NCAA Denial Sends Brendan Sorsby Eligibility Fight to Court

The NCAA has denied Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s request for reinstatement on Tuesday, leaving his eligibility status up to the courts.

Sorsby, who recently completed a 35-day rehab program in Goodyear, Ariz., for a gambling addiction, is not able to play college football because he violated the NCAA’s gambling rules. On May 18, he filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in the Lubbock, Texas, district court, requesting a temporary injunction to grant him eligibility for the 2026 season.

A hearing for Sorsby’s lawsuit is scheduled for June 1.

Texas Tech president Lawrence Schovanec wrote in a letter on Tuesday that the university would be appealing the NCAA’s decision (separate from Sorsby’s lawsuit), and that the quarterback would return to campus after his time at an “intensive inpatient treatment program.”

“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,” Schovanec wrote. “He is not the first college athlete to face gambling addiction, and unfortunately, he will not be the last.” 

Schovanec also said that Texas Tech will implement several measures during Sorsby’s time on campus, including continued treatment and therapy for both a gambling addiction and anxiety disorder, as well as the monitoring of his technological devices (including installation of software that blocks gambling sites).

Sorsby also released a statement on Tuesday, where he says he feels “free” and is “no longer fully at the mercy” of a gambling addiction.

“If I’m blessed and fortunate enough to have the opportunity to continue my college career at Texas Tech, I know I will get the support I need,” Sorsby wrote.

On April 27, Sorsby and Texas Tech announced that he would take an “indefinite leave of absence” to seek treatment for a gambling addiction. He placed over thousands of bets during his time in college, which violates NCAA student-athlete rules, including several wagers on the Indiana football team while on its roster in 2022.

An organization spokesperson previously confirmed to FOS that Sorsby is also under investigation by the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

If a judge rules in favor of Sorsby in his NCAA lawsuit, he will be able to play a final season of eligibility with the Red Raiders after transferring from Cincinnati in the offseason. If the judge denies his request, he will have until June 22 to declare for the NFL Supplemental Draft.