The Big 12 Conference and NCAA joined the burgeoning blockade attempting to halt Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby from playing for the Red Raiders this season.
The NCAA on Monday filed a formal appeal in Lubbock County District Court with a request for expedited resolution of the case by Aug. 28, one day before the start of the 2026 college football season.
A trial date was set for February as part of a temporary injunction granted to Sorsby in Texas state court last week, which would permit Sorsby to play the entire regular season and any playoff games after serving a two-game suspension. In the NCAA’s argument to advance the case on the docket, attorneys said the alternative is for teams to decide to “either compete against Texas Tech and face a court-orchestrated competitive imbalance, or protect the integrity of college sports by declining to do so.”
In a separate filing, the Big 12 is seeking a judgment that will allow it to enforce its bylaws against Texas Tech if the school allows Sorsby to play, despite his violations of NCAA rules against gambling.
Those bylaws include a provision to allow the Big 12 to sanction a school if a “supermajority” of conference members vote to do so, according to a copy of the 47-page complaint obtained by Front Office Sports.
The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court’s Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, and names Texas attorney general Ken Paxton and Texas Tech as defendants along with the school’s chancellor, president and athletic director. Sorsby is not named as a defendant.
Last week, a Texas state court granted Sorsby a temporary injunction to be eligible for the 2026 season after the NCAA originally ruled him ineligible.
The NCAA reached that decision after court documents filed by Sorsby’s legal team showed the quarterback placed at least 40 bets on the Indiana football team while a member of the program in 2022 and 2023. In all, he wagered about $90,000 over a four-year period. He entered an addiction treatment program on April 27.
Attorneys for the NCAA said Monday the injunction would “obliterate the status quo” by turning the violation into a legal issue under the purview of the courts.
“It destabilizes nationwide policies that protect competitive integrity … invites others across the country to challenge NCAA decisions in court — as shown by recent rulings that are already citing this case as precedent,” the court filing reads. “And it teaches all athletes that when you break the rules and receive discipline, the solution is not to take responsibility, but to find a different umpire.”
In Monday’s filing, the Big 12 asked the court to clarify that it has the authority to establish and enforce its own eligibility rules.
“This action is not an attempt to challenge that Injunction, and this Court is not being asked to make any determinations related to Sorsby’s eligibility to play college athletics or to the Conference’s right to sanction Sorsby as an individual,” the complaint said.
“The Injunction is a court order directed at the NCAA, governing the NCAA’s enforcement of its own Bylaw 12.9.4.2 against Sorsby. Whatever the Injunction requires of the NCAA, it does not address the issues of the Conference’s separate and independent governance authority over its Member Institutions.”
The 15 Big 12 athletic directors, excluding Texas Tech, met last week and unanimously expressed their opposition to Sorsby playing for the Red Raiders. Big 12 university presidents were scheduled to meet Monday to discuss potential sanctions.
Sorsby threw for 5,613 yards, 45 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over the past two seasons at Cincinnati. He also ran for 1,027 yards and 18 touchdowns in 24 games.
–Field Level Media
