Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby pushes for NCAA decision amid gambling probe
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Texas Tech football quarterback Brendan Sorsby has filed for an injunction in his lawsuit against the NCAA on Monday in a Lubbock District Court.
Sorsby stepped away from the program on Monday, April 27 to enter a residential treatment program for gambling addiction that preceded his transfer to Red Raiders this past offseason from Cincinnati. The 6-3 quarterback is under NCAA investigation after making “thousands” of online bets on a variety of sports via a gambling app dating back to his true freshman season at Indiana in 2022.
In his injunction — obtained by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network — Sorsby is seeking an answer on whether he’ll be reinstated or not, so that he can apply for the NFL’s supplemental draft by late June.
Sorsby hired antitrust and sports labor attorney Jeffrey Kessler to be part of his legal team, sources told USA TODAY Sports’ Matt Hayes two weeks ago. USA TODAY Sports reported back on April 28 the Cincinnati athletic department was alerted last August of Sorsby’s habitual gambling. The NCAA learned of Sorsby’s problem anonymously earlier this month.
The lawsuit states Sorsby was “clinically diagnosed” with a gambling disorder, which is “a mental health condition.”
“The NCAA has refused to process his reinstatement request in a timely fashion as required by its own procedures, which typically call for review within 48 hours,” the lawsuit reads. “Now, after belatedly agreeing to review his request based on stipulated facts, it has made more demands that are further stalling the process. And it still offers no timeline for a decision — all while the clock ticks toward a June 22, 2026 National Football League (“NFL”) Supplemental Draft deadline that will determine whether Mr. Sorsby can play high-level football anywhere this year.
It adds: “The NCAA has weaponized his condition to shore up a facade of competitive integrity, while simultaneously profiting from the very gambling ecosystem it polices.”
In a statement to USA TODAY Sports, the NCAA mentioned it has not received a reinstatement request from Sorsby for this case.
“The NCAA has not received a reinstatement request for this case. The NCAA generally doesn’t comment on pending reinstatement requests, but the Association’s sports betting rules are clear, as are the reinstatement conditions,” the NCAA said in a statement. “When it comes to betting on one’s own team, these rules must be enforced in every case for the simple reason that the integrity of the game is at risk. Every sports league has these protections in place, and the NCAA will continue to apply them equally because every student-athlete competing deserves to know they’re playing a fair game.”
Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech this offseason after two seasons at Cincinnati, where he was the Bearcats’ starting quarterback and threw for a career-high 27 touchdowns in the 2025 season. He spent two seasons in the Big Ten at Indiana before going to the Bearcats.
The NCAA prohibits student-athletes and athletics department staff members from making bets and/or sharing information with bettors on college sports. It also prohibits both parties from betting on professional sports — a rule the NCAA briefly moved to change in October before reversing course. He violated both of those guidelines, with the former deeming him permanently ineligible to return to college athletics.
Potential NCAA gambling penalties for Brendan Sorsby
Here’s a full look at the NCAA’s rules and guidelines for betting-related violations from a June 2023 news release:
- Student-athletes who engage in activities to influence the outcomes of their own games or knowingly provide information to individuals involved in sports betting activities will potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility in all sports. This would also apply to student-athletes who wager on their own games or on other sports at their own schools.
- If a student-athlete wagers on their own sport at another school, education on sports wagering rules and prevention will be required as a condition of reinstatement, and the loss of 50% of one season of eligibility will be considered.
- For all other wagering-related violations (e.g., wagering on professional sports), cumulative dollar value of the wagers will be taken into consideration with the following terms for reinstatement:
- $200 or less: sports wagering rules and prevention education.
- $201-$500: loss of 10% of a season of eligibility, plus rules and prevention education.
- $501-$800: loss of 20% of a season of eligibility, plus rules and prevention education.
- Greater than $800: loss of 30% of a season of eligibility, plus rules and prevention education.
The exact amount Sorsby wagered remains unclear, but his bets are believed to have been small. Further complicating the matter is that one must be 21 or older to bet in the states of Indiana and Ohio. Sorsby did not turn 21 until January of 2025, making his betting illegal before his 21st birthday.
The Athletic’s Justin Williams noted on Monday that in the affidavit attached to the lawsuit filed by Sorsby, the Red Raiders quarterback admitted to “placing small bets on the Indiana football team, typically in amounts between $5 and $50” in 2022 when he was at Indiana.
Texas Tech came in at No. 15 in USA TODAY Sports’ college football too-early Top 25 rankings after the spring practice window.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brendan Sorsby files injunction vs. NCAA in attempt for reinstatement
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