NCAA Seeks Fast Texas Tech QB Eligibility Ruling as Big 12 Sues

The NCAA is asking a Texas appeals court to rule this summer that Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is ineligible to participate in the upcoming college football season because he placed bets on sports.

In a filing Monday, the National Collegiate Athletic Association requested a ruling by Aug. 28 — an expedited timeline that comes a week before the Lubbock, Texas school’s season opener.

Sorsby, who is suspended for the team’s first and second games, won a trial court ruling June 8, reinstating his eligibility after the NCAA had banned him for the season for betting on games while enrolled at Texas Tech and two previous schools, Indiana University and University of Cincinnati. The NCAA immediately appealed.

That ruling also prompted the Big 12 Conference in which Sorsby’s current school competes to file a federal court lawsuit Sunday against Texas Tech and the state seeking an order recognizing its right to punish the school should it allow Sorsby to play.

“TheBig 12 and its Member Institutions (apparently save TTU) have no interest in being required to endorse or even appearing to endorse unethical and indeed unlawful conduct that strikes at the heart of athletic integrity,” the Big 12 said in the complaint.

Sorsby wagered thousands of bets over four years totaling at least $90,000, violating the NCAA’s rule against sports betting by student athletes. Before the lower court he argued a ban would be unjust because he has an addiction and the association should support him as he works to overcome it.

“A decision by August 28, 2026, would spare all stakeholders—the NCAA, Sorsby, Texas Tech, other teams, and the college football ecosystem—from the far greater disruption that would attend a mid-season ruling,” the NCAA told the Court of Appeals, Seventh District.

The association also asked the appellate court to pause the trial court’s injunction that gave Sorsby eligibility pending the outcome of the appeal. Sorsby is opposing both requests, the NCAA said.

The NCAA is represented by Haynes Boone LLP, Holland & Knight LLP, and Wilkinson Stekloff LLP.

Sorsby is represented by Liggett Law Group PC and Winston & Strawn LLP.

The NCAA case is Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Assoc. v. Sorsby, Tex. App., 7th Dist., No. 07-26-00300-CV, 6/15/26. The Big 12 case is The Big 12 Conference Inc. v. Paxton, N.D. Tex., 3:26-cv-1966, 6/14/26.