NCAA: Allowing Brendan Sorsby To Play Would Undermine College Sports

As Brendan Sorsby and his legal team try to get a Texas court to stop the NCAA from keeping the quarterback off the field for the upcoming football season, the governing body of major college sports is fighting back.

In a court document opposing a temporary injunction provided to Gambling Insider late Friday, the NCAA said allowing Sorsby to play this season would carry “broad-ranging and destabilizing ramifications” since it would allow someone who wagered on his own team to continue playing.

“It would effectively sanction sports gambling by the most vulnerable student-athletes—those suffering from a gambling addiction could continue to bet, knowing they could follow Plaintiff’s lead and rush to court if caught,” the NCAA’s filing states.

Sorsby’s request for that injunction will go before a judge in Lubbock County, Texas, on Monday.

‘Bylaws are Clear’

Sorsby, who previously played at Indiana University and the University of Cincinnati, transferred to Texas Tech after the 2025 season. Last month, his new school revealed the quarterback would enter an inpatient clinic because of his gambling addiction and anxiety.

According to the court documents, Lubbock-based Texas Tech declared Sorsby ineligible and sought to have the NCAA reinstate him on May 18. The NCAA denied that request on May 22.

The NCAA’s Bylaws are clear that his college football career has come to an end,” the NCAA’s filing stated.

On Friday, the school appealed that decision.

The NCAA said it became aware of Sorsby’s betting on March 11 after getting “a tip from an online gambling book, which had been informed by law enforcement.” NCAA officials notified Texas Tech it was investigating Sorsby for gambling rules violations on April 14.

Sorsby entered the clinic in Goodyear, Ariz., nearly two weeks later.

Documents Show Sorsby Knew Rules

Supporting documentation the NCAA provided in its filing included copies of redacted student-athlete forms completed by Sorsby while at Indiana for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years. Both statements included a section spelling out the association’s policy on student-athletes and sports betting, which required Sorsby to initial in acknowledgment.

“If I am found to have participated in any sports wagering activities, I understand I will be deemed ineligible for all practice and competition in all sports,” the statement said.

On Jan. 13, Sorsby also signed a form for Texas Tech and its integrity partner ProhiBET that he understood he could not bet on sports and would be monitored. It stated penalties for violating the rules can include becoming permanently ineligible.

Another exhibit is the four-page list of facts that Texas Tech and Sorsby submitted to the NCAA supporting his reinstatement. It stated Sorsby placed “impermissible wagers” totaling at least $90,000 while in college.

During the 2022 football season, Sorsby placed at least 40 wagers on the Hoosiers football team, of which he was a member, or his teammates. In the statement, Sorsby said he made those bets those while he was practicing with the team but not traveling for road games. He stopped betting on IU football two weeks prior to the only game he played that season.

However, Sorsby continued to wager on other college sporting events. Between Oct. 15, 2022, and Nov. 20, 2023, he placed at least 50 bets on Indiana’s men’s basketball team, with the amount wagered exceeding $1,400. While Sorsby did not bet against the Hoosiers, he did place four parlays that included prop bets on opponents exceeding their projected point or rebound totals.

In addition, from September 2022 to December 2023, he made about 300 bets and risked at least $6,500 on other college football games.

Bets Placed Through Hard Rock, FanDuel

Sorsby used accounts at Hard Rock Bet and FanDuel online sportsbooks and PrizePicks and Underdog daily fantasy sports to wager while at IU. Some accounts were listed under another individual, but some were also registered to him.

The minimum age to bet on sports in Indiana is 21. However, anyone 18 or older may play daily fantasy sports. Rules at Hard Rock and FanDuel bar those under age from betting and bans anyone considered a prohibited participant by the state’s gaming commission. Proxy betting, defined as placing a wager for another person, and account sharing also are illegal in Indiana and most states.

His betting continued while at Cincinnati, where he gave someone more than $60,000 to put in a FanDuel account. While it was not in his name, he and at least one other person accessed it. From Jan. 7, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2024, he made more than 160 impermissible wagers through FanDuel and Hard Rock accounts, risking at least $38,000.

He did not bet on the Bearcats football team, but there were three wagers amounting to $3,500 placed on the school’s men’s basketball team on Feb. 10, 2024. Sorsby admitted “he placed one or two” of those.

Sorsby still placed bets after arriving at Texas Tech. He admitted sending about $5,000 to an individual through an online app, and used those funds to place wagers at Underdog, PrizePicks, and Chalkboard, another fantasy site, and only on professional sports.

He also admitted to playing casino games “infrequently” at Bovada, an offshore gambling app, while in college.

A message to Sorsby’s attorney seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Texas Tech Voted To Rescind NCAA Sports Betting Rule Changes

The NCAA’s sports betting policy for student-athletes prohibits betting on any sport it sponsors at any level of competition, including professional leagues.

Last year, the organization initially approved a rule for Division I schools – the level where Indiana, Cincinnati, and Texas Tech compete – that would have allowed student-athletes to bet on professional sports. However, on Nov. 21, the NCAA announced that two-thirds of the D-I schools voted to reinstate that ban.

Texas Tech voted to rescind the new policy. That happened two months before Sorsby transferred to the school, considered a Big 12 title favorite and a top 10 contender this season.

Still, even if the rules changed, the NCAA said it would not matter in this case.

“Plaintiff (Sorsby) relies on the previously considered legislative proposal to suggest that the NCAA’s current gambling rules are overbroad, but neglects to mention that Plaintiff would still have been ineligible under that proposal,” the response stated.

On Tuesday, Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec released a letter to the school community reiterating support for Sorsby.

“The NCAA bylaws governing Brendan’s case have not adapted to the era of widespread legalized sports betting that this generation of college athletes now has to navigate… Our responsibility as higher education leaders is to create environments that support young people’s growth, maturation, and success, fit for the times in which they live. Given that Brendan has taken accountability for his addiction and actions, a brave act in any circumstance, but especially under the intense scrutiny of a national spotlight, we believe that the best path forward for him is on campus, among his teammates, embraced by the strength of this community,” Schovanec wrote.

A message to Texas Tech seeking comment early Saturday was not immediately returned.