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After a seven-day battle that spanned multiple courtrooms, Brendan Sorsby has decided that he will not play college football this season at Texas Tech.
The decision comes on the same day that the Big 12 filed a lawsuit in a Texas federal court that was aimed at being provided the power to sanction Texas Tech for playing the quarterback this season, even with the NCAA ruling him ineligible to play.
Over the past three months, Sorsby had been embroiled in an NCAA investigation tied to thousands of bets placed during his college career, with a number of them coming while he was on the roster at Indiana. These bets were flagged by law enforcement officials, who then turned them over to the NCAA.
Big 12 files lawsuit against Texas Tech seeking court approval to sanction school over Brendan Sorsby
During these last 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 in which it could possibly punish Texas Tech.
That 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 battle off the field with an addiction to gambling.
Also, Texas Tech officials are not going to be seeking a return of money already paid to Sorsby, with sources noting that the quarterback had already taken home a significant amount of earnings.
Board of Regents chair, Cody Campbell, released a statement on Monday night, confirming these details.
“Texas Tech will not seek return of any amounts already paid to Brendan through his 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 Texas Tech Red Raiders at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas, on Jan. 24, 2026. (John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
This quickly got out of control for Red Raiders
The unfortunate part for all involved was how far Texas Tech was going in its route 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.
Then came a scathing letter from Sorsby’s attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, who also threatened to sue the Big 12 conference, on behalf of Texas Tech, if there were any punishments handed down by the conference.
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 messier, Texas Tech officials released a 21-minute video last week, where they went over certain guardrails that were put into place for Sorsby once he was granted an injunction.
The video was obviously not received well, and officials at Texas Tech were enduring a tremendous amount of backlash from opposing conference leaders from across the Big 12.
After Big 12 filed lawsuit, pressure intensified for Sorsby and Texas Tech
Over the last 24 hours, the conversation shifted within Lubbock, as the school knew that Big 12 officials were preparing to file a federal lawsuit regarding Sorsby.
Those within Sorsby’s inner circle were starting to feel the pressure to go ahead and enter his name into the NFL Supplemental draft, and not have to deal with the immense pressure that was not going away any time soon.
“I have no idea why they would try to justify this over the past week, it just made zero sense. The amount of heat that young man was getting, along with what was still to come, was not worth the hassle,” one Power Four athletic director told OutKIck. “Texas Tech should’ve made this decision on their own when he was first confronted by the NCAA. This is the reason why we have language in rev-share and NIL contracts that also correlate with NCAA rules.
“Once the school knew 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 Photos)
BRENDAN SORSBY ADMITS WAGERING NEARLY $90,000 DURING COLLEGE CAREER AS NCAA FIGHT HEATS UP
In reality, Texas Tech overplayed its hand in this one, and the past few days that included Cody Campbell making an appearance on the Dan Dakich show and trying to compare the situation to the fallout at Penn State with Jerry Sandusky only made this worse.
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Now, for all of 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 is needed to repair any type of fractured relationships within the Big 12 this has caused.
For Brendan Sorsby, the focus will be on his continued battle with a gambling addiction, while he also prepares himself for life outside of college football.