Why Iowa Might Support the Big Ten if It Bans Texas Tech

Why Iowa Might Support the Big Ten if It Bans Texas Tech

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Why Iowa Might Support the Big Ten if It Bans Texas Tech
Texas Tech's Brendan Sorsby looks on during the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Texas Tech's Brendan Sorsby looks on during the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It's the talk of the college football world.

Someway, somehow, it has happened that Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby received an injunction and is now eligible to play, despite placing approximately $90,000 in bets, which included games of teams he was actively a part of.

The outrage from the ruling has been loud, and it is starting to have some murmurs that could shake the landscape of college athletics, as teams and conferences are threatening to simply not play Texas Tech in any sports.

The Iowa Hawkeyes, as much as any school in America, have reasons to support this.

Even if that reason is spite for the process itself.

Why Texas Tech's Brendan Sorsby Situation Matters For Iowa

As I talked about last week, Iowa was on the wrong side of the NCAA in 2023 when starting defensive tackle Noah Shannon was suspended for an entire year for a $20 bet on women's basketball.

One bet, and it didn't have anything to do with football and his own sport. Even so, betting on sports as college athletes was declared a harsh no-no by the NCAA.

If that's a season-long suspension, and the precedent was set by the NCAA for sports gambling infractions, then what real case does Brendan Sorsby and Texas Tech have?

Fast-forward to 2026, and we live in a world where betting on your own team can be pushed aside if you take the case to enough judges in search of an injunction.

Iowa appealed, too. It didn't change anything then, and now, the Hawkeyes have a reason to complain.

Iowa defensive lineman Noah Shannon (99) reacts after tackling Nebraska running back Anthony Grant for a loss of yards in the
Iowa defensive lineman Noah Shannon (99) reacts after tackling Nebraska running back Anthony Grant for a loss of yards in the fourth quarter during a NCAA football game on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. | Bryon Houlgrave/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Possible Boycott of Texas Tech

How does a team, like Iowa, that lived through this and was made an example of, have any desire to see anything even resembling the red and black of the Texas Tech Red Raiders?

The situation is hypocritical, at best, and a gigantic, ugly stain on college sports, to put it very lightly.

So, Big Ten, make the call. Iowa is ready to bring the reinforcements.

Headlined by Nebraska and Georgia sending out memos to coaches to avoid scheduling Texas Tech, the aftermath is seeing the discourse turn to conferences as a whole potentially not scheduling the Red Raiders.

Things have only gotten louder since that. As reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel, the entire Big Ten is going to be discussing the possibility of a league-wide mandate to avoid Texas Tech in any sport.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/iowa as Why Iowa Might Support the Big Ten if It Bans Texas Tech.

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