When Texas Tech transfer QB Brendan Sorsby was found to be betting on his teams' games while a member of the Indiana Hoosiers in 2022, he was quickly ruled ineligible by the NCAA.
Sorsby played the last two seasons for Cincinnati and leaves Lubbock without having played a game for the Red Raiders.
According to EPSN, Sorsby made "thousands of dollars of online bets on a variety of sports via a gambling app."
However, on June 8, in the 99th District Court in Lubbock County, where Texas Tech is located, a judge granted Sorsby a temporary injunction, a plot twist that apparently cleared the way for him to play for the local school in the fall.
ESPN contributor Pete Thamel discussed the precedent set by the decision during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
“It's the latest manifestation of one of the biggest issues in college sports right now, which is local (judges) overruling what the NCAA rules are supposed to be.”
Almost immediately both the NCAA and the Big 12 Conference, where Texas Tech is a member, filed separate challenges against the injunction. The Big 12 filing included names such as Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton, as well as the leadership at the university, of trying to prevent the conference from exercising its own rules to which Texas Tech was bound by membership.
Outside the Big 12, schools like the SEC’s Georgia and Michigan and Nebraska, of the Big 10, had announced that they would not schedule Texas Tech for non-conference competition in any sport.
In defense of Sorsby, Cody Campbell, chairman of Texas Tech’s governing board, posted a lengthy letter, in which he said that "The bottom line is that Texas Tech did absolutely nothing but act with complete integrity through this entire process."
He doubled down in an interview on "Don't @ Me" with Dan Dakich when asked why other schools were so against Sorsby being eligible.
“It's because the college football world doesn't think Texas Tech should be as good as we are. So, we're a target.”
Now, Sorsby announced that he plans to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft and forgo his remaining college eligibility.
Despite the controversy, interest is widespread. Thamel reported Thursday that "every single team in the NFL" has expressed some level of interest, driven by the league's constant demand for quarterback talent.
