Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby sues NCAA over gambling investigation

Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is suing the NCAA in Lubbock District Court, Texas Tech sources tell On3. According to Yahoo! Sports, attorneys representing Sorsby notified the NCAA last week, requesting an expedited resolution to reinstate his eligibility over sports gambling allegations and informing the association that a legal challenge is imminent.

Sorsby’s suing the NCAA is a move to expedite the process and get a final decision from the governing body on his eligibility quickly. Texas Tech is expected to rule Sorsby ineligible and file for reinstatement with the NCAA for the 2026 season.

Sorsby is requesting that a judge grant an injunction so he can play the 2026 season. The filing states Sorsby suffers from a “clinically diagnosed” gambling disorder, which is “a mental health condition.”

“The NCAA has weaponized his condition to shore up a facade of competitive integrity, while simultaneously profiting from the very gambling ecosystem it polices,” the court filing states.

Sorsby has been in a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction since April. Sorsby’s decision to seek treatment followed the revelation he had placed more than 10,000 wagers and at one point averaged 20 bets per day dating back to 2022, sources told On3.

“Instead of exercising compassion, the NCAA has responded with silence, repeated information demands, and delay,” Sorsby’s suit states. “The NCAA’s response reflects a self-protective bureaucracy that has abandoned its professed commitment to student-athlete well-being and that ignores the contractual and legal obligations it owes to student-athletes.”

The NCAA said in a statement it has not received a reinstatement request yet for Brendan Sorsby’s case.

“The NCAA has not received a reinstatement request for this case,” the NCAA said in its statement. “The NCAA generally doesn’t comment on pending reinstatement requests, but the Association’s sports betting rules are clear, as are the reinstatement conditions. When it comes to betting on one’s own team, these rules must be enforced in every case for the simple reason that the integrity of the game is at risk. Every sports league has these protections in place, and the NCAA will continue to apply them equally because every student-athlete competing deserves to know they’re playing a fair game.”

If Sorsby decides to enter the NFL supplemental draft, paperwork is due June 22, putting a clock on when he needs a judge to make a ruling.

“Time is of the essence,” the filing states. “This is Mr. Sorsby’s last year of collegiate eligibility — a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that, once lost, can never be recovered. Texas Tech’s formal fall training camp begins in late July or early August and its first game is on September 5, 2026. If the NCAA refuses to reinstate him and he is not awarded temporary relief, Mr. Sorsby’s only alternative is the NFL Supplemental Draft, which requires him to opt in — and forgo any effort to restore his remaining college eligibility — by June 22, 2026.

“The NCAA has manufactured an impossible bind: it delays its reinstatement decision while the NFL deadline closes in, forcing Mr. Sorsby to choose between surrendering college eligibility he wants to retain, while risking the loss of a full year of competitive football entirely. This is not equity. Mr. Sorsby has diligently pursued every alternative avenue for relief, but he is not obligated to continue doing so in light of the irreparable harm he now faces. Only this Court can hold the NCAA to its own rules—and provide Mr. Sorsby and Texas Tech the timely relief they are owed.”

NCAA rules forbid athletes from wagering on college and professional sports. Sorsby wagered on Indiana games while redshirting in 2022; he played in only one game that season.

“During this time, I began placing small bets on the Indiana football team, typically in amounts between $5 and $50,” Sorsby wrote in his affidavit, filed Monday. “All of these bets were in support of Indiana. In other words, I placed bets on Indiana to win a game or score more than a certain number of points or for the quarterback to throw for more than a certain number of touchdowns or yards.”

NCAA guidelines further state that cumulative wagers greater than $800 could lead to the loss of 30% of a season of eligibility. For cumulative wagers that “greatly exceed $800,” NCAA staff is supposed to consider “whether additional loss of eligibility, including permanent ineligibility, are appropriate.”

The quarterback placed bets across multiple states, using a range of gambling apps, including Hard Rock Bet, BetMGM, DraftKings, PrizePicks and bet365, among others, sources said.

Texas Tech was notified of the NCAA investigation in mid-April. Sources said the NCAA approached the school with a handful of betting data in hand, but it’s unclear who tipped off the governing body. A USA Today report previously stated the Cincinnati athletic department was alerted in August that star quarterback Brendan Sorsby was gambling before the start of the 2025 season.

Sources familiar with the situation told On3 that the Cincinnati athletic department was aware of Sorsby’s gambling before the summer of 2025, but the athletic department would not knowingly play an athlete who violated NCAA rules.

Cincinnati athletics declined to comment to On3. According to NCAA rules, athletes who are of legal age are allowed to bet on UFC, horse racing and NASCAR. Other sports, such as baseball, basketball and football, in which the NCAA hosts sanctioned championships, are prohibited. Sorsby placed wagers on UFC, but also college football and MLB games, according to sources.