The initial feelings that swept through the Big 12 upon learning a Texas judge had ruled that Brendan Sorsby should be permitted to play college football this season veered toward hopelessness.
“Feeling very despondent, angry, frustrated,” one Big 12 athletic director said at a convention for college sports administrators in Las Vegas, just a couple of hours after the order came down last Monday out of a district court in Lubbock County.
Texas Tech’s prized transfer quarterback, ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA for thousands of violations of the association’s gambling rules, including betting on his own team while at Indiana, would be suspended for only the first two games of the season.
One of the most unambiguous commandments across sports — you can’t bet on your own team without serious consequences — was tossed aside.
“Maybe this is what rock bottom feels like,” the AD said, incredulous and flipping a backpack over one shoulder.
Very quickly within the Big 12, however, shock and outrage turned to motivation.
“And then it was, ‘OK, we gotta do something,’” another Big 12 athletic director told The Athletic later in the week.
But what? With the NCAA once again neutered by a lawsuit, the Big 12 conference and its wheeler-dealer commissioner were thrust into a role they had not expected to be in: defending college sports’ right to run itself at a time when everything about it seems to be in disarray and gearing up for a fight against a member school that has been emboldened by a well-connected billionaire booster pushing back against any sanctioning.
The Athletic spoke with more than a dozen people inside and out of the Big 12 who have been involved in discussions about the conference’s response to the Sorsby ruling. They were granted anonymity to provide insight at a time when the Big 12 is directing its members to keep the process under wraps.
Soon enough the Big 12 will show its hand, and it appears the fight has only just begun.
Shock and ire
Nobody in the Big 12 was prepared for a judge to rule on behalf of Sorsby, who was lured away from conference rival Cincinnati with a deal worth more than $4 million. That scenario was not discussed in any group setting at the Big 12’s spring business meetings in late May, after Sorsby’s lawsuit had been filed, according to multiple conference administrators.
From the NCAA to the Big 12 and all across college sports, the quarterback’s legal argument that the NCAA’s penalties are unfairly punitive because his gambling addiction is a mental health issue was thought to be flimsy.
Sorsby seemed heading toward the NFL supplemental draft without taking a meaningful snap in Lubbock and Texas Tech toward defending its Big 12 title with huge questions at quarterback.
Instead, Judge Ken Curry set off the latest firestorm in college athletics. The NCAA said it will appeal his ruling, but that could take months just to be heard.
Big 12 athletic directors were mostly scattered across the country when the order came down, sparked an uproar and sent them scrambling. About a quarter of them were at the convention in Las Vegas and were able to talk among themselves and their colleagues from other conferences. Most found out via social media or a phone alert like everyone else.
Tempers flared and ire was directed at Texas Tech leaders, who had stressed at every point that the school was not part of the lawsuit while also noting they wanted to support Sorsby.
“(Coach) Joey McGuire, (athletic director) Kirby Hocutt, (president) Lawrence Schovanec, if they had any integrity at all they wouldn’t play him,” an administrator within the Big 12 told The Athletic.
Outside the Big 12, top administrators at both Georgia and Nebraska told their coaches they could not schedule regular season nonconference competition with Texas Tech.
Some of the Big 12 ADs held an informal call without commissioner Brett Yormark, but the outrage quickly made its way to him, and he made it clear that he would not sit idly by.
“I’ve been consulting with our key stakeholders and have scheduled a meeting with our Conference ADs and our Executive Board this week,” Yormark said in a statement.
But there was no plan in place within the Big 12 for dealing with a judge, essentially, overruling the NCAA.
One person briefed on the legal process suggested the conference could have been more proactive, whether by urging Texas Tech to tone down its public support for Sorsby’s eligibility or by prepping the league’s own legal argument for why Sorsby should not be allowed to compete in the Big 12, even if the NCAA was overruled.
It’s entirely possible the outcome would be the same. But the conference would have at least been better prepared.
That Texas Tech was at the epicenter of the conflict was apropos. The Red Raiders’ recent rise to prominence has been pushing buttons in the Big 12 and throughout college sports for more than a year.
More than any other Big 12 school, Texas Tech has taken advantage of the light oversight and loose regulations around college athlete compensation to emerge as a conference powerhouse — much to the chagrin of some in the league.
Meanwhile, board president and former Texas Tech offensive lineman Cody Campbell has become a disruptor and political force over the past year, ingratiating himself to President Donald Trump and lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Campbell has taken direct aim at the SEC and Big Ten with his crusade to “save college sports” and occasionally butted heads with the Big 12 and Yormark.
Those were relatively minor issues, involving fans tossing tortillas on the field during football games and the scheduling of Texas Tech’s Big 12 opener against Houston for a Friday night.
In April, Yormark responded to complaints about the Friday night game by saying, “Cody Campbell does not run the Big 12.”
But at spring meetings last month, Yormark told The Athletic their tiff was in the past, that they spoke frequently and that his relationship with Campbell was “fantastic.” That, needless to say, has changed.
Yormark, the sharply dressed former pro sports executive who once worked for Jay-Z, maneuvered the Big 12 through the last round of realignment with a western expansion that allowed the league to maintain its power-conference status. According to tax filings reported by Front Office Sports, his $5.6 million salary in 2024-25 made him the highest paid conference commissioner in college sports.
Yormark’s continued push to expand with Gonzaga and UConn frustrated some within the conference. His flashy, attention-getting schemes, like installing (and then ditching) a glass basketball court for the conference tournament, have drawn some eye rolls among his constituents.
This conflict with Texas Tech will test his leadership like never before. The consensus among those in college sports is that this is unlikely to be the 59-year-old’s last job. Those who know Yormark well say he is keenly aware that how he handles this could not only define his tenure with the Big 12 but also have an impact on whatever he aspires to do next.
Considering consequences
The athletic directors, including Hocutt, and Yormark gathered virtually Tuesday in a 30-minute meeting described by those on the call as civil, even cordial.
Hocutt made his case for Texas Tech supporting Sorsby.
The group made it clear Texas Tech was alone and that the Red Raiders could still control the situation by simply keeping Sorsby sidelined.
“I don’t think the sentiment is going to change,” a third athletic director said. “The pressure is gonna keep mounting for Tech to do something. Because ultimately, if they just say, ‘We’re not gonna play him,’ then it’s over.”
There were no threats of specific penalties, but the group did get across that Texas Tech could face consequences if it played the quarterback.
Before going down that road, Big 12 lawyers needed to pore over conference bylaws to determine what is allowable and, maybe more importantly, what actions would be most likely to withstand the inevitable legal challenges by Texas Tech. The bylaws state the conference can sanction a member if a “supermajority of disinterested directors” — 12 of the 15 schools, excluding Texas Tech — determines that school “engaged in any action or a course of conduct materially adverse to the best interests of the Conference taken as a whole.”
The Big Ten’s fight with Michigan during the 2023 season over allegations that a low-level staffer executed an improper sign-stealing scheme provided something of a blueprint.
As the NCAA investigation into Michigan moved methodically, the Big Ten believed it had gleaned enough information to determine the school had violated conference rules regarding sportsmanship.
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti faced a similar situation as Yormark faces now, though there was no court-ordered injunction. His other members were enraged with Michigan. The Wolverines were defiant.
The Big Ten suspended coach Jim Harbaugh for the undefeated Wolverines’ final three games of the regular season, including the finale against rival Ohio State.
Michigan threatened to fight the punishment but fairly quickly retreated, dropped its lawsuit and went on to win a national title. Petitti’s relationship with Michigan remains a bit frosty.
The suspension handed down to Sorsby in the judge’s ruling, which was offered to the NCAA — and declined — as part of a deal recommended by the quarterback’s lawyers, covers only games against Abilene Christian and Oregon State. The Red Raiders, favored to repeat as Big 12 champions, will be huge favorites in each.
Some in the Big 12 have pondered adding a conference suspension on top of that, but a penalty lasting anything less than the remainder of the season creates potential competitive-equity problems. It could taint the conference race if some contenders play Texas Tech with Sorsby and others do not.
Behind the scenes, coaches continued to vent and seethe, with some wondering aloud if they could just not play Texas Tech at all. A boycott could cost the other Big 12 schools millions in television and game-day revenues.
A more likely scenario would be deeming Texas Tech ineligible for the conference title if Sorsby participates or having games he plays not count toward a league record because, by rule, he is an ineligible player.
During Baylor’s sexual assault scandal a decade ago, the Big 12 fined the school and withheld 25 percent of the school’s annual payout, before returning most of it after the school’s Title IX reforms.
While the judge’s order prohibits the NCAA from taking any punitive actions against Sorsby for playing, that doesn’t seem to cover the conference.
Still, the Big 12 is well aware that Texas Tech is likely to fight back if punished.
Attorneys General enter the fray
On Wednesday, Texas Tech went on the offensive.
Campbell appeared on the “Don’t @ Me With Dan Dakich” podcast and said Texas Tech has been targeted by the Big 12.
“Of course ADs in the Big 12 are saying crazy things that they don’t want to play us,” Campbell said. “They don’t want to play us because they know he’s good and they don’t want us to be as competitive. They want to have a better chance at winning the conference. So they’re inherently conflicted in their opinion.”
Campbell implied that Texas Tech had no choice but to play Sorsby as a result of the court ruling. Those comments only served to further irritate rivals.
“There’s no coach in the league that’s afraid to play (Sorsby),” the second AD said.
In response to those arguing Tech isn’t obligated to play Sorsby, Campbell clarified to The Athletic: “We have a contract to pay Sorsby if he’s eligible. And if he’s the best player, we have an obligation to play him. That might not be contractual, but it’s the right thing to do.”
McGuire, during an appearance in front of Texas Tech supporters in Houston, and Hocutt, in an open letter posted on social media, were not so defiant.
They continued to stress that Sorsby was remorseful and sought treatment and that he was receiving support in his recovery at Texas Tech. They said his indiscretions, while serious, did not warrant ending his college career.
The deadline to enter the NFL’s supplemental draft is June 22. Sorsby stands to lose millions if he were to take that route.
“I don’t have to make my starting lineup right now,” McGuire said. “There’s a lot of stuff that has to go through this process. We’re not taking it lightly. We’re not trying to throw it in anybody’s face, either.”
On Thursday, the Big 12 took the next step in its methodical process, with Yormark meeting with the Big 12’s executive board, a subset of university leaders chaired by Kansas chancellor Douglas Girod, with Kansas State president Richard Linton as vice-chair and BYU’s Shane Reese as secretary, to explain what conference bylaws allow before the full board of the league’s presidents and chancellors is convened Monday.
Meanwhile, what the Big 12 suspected was made clear. The office of Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, which by state law represents Texas Tech in court, backed up Campbell’s threats with a warning letter to the Big 12 about taking unlawful actions against the school. Jeffrey Kessler, Sorsby’s lawyer, sent a similar letter.
“We can’t make decisions based on fear of a lawsuit,” the second athletic director said.
Texas Tech’s PR pushback continued Thursday night with a 21-minute roundtable video with McGuire, Hocutt, Schovanec and Grant Stovall, the school’s director of athlete health and wellness. As part of Sorsby’s return to the program, the school has put in place a custodian of his personal finances and monitoring software on his technology to ensure he can’t place bets. He’ll also have routine compliance checks.
“There’s no reason whatsoever to question the integrity of our athletics department,” Hocutt said. “The integrity of the game is sacred, and that’s why we’ve gone to such great lengths to ensure the monitoring and compliance.”
Some in the Big 12 wondered whether schools that host Texas Tech this season could get local judges to rule that it is impermissible for Sorsby to play games in their jurisdiction.
It’s unclear whether that’s a realistic option, but on Friday, Oklahoma attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Gentner Drummond wrote his own letter to the Big 12, recommending the league sanction Texas Tech and offering assistance in defense of any attack from the state of Texas. (Oklahoma’s gubernatorial primary election is Tuesday.)
“At some point, we have to fight for our athletes who have followed the rules and made good decisions,” another administrator said.
After a 12-1 run to the Big 12 title ended with an Orange Bowl loss to Oregon, the Red Raiders are committed to defending their crown in 2026 and advancing further in the College Football Playoff. (Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
‘All options remain on the table’
It’s unlikely the league will be saved by an appeal. The NCAA has already begun the appeal process, though that could take six to nine months on a standard legal timeline, which would mean a resolution during or after the 2026 college football season. The NCAA will likely push to expedite that process. As things stand, the appeal would be heard by the Seventh Court of Appeals, which features four judges who are all graduates of Texas Tech University School of Law.
The trial date for the temporary injunction order has been set for the week of Feb. 8, 2027, in Lubbock County district court — two weeks after the national championship game.
When the Big 12 presidents meet on Monday, there is no indication that Yormark will present a proposal to be voted on, though he is expected to poll them on possible steps.
“Our discussions with the full Board will determine our course of action, and all options remain on the table,” Yormark said Thursday.
Several ADs said their presidents are in lockstep that something needs to be done. A person familiar with Yormark’s thinking said getting alignment in the conference is paramount.
“If he chooses to act, (the vote) needs to be as close to 15-0 as possible,” the person said.
As McGuire noted, the season is still more than two months away and Sorsby’s potential first game is not until Sept. 18 in Lubbock against Big 12 rival Houston.
Whether Sorsby will play for Texas Tech is still to be determined. As is the Big 12’s role in whether or not that will happen.
And everybody is watching.
“This is our chance as the Big 12 to do the right thing,” the third AD said. “People are counting on us to take a stance.”
