EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThe fate of Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby's college eligibility will be decided in the near future after a two-hour hearing in Lubbock County District Court on Monday.Attorneys for Sorsby are seeking a temporary injunction permitting him to play in 2026 after the NCAA ruled him ineligible and denied his request for reinstatement after he placed thousands of bets on college and professional sports, including on his own team, during his career.The decision will be up to judge Ken Curry, a retired judge from Tarrant County. Curry asked for additional documentation and is expected to render a decision in the upcoming days. Sorsby's attorneys asked for a decision by June 15 so that Sorsby can decide on entering the NFL supplemental draft by June 22.Jeffrey Kessler, Sorsby's lead attorney, argued in the hearing that the NCAA ignored its own rules by not considering Sorsby's wellbeing in its decision, describing his gambling history as a mental health and addiction issue that the NCAA is required to support and not punish.NCAA attorney Taylor Askew said that the organization did consider Sorsby's mental health in its process of deeming him permanently ineligible and that those challenges do not excuse his gambling or the consequences of his actions.Sorsby wagered approximately $90,000 over four years and continued to gamble on professional sports this year after transferring from Cincinnati to Texas Tech, according to a four-page list of stipulated facts Sorsby and Texas Tech submitted to the NCAA acknowledging his actions.Sorsby used accounts registered in his name, a family member's name and friends' names to place the impermissible wagers via Hard Rock Bet, FanDuel, Underdog and PrizePicks accounts. Sorsby transferred more than $60,000 to two friends to cover bets made on his behalf.Sorsby placed at least 40 bets involving Indiana football totaling more than $1,400 while he was a quarterback for the Hoosiers in 2022 and 2023. NCAA rules state that student-athletes wagering on their own team face permanent loss of eligibility. The bets ranged from less than $1 to $114 and were primarily parlays. Sorsby also placed at least 50 bets on Indiana men's basketball and approximately 300 bets on college football games during his two years at the school.In total, Sorsby has acknowledged placing at least 2,900 bets totaling more than $30,000 while at Indiana and at least 165 bets totaling at least $38,000 while at Cincinnati. Including legs of parlay bets, he made more than 9,000 total wagers. He also sent approximately $5,000 to friends to place bets on pro sports on his behalf after enrolling at Texas Tech.If the judge clears the way for Sorsby to play this season, Askew said, the NCAA would become the first sports league in America that allows athletes to bet on its own contests without punishment.Askew also questioned Kessler's argument that Sorsby will suffer irreparable harm if he's not allowed to play for Texas Tech, noting Sorsby has already received the benefit for additional years of competition because the NCAA wasn't alerted to his gambling earlier.Sorsby stopped betting on Indiana football when he began playing in games for Indiana and did not place bets on Cincinnati's football team during his two years as the Bearcats' starter, according to betting data the NCAA obtained and shared with Texas Tech. His attorneys assert Sorsby did not engage in activities to influence the outcome or integrity of any college games and did not provide non-public information to other bettors.The NCAA says it first learned of Sorsby's gambling activity from an online sportsbook on March 11, which had been informed by law enforcement, and notified Texas Tech of its investigation on April 14. Tech deemed Sorsby ineligible on April 27.Sorsby left Lubbock at the end of April to seek treatment and completed a 35-day in-patient rehab program at Algamus in Goodyear, Arizona, for diagnosed gambling and anxiety disorders.The NCAA denied Texas Tech's request to reinstate Sorsby's eligibility for the 2026 season on May 22. The school submitted its appeal to the NCAA on Friday and requested that the organization overturn its decision and impose a two-game suspension on Sorsby.Sorsby was ESPN's No. 1 ranked transfer in January after throwing for 7,208 yards and scoring 82 total touchdowns over his four seasons at Cincinnati and Indiana.Sorsby's attorneys say he's facing a June 22 deadline for entering the NFL supplemental draft. He'd be the most notable player available in the NFL's supplemental draft in more than a decade, as Josh Gordon going in the second round to Cleveland in 2012 was the last player chosen with a pick in the first two rounds.
