Brendan Sorsby admitted to wagering at least $90,000 on more than 9,000 bets over the course of his college career, including the period after he transferred to Texas Tech, according to an opposition response filed Friday in the quarterback’s lawsuit against the NCAA and obtained by The Athletic.
An online sportsbook initially tipped off the NCAA to Sorsby’s extensive gambling after the book had been approached by law enforcement, according to the opposition response, which was filed ahead of Monday’s temporary injunction hearing in Lubbock County (Texas) district court. It was previously unknown how and why the NCAA began its investigation into Sorsby’s gambling history earlier this year.
The court documents do not specify which law enforcement entity informed the sportsbook about Sorsby’s gambling, nor do they mention whether law enforcement is pursuing criminal charges. The Athletic previously reported that Sorsby is under investigation by Ohio state gambling officials, according to the Ohio Casino Control Commission. The Indiana Gaming Commission previously told The Athletic it was withholding a document request related to Sorsby because of a state law that shields the investigatory records of a law enforcement agency.
Sorsby, 22, transferred to Texas Tech in January after spending two seasons apiece at Indiana and Cincinnati and was among the most highly coveted players in the transfer portal this offseason.
The fifth-year senior quarterback filed the lawsuit last week and is seeking an injunction to restore his eligibility for the 2026 college football season. He was recently deemed permanently ineligible by the NCAA for gambling violations, including betting on Indiana football in 2022 while he was a member of the Hoosiers.
The NCAA’s opposition response argues that Texas Tech contributed to the length of Sorsby’s reinstatement process, stating that the university was notified in April of the NCAA’s findings and investigation but did not file for reinstatement until last week, a day after Sorsby filed the lawsuit.
The NCAA denied Texas Tech’s request for reinstatement on Sorsby’s behalf late last week. The school plans to appeal, according to a letter from university president Lawrence Schovanec. Sorsby filed the lawsuit alongside the reinstatement process; based on the NCAA’s policy of permanent ineligibility for betting on one’s own team, an injunction from a Texas state court is Sorsby’s only realistic chance to play for the Red Raiders this fall. Prominent sports labor lawyer Jeffrey Kessler is representing Sorsby, and Texas Tech is not involved in the lawsuit.
The quarterback recently completed a residential treatment program for gambling and anxiety disorders and is expected to return to Texas Tech’s campus in the coming days to rejoin the football program.
The lawsuit seeks an expedited and definitive answer on his eligibility for the 2026 season, allowing Sorsby to either remain in college or apply for the NFL Supplemental Draft by its June 22 deadline. Sorsby admitted placing “thousands” of bets as a college athlete, including on his own team at Indiana and on men’s basketball games at Indiana and Cincinnati. He also appealed for leniency based on his cooperation with the NCAA investigation, a clinically diagnosed gambling addiction, and vowing to use his experience and platform to raise awareness of sports gambling among college athletes. The lawsuit revealed that Sorsby offered to serve a two-game suspension, among other conditions, but the NCAA declined to discuss a settlement.
The NCAA pushed back against the lawsuit’s accusations that the association profits from the sports gambling ecosystem, reiterating that the NCAA has no commercial partnership with any betting companies, restricts advertising and sponsorships associated with betting during NCAA championships and offers various gambling education materials to college athletes and member schools.
This is completely false – the NCAA has no commercial partnership with any sportsbook and the NCAA prohibits betting ads during all broadcasts. https://t.co/nlkkCfD0hG
— Tim Buckley (@Tim_BuckleyMA) May 27, 2026
Sorsby has received public support for reinstatement from Texas Tech, including the school president, athletic director Kirby Hocutt and head coach Joey McGuire. But the NCAA’s sports betting guidelines, updated in 2023, stipulate penalties of permanent ineligibility for an athlete betting on their own team and a lost season of eligibility for betting on other sports at an athlete’s own school, both of which Sorsby has admitted to.
The NCAA has not indicated it intends to deviate from those punishments for Sorsby.
“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,” the NCAA said in a prior statement. “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.”
The June 1 hearing and subsequent ruling are critical for college sports. Sorsby’s situation has put the broader issue of sports gambling among college athletes under the microscope, exposing the challenges and shortcomings of policing this issue. If Sorsby receives an injunction and is able to play college football this fall, it would be another high-profile defeat for the NCAA in court and represent another set of rules the NCAA struggles to enforce.
The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. local time Monday. Judge Ken Curry will preside after the initial judge, Phillip Hays, recused himself. Hays is a Lubbock native and double graduate of Texas Tech; Curry holds no degrees from Tech. The judge may deliver a ruling Monday, but is not required to do so immediately, and either party can appeal the decision.
This story will be updated.
