The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a formal letter to the Big 12 Conference on Thursday on behalf of Texas Tech University, stating any sanctions imposed by the Big 12 against Texas Tech regarding quarterback Brendan Sorsby would be considered “unlawful” and met with legal action.

“Texas Tech is confident the Big 12 will choose to act within the confines of the law and respect both the judicial process and its own Rules and Bylaws,” the letter reads. “However, should the Big 12 seek to sanction Texas Tech for acting consistent with the (court) Order, Texas Tech will pursue all legal avenues to protect its interests and those of Texas Tech’s student-athletes.”

The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to the Big 12 on behalf of Texas Tech and obtained by @TheAthletic.

It states that any sanctions against Texas Tech over the Brendan Sorsby situation would be treated as “unlawful” and would lead to legal action. pic.twitter.com/dDo72Uz8vs

— Justin Williams (@Williams_Justin) June 11, 2026

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 as a member of 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 University is located.

Big 12 administrators met this week to discuss potential sanctions by the conference against Sorsby and/or Texas Tech. League athletic directors met on Tuesday, and the conference’s executive committee is scheduled to meet Thursday, with all member presidents expected to meet next week. Conference sources familiar with the 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.

Texas Tech Board of Regents chair and megabooster Cody Campbell said publicly on Wednesday that the university was prepared to pursue legal action if schools or conferences collectively agreed not to play the Red Raiders.

Thursday’s letter from the state attorney general reinforced that resolve in no uncertain terms.

“We are aware that the Big 12 is considering invoking Bylaw 3.6 of the Big 12’s Bylaws to sanction Texas Tech for respecting the Order and continuing its support of Mr. Sorsby as a Student-athlete,” it reads. “This letter serves to notify the Big 12 that any such action would be unlawful and would expose the Conference to substantial liability.”

Bylaw 3.6 of the Big 12 allows the conference to sanction a member school if a “supermajority of disinterested directors” determines a league has “engaged in any action or a course of conduct materially adverse to the best interests of the Conference taken as a whole,” according to the letter.

The temporary injunction prohibits the NCAA from preventing Sorsby from taking the field for Texas Tech in the 2026 football season. The attorney general’s letter states that “any sanction against Texas Tech for acting consistent with the Order would be a per se violation of federal and state antitrust laws” that would expose the Big 12 conference and its members to treble damages totaling “substantially more than $200 million.”

The letter also states that any sanctions resulting in “cancellation, forfeiture or alteration of Texas Tech’s as-scheduled games” would represent a breach of contract by the Big 12 against Texas Tech, and that any sanctions disrupting the football program’s ticket commitments or commercial partnerships could lead to claims of tortious interference.

Paxton has served as Texas attorney general since 2015 and is the current Republican nominee for the United States Senate election in Texas this November. He recently won a primary against incumbent Republican senator John Cornyn and will face Democratic candidate James Talarico in the general election this fall.

This story will be updated.