{"id":329742,"date":"2026-06-09T22:21:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T22:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/329742\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T22:21:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T22:21:11","slug":"big-12-stresses-patience-legal-details-in-meeting-discussing-sorsby-texas-tech-fallout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/329742\/","title":{"rendered":"Big 12 stresses patience, legal details in meeting discussing Sorsby, Texas Tech fallout"},"content":{"rendered":"

Big 12 athletic directors met on Tuesday to discuss the conference\u2019s potential role in the status of Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby. The meeting came one day after a Lubbock County district court judge issued a temporary injunction<\/a> that overruled the NCAA\u2019s permanent suspension of Sorsby for sports gambling.<\/p>\n

The conference call lasted about 30 minutes and included Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt, who reiterated the Red Raiders\u2019 support of Sorsby, according to Big 12 sources familiar with the discussion and not authorized to speak publicly on it. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark spent a portion of the call explaining the process that lies ahead and that the conference\u2019s legal team is still sorting through the details of the case to determine the role the conference may play in future decisions regarding Sorsby, including any potential punishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our chance as the Big 12 to do the right thing. People are counting on us to take a stance. That\u2019s kind of the vibe I got,\u201d said a Big 12 administrator. \u201cIt\u2019s not Texas Tech. It\u2019s not Brendan Sorsby. It\u2019s this line in the sand<\/a> that either we hold it now or we\u2019ll never hold it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sorsby will be suspended for two games to begin the 2026 season after Judge Ken Curry accepted the penalty<\/a> proposed by Sorsby for gambling on college sports, including bets on Indiana football while Sorsby was a member of the team in 2022.<\/p>\n

The judge\u2019s order restricts the NCAA from any punitive action. It\u2019s not clear whether that order extends to conferences or the College Football Playoff, which operates independently of the NCAA.<\/p>\n

No formal, imminent action was planned during and after the call, which was cordial throughout, those sources said, and the league would be given time to assess the situation. The ADs who have publicly expressed their anger over the decision did so again on the call. Much of the discussion about future actions conceded that if and when the conference elects to take an action against Sorsby, it\u2019s likely to trigger further legal action in Sorsby\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n

Additionally, any action taken on behalf of the conference would need to be voted on and approved by the league\u2019s presidents, per Big 12 bylaws. Texas Tech, however, could choose not to play Sorsby on its own, multiple sources pointed out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there is real pressure on Tech to not play him, but it\u2019s going to be Tech\u2019s call. And if they stick with him, will the presidents and the Big 12 decide to come over the top? That\u2019s what I don\u2019t know,\u201d the Big 12 administrator said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a thoughtful and productive conversation with our athletics directors today as we continue to work through the broader implications of this situation,\u201d Yormark said in a statement. \u201cMany of our athletics directors voiced their opinions. We will continue to have open and honest dialogue amongst the group and until there is something to report, these conversations will remain within the conference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another call is planned for Thursday with the conference\u2019s executive committee, followed by a meeting with the conference\u2019s presidents on Monday.<\/p>\n

Sorsby will miss<\/a> the Red Raiders\u2019 first two games against Abilene Christian and Oregon State as part of the decision but will be eligible to play the rest of the season, beginning with a Friday night Big 12 opener against Houston on Sept. 18. The trial date for the temporary injunction lawsuit has been set for the week of Feb. 8, 2027, in Lubbock County district court.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the NCAA formally filed a Notice of Appeal in the case, according to a court filing obtained by The Athletic.<\/p>\n

The NCAA is requesting an \u201caccelerated appeal<\/a>\u201d to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas, which is located in the city of Amarillo. All four justices that preside over the court are graduates of Texas Tech University School of Law.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the legal decision, Big 12 athletic directors Mark Harlan of Utah and Gene Taylor of Kansas State both voiced displeasure at the decision. Harlan said in a post on X that he was \u201cdisheartened\u201d at the injunction and wanted to find a \u201cdefinitive path forward that preserves the most basic tenets of competitive integrity in our industry.\u201d A Group of 6 head coach told\u00a0The Athletic on Monday that it was \u201cone of the worst things I\u2019ve seen in 20 years of coaching.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Taylor called the injunction \u201cf\u2014ing bull\u2014\u201d in an interview with Yahoo Sports on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know the kid has a problem. Well, get well and focus on your problem,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is absolutely devastating for him to be able to play when every other sport, no matter the level, deems an athlete ineligible or they are punished severely for betting on their team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nebraska and Georgia sent internal memos directing their coaches in all sports not to schedule Texas Tech, according to copies obtained by The Athletic. The Big Ten is also considering a similar league-wide decision<\/a> not to play the Red Raiders, with a meeting on that scheduled for Wednesday, according to Big Ten sources. The pressure for Texas Tech to do something itself if a court does not is building.<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s court ruling and Texas Tech\u2019s defense of its quarterback have shaken administrators and turned the Red Raiders into a pariah<\/a>, now over more than just Texas Tech\u2019s heavy spending on transfers<\/a> in multiple sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can imagine what the mood is,\u201d said a second Big 12 administrator. \u201cThere\u2019s one person who has a different feeling than anyone else in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Big 12 athletic directors met on Tuesday to discuss the conference\u2019s potential role in the status of Texas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[261,27,29,28,415],"class_list":["post-329742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-college-football","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-texas-tech-red-raiders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}