NCAA doubling down on Brendan Sorsby’s ban decision: ‘His college football career has come to an end’
Brendan Sorsby’s case against the NCAA has taken another turn ahead of Monday’s scheduled high-profile hearing in a Lubbock, Texas courtroom.
The Texas Tech quarterback was denied reinstatement earlier in the week, while more details surrounding his gambling addiction came to light.
While at Indiana, court documents showed that Sorsby placed at least 2,900 wagers amounting to over $30,000 from June 2022 to December 2023. Forty of these bets were connected to the Hoosiers football team while he was on the team.
Brendan Sorsby passes during the Texas Tech Spring Game at Jones AT&T Stadium on
April 17, 2026 in Lubbock, Texas. Getty Images for ONIT
In late April 2026, two months after signing the highly touted transfer portal addition to a $4 millon deal, the Red Raiders placed Sorsby on indefinite leave in adherence to the NCAA’s gambling policy guidelines.
The school is supporting Sorsby and appealed the decision on Friday after he completed a 35-day stint at a gambling rehabilitation center in Arizona .
The NCAA is aware of Sorsby’s rehab trip and denies being insensitive to the mental health angle deployed by Tech and his attorneys.
Nevertheless, they doubled down, claiming its decision to deny Sorsby an injunction should stand, and one of its main arguments is that he placed bets on his own team.
ESPN’s David Purdum reported that the NCAA, in a legal brief put together late Friday, claimed, “Bylaws are clear that his college football career has come to an end.”
The NCAA remains firm and has pledged not to become the first major American sports league to allow an athlete to bet on their own games to compete if a district court grants Sorsby an injunction.
They also added in their deposition, “It would create unfair outcomes for the many student-athletes who have resisted the temptation to gamble, or who have gambled and been punished under the same rules Plaintiff now seeks to evade.”
Court filings reveal that the NCAA received a tip from an online gambling bookmaker on March 11.
Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby watches the school’s NFL football pro day. AP Photo/Annie Rice
The NCAA discovered that Sorsby made parlay bets linked to Hoosier basketball games and asked friends for help to wager on different sports across several sportsbooks, including FanDuel, Underdog, Hard Rock Bet, and PrizePicks.
His gambling tendencies went beyond Indiana, as it was revealed that Sorsby had transferred $5,000 to someone who placed bets on the NBA, MLB, and PGA for him while he was at Tech.
“It became a habit for me to bet,” Sorsby wrote in an affidavit to the NCAA.
The quarterback revealed that he transferred at least $60,000 to friends who were betting on his behalf. He was diagnosed with a gambling and anxiety disorder.
“My betting became a compulsion which made it virtually impossible to resist the constant notifications I received from betting apps. I lost complete control of my addiction. I now realize the apps controlled me and I did not control them.”
The high-earning enterprise is comfortable with Sorsby pursuing his football career elsewhere but insists it won’t be in a Red Raider jersey or on any campus under their control.
All eyes will be peeled to Monday’s ruling, which could alter the sports gambling landscape for student-athletes forever.
