Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s eligibility saga has already consumed college football, and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton threw gasoline on the fire on Thursday.
Before Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark met with the conference’s executive board to discuss next steps after Sorsby, who has admitted to placing at least 40 bets on Indiana Hoosiers games while with the program from 2022-23, was granted a Temporary Injunction Order (TIO) against the NCAA that allows him to play in 2026, Paxton sent the Big 12 a letter threatening legal action if Texas Tech is sanctioned.
“We are aware that the Big 12 is considering invoking [a] bylaw … to sanction Texas Tech for respecting the Order and continuing its support of Mr. Sorsby as a student-athlete,” Paxton’s statement reads. “This letter serves to notify the Big 12 that any such action would be unlawful and would expose the Conference to substantial liability.”
In response, Yormark released his own statement, saying, “We are taking time with our legal counsel to understand the concerns of the state and will meet again with the full Board next week. … All options remain on the table.”
Texas AG, Big 12 battle complicates potential Brendan Sorsby discipline
The back-and-forth volley between the Texas state government and Big 12 suggests the Sorsby ordeal could still get plenty messier. The threat of litigation, which Paxton argued would cost the conference “substantially more than $200 million” in damages would seem like a strong deterrent, but doing nothing has its own cost.
The conference also seems to have clear justification for reprimanding Texas Tech based on its own bylaws, which Paxton points to in his statement.
Big 12 Bylaw 3.6 states the conference can discipline a member if a “Supermajority … determines that such Member has … engaged in any action or a course of action materially adverse to the best interest of the Conference taken as a whole.”
Yet the state’s argument — that the conference can’t punish a university for complying with a court order — creates enough gray area where things aren’t as cut and dry.
During ESPN’s “SportsCenter” on Thursday, college football insider Pete Thamel detailed potential sanctions the Big 12 is considering, including an additional suspension for Sorsby on top of the two games he’ll already miss at the start of the season.
Thamel noted university punishment is also on table, adding, “History is always a good indicator,” then pointing to Baylor’s $2 million fine and withheld media rights money a decade ago in response to Art Briles fallout.
“For example, one year’s media revenue is about $40M,” Thamel said before acknowledging, “This is complicated.”
Whatever action the conference takes will likely be met with further legal maneuvers, leaving the controversy with no end in sight.
Buckle up. The biggest story of the college football offseason isn’t dying down. It’s more likely to explode.
