Texas Tech Boycott Could Cost Non-Conference Opponents Millions

Fallout from this week’s Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s NCAA eligibility ruling continues to shake college sports.

As many powerhouse schools and conferences across the country threaten to boycott playing games against Texas Tech—in any sport—the three non-conference opponents on the Red Raiders’ 2026 football schedule have millions of dollars at stake as they weigh their options.

FCS program Abilene Christian is set to receive $375,000 from Texas Tech for traveling to Lubbock for the Red Raiders’ season-opener Sept. 5.

Conference USA member Sam Houston will be paid $1 million for playing at Texas Tech on Sept. 26—one of many seven-figure paydays that non-power conference teams will receive from top schools this fall.

It’s unclear if either program would have to pay a cancellation fee to Texas Tech if it backed out of its respective game, but simply forfeiting those guaranteed paydays would be a major blow to both Abilene Christian and Sam Houston as smaller schools that rely on big checks like that to boost revenue.

A spokesperson for Sam Houston told Front Office Sports: “At this point we are aware of what has happened but do not have any plans to get out of the game or have reservations about it. Obviously if other things happen along the way in the upcoming weeks/months, we will address accordingly.”

Oregon State, competing in the re-built Pac-12 and Texas Tech’s only road non-conference opponent in 2026, would have to pay the Red Raiders $1 million to cancel its Sept. 12 matchup in Corvallis. The schools are completing a two-game home-and-home series that saw the Beavers travel to Lubbock in 2025.

Sorsby would be suspended for Texas Tech’s first two games of the season—against Abilene Christian and Oregon State—under the terms of Monday’s temporary injunction. But many school officials around the nation have suggested boycotting Texas Tech simply on principle. 

Spokespeople for Abilene Christian and Oregon State did not respond to requests for comment from FOS on Wednesday.

Texas Tech’s Next Steps

Texas Tech would consider legal action if athletic programs or conferences follow through with boycott threats, FOS can confirm.

Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt released a lengthy statement Wednesday saying there was no guarantee Sorsby would return to the program after his two-game suspension in September. “What happens after that will depend, in no small part, on how his recovery continues to progress,” Hocutt said.

Houston is the first Big 12 team on Texas Tech’s schedule, Sept. 18 in Lubbock, a Friday night game scheduled to air on Fox in primetime. Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said Wednesday that Sorsby actually playing in that Week 3 game, no matter his eligibility, is “still a stretch.”

Texas Tech’s remaining Big 12 schedule includes games against Colorado, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Arizona, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Baylor, and TCU.

The 15 athletic directors in the Big 12, excluding Texas Tech’s Kirby Hocutt, met Monday night to discuss—and vent—about the Sorsby situation. More meetings are planned and expected.

The Sorsby decision also came up multiple times during a Senate Commerce Committee roundtable on the future of college sports Wednesday. It’s also been the subject of private conversations in Congress.