Brendan Sorsby admits wagering nearly $90,000 during college career as NCAA fight heats up
LUBBOCK, Texas — A Lubbock district court will take up a high‑stakes case Monday when attorneys for Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby ask a judge to issue an injunction that would let him suit up for the upcoming season despite a NCAA ruling that declared him ineligible because of gambling infractions.
Sorsby, who transferred to Texas Tech earlier this year after playing at Indiana and Cincinnati, admitted in a 111‑page affidavit filed last week that he placed roughly $90,000 in bets over the past four years. The filings show he used several mobile betting platforms—including FanDuel, Underdog, Hard Rock Bet and PrizePicks—and enlisted friends to place wagers on his behalf. Between 2022 and 2025 he funneled at least $60,000 to those friends, with $5,000 of that sent while he was enrolled at Texas Tech for bets on MLB, NBA and PGA Tour events.
The most damaging admissions involve his time at Indiana. While redshirting during the 2022 season, Sorsby placed more than 2,900 wagers totaling over $30,000 in Bloomington. He acknowledged making roughly 40 bets on his own Hoosiers team during a two‑month stretch in September and October of that year, with stakes ranging from $1 to $114. Sorsby contends he only wagered on Indiana to win and stopped before his first collegiate appearance—a game against Penn State—preserving his redshirt status under NCAA rules that allow a player to appear in up to four contests without losing that eligibility.
The NCAA, however, prohibits any student‑athlete from wagering on sports that also have a collegiate championship. Because betting on his own team falls under that ban, the governing body ruled Sorsby ineligible for the 2026 season. In a motion filed Friday, his legal team argued the penalty is excessive and frames the NCAA’s stance as punitive rather than rehabilitative.
“Mr. Sorsby is currently ineligible to play for Texas Tech due to prior violations of the NCAA’s sports‑gambling rules. Rather than support a student‑athlete’s recovery from a gambling addiction, the NCAA has weaponized his condition to shore up a facade of competitive integrity,” the complaint stated.
Central to Sorsby’s defense is a diagnosis from a physician at an Arizona rehabilitation center, where he completed a 35‑day program for gambling addiction. The doctor linked the quarterback’s wagering to an adjustment disorder with anxiety, a condition the attorneys say contributed to his behavior and should mitigate the sanction. Sorsby’s filing includes his own recollection: “Given the money I had and earned from NIL, the total amount of money I made from 2022 to 2025 was not a big deal to me. I never kept track of my betting over time, but I’m pretty sure I lost more than I won.”
Texas Tech has thrown its weight behind the quarterback. In a letter sent to the NCAA on Friday, the university recommended a two‑game suspension as sufficient discipline and urged the association to reconsider what it called a “career‑ending sanction.” The school argued that a harsh penalty would discourage athletes from seeking help for mental‑health issues. “By imposing a two‑game suspension on Sorsby and allowing him to continue his final season of eligibility, the NCAA would not be creating bad precedent, nor flouting existing precedent,” the letter read. “Has the NCAA ever had an athlete who admitted to placing thousands of bets, and the only bets on his former team were for his team to win when he was not suited up for the game and when the student’s physician indicated he placed those bets due to an adjustment disorder with anxiety?”
The case surfaced after a tip triggered an NCAA investigation; Sorsby had not disclosed his gambling activity when he enrolled at Texas Tech, and the university says it was unaware of the problem at the time of his transfer. The quarterback entered treatment after the investigation began, and his legal team contends his willingness to seek help should be viewed favorably.
If the court grants the injunction, Sorsby could return to the field this season, a outcome that could reshape how the NCAA treats athletes who confess to gambling addiction. If the request is denied, his collegiate career likely ends. The judge is expected to issue a decision early next week after hearing arguments.