Sorsby’s conduct contravenes core Big 12 ethical principles.”
While I will state once again that I have no dog in this fight, and I snorted a little at the thought of “core Big 12 ethical principles” – like, dudes, we all know what every power conference entities principle$$$$ are – I’m just happy to see them aim to stick it to Ken Paxton. He’s a wussy who hides behind friendly judges. Do like this and don’t take his crap.
And in the end, the Big 12 won by forfeit.
Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby plans to enter the NFL supplemental draft, ending a legal tug-of-war over his eligibility that threatened to spill into the college football season.
Instead, on the day the Big 12 filed a lawsuit in federal court, Sorsby ultimately took a knee and will forgo his final year of college eligibility, ESPN and Yahoo Sports reported Monday night.
The decision ends a bizarre saga that began with the NCAA declaring Sorsby ineligible in the wake of his admission he wagered $90,000 and made thousands of bets, including some on his own team when he played at Indiana.
Honestly, this is the best ending for all. The Big 12 can maintain its core ethical principles in peace, Sorsby can still earn money playing quarterback – not as much as he’d have made at Texas Tech, as I understand it, as he’s expected to go in a lower round, but there ought to be some consequences for his betting behavior – and Ken Paxton can pound sand. Let us never speak of this again.
Knowing what we know about his past behavior and character, Sorsby playing in college football game would have damaged the reputation and integrity, such as it is, of the NCAA.
He’s an unapologetic degenerate gambler and I would strongly suspect the fix is in for any contest he is even remotely involved in.
Any NFL team that has Sorsby on it’s roster has some mansplainin’ to do.
If I’m an NFL GM, it’s a hard pass on this guy. The day a critical mass of fans believe the games are rigged is the day that the golden goose that is sports dies. You cannot trust a gambling addict to never deliberately throw a game.
That’s why Pete Rose should have stayed permanently banned.
Yeah, he should be done as a football player. But I was out getting a haircut and they had ESPN talking about Sorsby’s draft stock and they never mentioned why he’s going professional.
Literally broke the only hard rule in sports and he’s going to get a pro contract.
But also, the Big 12 abusing Paxton is a beautiful moment. Kenny got baited by TTU and Campbell and the conference ran him over.