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The NCAA said no to Brendan Sorsby. A court just said yes. Here’s why
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- The NCAA said no to Brendan Sorsby. A court just said yes. Here’s why
Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby's college football career, effectively, just got a Hail Mary reprieve.
The District Court of Lubbock County, Texas, on Monday, June 8, awarded Sorsby a temporary injunction against the NCAA, thereby restoring Sorsby's eligibility .
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The NCAA, which ruled Sorsby permanently ineligible to play for his gambling activity , issued a scathing statement on the decision via X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.
"The NCAA strongly disagrees with the court's ruling in Sorsby's case and is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of the outcome - which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports," the NCAA wrote. "The NCAA is committed to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one's own sport."
Brendan Sorsby wins vs NCAA: 'As disastrous a ruling as there has ever been in modern sports'
The NCAA could elect to appeal the judge's decision, USA TODAY Sports, has learned, just as Sorsby would have been within his rights to appeal the judge's ruling had his request for injunctive relief been denied.
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USA TODAY Sports has reached out to Texas Tech officials for comment on Sorsby's legal victory.
As school officials prepared to wage a legal battle on behalf of Sorsby, Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec took to task the NCAA in an open letter.
"We believe that given the facts and the context of Brendan's case, the NCAA's ruling should be reversed or modified," Schovanec wrote in his May 26, 2026, letter. "As a generation of college athletes face the legalization and rapid proliferation of sports betting in our country, gambling addiction is rising to the point of epidemic among college aged men in particular. The NCAA's stated mission includes 'fostering [student-athletes'] lifelong well-being,' and they have claimed their goal is to promote a 'culture of care' for student athletes' mental health. Gambling addiction is a clinically recognized behavioral disorder, as defined in the DSM-5.
"The NCAA's own Chief Medical Officer has called for a 'harm reduction approach' in dealing with problem gambling so that student-athletes can 'seek support without fear of impacting their eligibility.'"
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After two seasons at Cincinnati, Sorsby signed as a transfer to Texas Tech in January but has been under investigation since April for violating NCAA gambling rules that turned into Sorsby's admission to having placed "thousands of bets."
Notably, Sorsby bet dozens of times on his initial college football program, Indiana University, during his freshman season, and on Monday, June 1, in a Texas courtroom, Sorsby petitioned judge Ken Curry for injunctive relief.
In granting the temporary injunction, Curry wrote on behalf of the court that "Applicant has demonstrated he will suffer a probably, imminent, and irreparable injury if the court does not grant this temporary injunction because he will be unable to participate as a member of Texas Tech's 2026 football team, including Texas Tech's 2026 football season and:
"1. Benefit from the elite coaching, training resources, camaraderie, and regimen that only being a member of a Division I football team can provide.
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"2. Build the skills necessary to maximize his own success during the college football season, as well as that of Texas Tech's football team and each of its players, and
"3. Make an informed decision regarding whether to enter the 2026 NFL Supplemental Draft."
The NCAA noted in its own court filings in response to Sorsby's formal request for injunctive relief that Sorsby had not voluntarily sought to enter the outpatient treatment center to treat Sorsby's "gambling addiction" until he and Texas Tech officials were notified that he was under investigation for his gambling activity.
Court documents showed that Sorsby admitted to dozens of bets on his own initial college football team, the Indiana University Hoosiers, during the 2022 season. Sorsby, who admitted to placing multi-leg "prop bets" on Indiana's games and his teammates, argued that he never bet against his teammates or their performances.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why judge restored Brendan Sorsby eligibility after gambling admission
