Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond recommended to the Big 12 Conference on Friday that it take action against Texas Tech in the wake of a controversial court ruling restoring quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s eligibility after he admitted to gambling on his own team.
Drummond made his recommendation in a letter written in response to missives sent to the league Thursday by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Jeffrey Kessler, Sorsby’s lawyer, in which they each warned that any sanctions imposed by the Big 12 against Texas Tech or Sorsby would be considered “unlawful” and would be met with legal action.
“Oklahoma is home to a Big 12 member institution, Oklahoma State University, and my office has a direct interest in the integrity of Conference competition,” Drummond wrote. “Texas Tech has acted in a manner adverse to the Big 12 and integrity of college football as a whole.”
Sorsby was granted a temporary injunction by a Texas state court on Monday that reinstated his athletic eligibility for the 2026 college football season. The decision essentially overruled the NCAA, which had deemed Sorsby permanently ineligible for committing thousands of gambling violations, including betting on his own team while attending Indiana in 2022. Sorsby will serve a two-game suspension, according to the injunction ruling by Judge Ken Curry in the 99th District Court in Lubbock County, where Texas Tech is located.
Big 12 administrators met this week to discuss potential sanctions by the conference against Sorsby or Texas Tech, with all member presidents expected to meet Monday. Conference sources familiar with Big 12 discussions but unauthorized to speak publicly told The Athletic that no formal, imminent action has been planned and that officials are considering the legal ramifications of any decisions.
“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,” Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said in response to the letter from the Texas attorney general’s office, which is required to represent Texas Tech in court under state law.
Bylaw 3.6 of the Big 12 allows the conference to sanction a member school if a “supermajority of disinterested directors” determines it has “engaged in any action or a course of conduct materially adverse to the best interests” of the conference.
“The claims asserted in the (Texas attorney general’s) letter are meritless,” Drummond wrote. “The idea that the Big 12 may not sanction the actions of one of its members under an agreed-upon preexisting contract is facially absurd.”
The Oklahoma attorney general’s letter rejected the idea that the Big 12 sanctioning Texas Tech would represent antitrust violations.
“If Texas Tech will not do the right thing, the Big 12 should. Texas Tech should be sanctioned,” Drummond wrote. “I also note that the injunction granted to Sorsby applies only to the NCAA. It does not impede the Big 12 from suspending Sorsby.”
Drummond, who has served as attorney general since 2023, is vying to be the state’s Republican nominee for the Oklahoma governor race this fall. The primary election is next week.
Drummond described the efforts to secure Sorsby’s eligibility for the 2026 season as a “shameful chapter in the story of college football.”
NCAA President Charlie Baker echoed those sentiments when he appeared at a college athletics administrators convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday, calling the judge’s decision to allow Sorsby to play this season for Texas Tech a “new low.”
His organization sent a letter to Division I commissioners Friday, saying a bipartisan bill introduced late last month, known as the Protecting College Sports Act, would prevent future cases like Sorsby’s. Baker suggested as much earlier this week, although some legal experts challenged that assertion. The NCAA’s memo took Baker’s comments a step further.
“If the Protect College Sports Act becomes law before the case is fully resolved, it would override Sorsby’s legal challenge and allow the NCAA to maintain its eligibility restriction,” the letter said.
The memo, which was obtained by The Athletic, called on Division I conferences to work with Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas-R) and Maria Cantwell (Wash.-D) to strengthen the provision in the bill that protects the NCAA’s ability to enforce its rules against legal challenges.
The bill is set to go to markup next week and the NCAA’s memo says there is an effort to “strip this element from the bill” before then.
Texas Tech officials have repeatedly stressed that the university and its administrators were not involved in Sorsby’s lawsuit against the NCAA, including in a 20-minute video released by the school Thursday. Sorsby’s lawsuit was separate from the NCAA’s formal reinstatement process, though Texas Tech officials did express public support for the quarterback’s eligibility on numerous occasions.
Drummond did not acknowledge this distinction in his letter, while offering his office’s support to the Big 12.
“(Texas Tech) has shirked responsibility by running with a bogus claim to a friendly court. Its leadership has prioritized winning over sport, over honor, and over integrity,” Drummond wrote. “My office stands ready to assist the Big 12 if Texas Tech’s leadership attempts to punish the Conference for doing the right thing.”
