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After a seven-day battle that played out in 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 a Texas federal court seeking the authority to sanction Texas Tech for playing quarterback this season, even though the NCAA deems him ineligible to play.
Over the past three months, Sorsby had been embroiled in an NCAA investigation related to thousands of bets placed during his college career, a number of which were made while he was on Indiana’s roster. These bets were reported by law enforcement, who then turned them over to the NCAA.
Big 12 files lawsuit against Texas Tech seeking court approval to sanction school over Brendan Sorsby
In recent weeks, Sorsby filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in Lubbock District Court, where an injunction was granted that would have allowed him to wear the uniform this season for the Red Raiders. Then came the backlash from across college sports, with the Big 12 conference looking for ways to punish Texas Tech.
That Sorsby trial is expected to be dismissed Tuesday morning, sources told OutKick. The school will also continue to support the quarterback in his off-the-field battle with his gambling addiction.
Additionally, Texas Tech officials won’t seek a refund of money already paid to Sorsby, with sources noting the quarterback already took home a significant amount of revenue.
Board of Regents Chairman Cody Campbell released a statement Monday evening confirming these details.
“Texas Tech will not seek reimbursement of any amounts already paid to Brendan under its NIL agreements with the university,” Campbell noted.
Future Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby shouts 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 January 24, 2026. (John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
This quickly got out of hand for the Red Raiders
The unfortunate part for everyone involved was how far Texas Tech was going in its path to potentially put 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 sue them in return.
Quarterback Brendan Sorsby of the Cincinnati Bearcats speaks with 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 more complicated, Texas Tech officials released a 21-minute video last week, in which they went over some safeguards that were put in place for Sorsby once he was granted a restraining order.
The video obviously wasn’t well received, and Texas Tech officials faced tremendous backlash from leaders in the opposing Big 12 conference.
After Big 12 filed suit, pressure intensified for Sorsby and Texas Tech
Over the past 24 hours, the conversation changed within Lubbock, as the school knew Big 12 officials were preparing to file a federal lawsuit against Sorsby.
Members of Sorsby’s inner circle were beginning to feel the pressure to move forward and enter his name into the NFL Supplemental Draft, and not have to deal with the immense pressure that wasn’t going away anytime soon.
“I don’t know why they would try to justify this last week, it didn’t make any sense. The amount of heat this young man was getting, plus what else was going to happen, wasn’t worth it,” a Power Four athletic director told OutKIck. “Texas Tech should have made this decision on its own when it was first confronted by the NCAA. This is why we have language in the revenue sharing and NIL contracts that also correlates with NCAA rules.
“Once the school knew the rules had been broken, that should have ended 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 November 1, 2025. (Bryan Byerly/ISIPhotos)
BRENDAN SORSBY ADMITS TO BETTING NEARLY $90,000 DURING HIS COLLEGE CAREER AS NCAA FIGHT HEATED UP
In reality, Texas Tech overplayed its hand in this one, and the last few days, in which Cody Campbell made an appearance on Dan Dakich’s show and tried to compare the situation to Penn State’s fallout with Jerry Sandusky, have only made things worse.
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Now, despite all the damage this has caused over the past few weeks, Sorsby will embark on a professional career. In the meantime, Texas Tech will do whatever is necessary to repair any type of broken relationships within the Big 12 that this has caused.
For Brendan Sorsby, the focus will be on his continued battle with his gambling addiction, while also preparing for life outside of college football.
