What started as an NCAA eligibility case has erupted into a public fight among the Big 12, Texas Tech and the attorneys general of Texas and Oklahoma.
Here’s where the key players stand.
The conference targeted one of its members, Texas Tech and its top administrators, as well as the Texas attorney general, in seeking a court order to enable it to enforce Big 12 bylaws.
The complaint, filed in the Northern District of Texas in Dallas, lays out the conference’s intention to sanction Texas Tech if it were to play Sorsby, a transfer who has admitted placing thousands of sports bets over several years, including wagers involving Indiana football while he played for the Hoosiers.
The attorneys general of Texas and Oklahoma, both Republicans, weighed in last week. While neither regulates the Big 12, both are using their offices to make competing legal arguments for how the conference should respond.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says Texas Tech is acting consistent with a court order restoring Sorsby’s eligibility and should not be punished for doing so. In a letter sent on behalf of Texas Tech last week, his office warned the conference against imposing sanctions.
“Any such action would be unlawful and would expose the Conference to substantial liability,” the letter said, warning of potential damages exceeding $200 million for the conference and its members.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond responded with a letter of his own, saying the court order applies only to the NCAA and does not prevent the Big 12 from enforcing its own rules. He urged the conference to suspend Sorsby and consider sanctions against Texas Tech.
“If Texas Tech will not do the right thing, the Big 12 should,” Drummond said, adding that the school has acted in a manner adverse to “the integrity of college football as a whole.”
Texas Tech officials say Sorsby completed treatment, will be monitored if he plays and should not be viewed as a threat to the integrity of the program.
“There’s no reason whatsoever to question the integrity of our athletics department,” Kirby Hocutt, Texas Tech athletics director, said in a video statement.
The Big 12’s presidents and chancellors are expected to consider the issue as the NCAA appeal moves forward. The broader question is who gets the final say in college sports: courts, conferences or the NCAA.