Big 12 ADs are expected to meet Tuesday to discuss the next steps -- including whether they should play Texas Tech -- after a Texas judge granted TTU QB Brendan Sorsby’s injunction against the NCAA and made him eligible despite admitting to betting on his own team, according to Ross Dellinger of YAHOO SPORTS. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark in a statement noted that the ruling is “having ‘significant’ ramifications across college sports” and “creating concern amongst our membership.” Yormark stated that he has been “consulting with ‘key stakeholders’ on the issue.” Kansas State AD Gene Taylor said, “We’ve had some serious conversation about it. There is still a lot to be discussed. We aren’t scheduled to play them this year, but it’s something we have to look at from a college football perspective. This is greater than the Big 12.” He added, “It’s f***ing bulls***. … It is absolutely devastating for him to be able to play when every other sport, no matter the level, deems an athlete ineligible or they are punished severely for betting on their team.” One anonymous Big 12 AD mentioned that it is the “lowest point in my time in college sports” and said that Texas Tech “should be ashamed of itself.” Dellinger noted that Big 12 school presidents, who also are slated to meet this week, have the ability to “penalize conference members for ‘actions detrimental to the conference’” (YAHOO SPORTS, 6/8).
COMMON SENSE: CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello notes it was communicated on Tuesday’s conference call of Big 12 ADs that “every Big 12 AD but Texas Tech’s Kirby Hocutt believes Brendan Sorsby shouldn’t play.” There are “plenty of ideas to convince/pressure Tech to cut Sorsby loose,” but ADs believe it is “common sense: He bet on his sport; Tech shouldn’t play him” (X, 6/9).
TALKS TO BE HAD: THE ATHLETIC’s Emerson & Russo cited sources as saying that Big Ten ADs and Commissioner Tony Petitti are “planning to discuss a league-wide ban on scheduling Texas Tech in all sports at a meeting on Wednesday” (THE ATHLEITC, 6/8). In Omaha, Sam McKewon noted Nebraska AD Troy Dannen directed his coaches “not to schedule the Red Raiders in any sports competitions.” One of Dannen’s deputies texted a message to coaches “asking them to ‘connect with Troy immediately’ if they had scheduled the Red Raiders in any event.” Dannen mentioned Monday night that NU was “still ‘piecing together’ whether the Huskers have any upcoming sporting contests with the Red Raiders in 2026-27” (OMAHA WORLD-HERALD, 6/8). Dannen said to SBJ’s Ben Portnoy, “There are a lot of lines that people argue have been crossed in college athletics. As money starts changing hands, there’s arguments both ways. There is no argument here. This is a line of integrity of the game and the permissibility of compromise of that integrity that has been crossed and is without precedent in major sports, professional or amateur in the United States” (X, 6/8).
NOT FOR GEORGIA: In Athens, Sara Tidwell noted Georgia AD Josh Brooks also has instructed coaches to “not schedule” Texas Tech. UGA coaches and staff were “instructed to review their current and future schedules.” Brooks, as well as many other ADs and conference commissioners around the country, “called the court decision devastating for the integrity of American sports as they’re known” (ATHENS BANNER-HERALD, 6/8). Brooks: “I’m not taking this lying down. It’s time to lead, and it’s time to do what’s right” (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 6/8).
TEN TOES DOWN: ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel wrote Texas Tech has been “staunchly behind Sorsby.” Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec in a letter to school supporters said of Sorsby, “We believe his vulnerability deserves to be met with the full weight of this institution’s support.” However, around the Big 12, there is “skepticism about that stance.” One Big 12 coach said, “The hypocrisy is consistent throughout our profession right now. Nobody cares about the betterment of the game and its future anymore. Everybody’s in survival mode on how they can win and survive right now” (ESPN.com, 6/8).
