Big 12 lawsuit, explained: Why conference is seeking legal action against Texas Tech for Brendan Sorsby decision
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Big 12 lawsuit, explained: Why conference is seeking legal action against Texas Tech for Brendan Sorsby decision originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Brendan Sorsby situation at Texas Tech continues to grow in complication.
Not long after a Texas state court granted a temporary injunction for Sorsby, preventing the NCAA from stepping in to deem the quarterback ineligible to play for the 2026 season, now the Big 12 is stepping in.
On Monday, the conference took initial steps toward an attempt to sanction Texas Tech over the school's intention to play Sorsby in 2026, filing a legal complaint.
Here's what to know about the Big 12's legal action against Texas Tech.
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Big 12 lawsuit against Texas Tech
The Big 12 has filed a 47-page complaint against Texas Tech, the Texas attorney general, the system's chancellor, the school president and athletic director, according to Yahoo Sports, seeking "declaratory judgment and a preliminary injunction to enable it to enforce its bylaws."
In essence, the Big 12 is asking a federal court to keep both Texas Tech and the state's attorney general, Ken Paxton, from stepping in to hinder the league's ability to sanction the Texas Tech program, per Yahoo. The suit was filed in the Northern District of Texas in Dallas.
There are no damages being sought in the filing, and the complaint also is not challenging the state court ruling that Sorsby will be eligible to play in 2026. Instead, the Big 12 is attempting to clear the path to sanctioning for Texas Tech, seeking to take action against the Red Raiders over potentially playing Sorsby.
The complaint also comes after "legal threats made from the Texas attorney general," per Yahoo Sports, with previous demands that "the league refrain from exercising its governance authority, characterizing any sanction as an antitrust violation and threatening joint liability against the conference."
“To be sure, given the result in the NCAA injunctive relief case, TTU can choose whether or not to compete with Sorsby,” the filing reads, per The Athletic. “And TTU can pay him consistent with the law. But the freedom to do so is by no means a freedom from consequences. It is well within the right of the Big 12 to discern and implement an appropriate sanction in response to TTU’s decision to compete with a student-athlete who has extensively, unethically, and unlawfully bet on college football."
The Big 12 is concerned that allowing Sorsby to play following his betting controversy would. bring "reputational harm and irreparable damage to public and member trust in the integrity of league compensations," according to Yahoo Sports.
"The threat that gambling poses to the integrity of athletic competition has been understood — and has been borne out by scandal — for over a century," the complaint reads, per Yahoo Sports. "That history informs the Conference's values and governance practices and explains why these values are non-negotiable."
BENDER: Brendan Sorsby ruling leaves CFB no defense against gambling
Why Big 12 is pursuing legal action against Texas Tech
The Big 12 is now turning to legal action against Texas Tech due to the school's anticipated decision to allow Sorsby to play in the 2026 season after the quarterback acknowledged betting on his own team while a freshman at Indiana.
The conference isn't necessarily seeking to reverse the state court decision that deemed Sorsby eligible for 2026 — instead, the Big 12 is taking steps to initiate potential sanctions against Texas Tech, should it allow Sorsby to take the field.
The complaint "lays out the conference's intention to sanction Texas Tech if it were to play Sorsby," according to Yahoo, with the filing claiming that conference officials, university presidents and athletic directors have all already requested that the Red Raiders not play Sorsby in 2026 — but "TTU has not agreed." Because of that lack of agreement, the Big 12 is turning toward legal action.
According to Yahoo Sports, some of the sanctions being considered by the Big 12, should they proceed, would include monetary sanctions and/or a ban on competing in the Big 12 Championship Game.
Brendan Sorsby controversy
The Sorsby situation has dominated the college football offseason over the last few weeks, yet another controversy involving lawsuits within the sport.
The quarterback has acknowledged to making at least $90,000 from "thousands of impermissible wagers during his college career," per Yahoo, including his time at Indiana as a freshman and Cincinnati. After enrolling at Texas Tech, Sorsby also "admitted to sending about $5,000 to another person to place bets on his behalf," and he enrolled in treatment for addiction and anxiety.
It was the decision from a Texas court judge last week, however, that has taken the controversy to another level.
Despite Sorsby's admission of betting on games, the judge ruled that the NCAA was prohibited from enforcing its rule to permanently ban Sorsby from playing college football, meaning he would be eligible to play in 2026. That resulted in outrage from fellow Big 12 members, including threats of not scheduling Texas Tech in the future.
Now, the Big 12 is doing what it can to potentially enforce sanctions upon Texas Tech if the school allows Sorsby to take the field.
DECOURCY:Why TTU's Brendan Sorsby statement makes it clear team only cares about winning
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