Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec said that the university “recently asked NCAA officials to update their gambling rules to reflect the current environment” as the university was dealing with the investigation into Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby’s gambling, according to Don Williams of the LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL. Schovanec said in a video Tech athletics published Thursday, “We have to recognize the rules in place now were made long before there were millions of young people walking around with a legal gambling apparatus in their pocket, and our consideration today needs to take into account the fact medically diagnosed conditions and the circumstances in which they live.” In the 21-minute video, Schovanec shared a conference-room table with AD Kirby Hocutt, Tech football coach Joey McGuire, Sr. Associate AD/Health and Wellness Grant Stovall and Sr. Associate AD Robert Giovannetti, who moderated the discussion (LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL, 6/11).
SENT A WARNING: In Houston, James Osborne noted Texas AG Ken Paxton “warned the Big 12 athletic conference against taking legal action against Texas Tech.” Paxton “sent a letter to the Big 12 on Thursday that reportedly warned any action against Texas Tech could violate state and federal antitrust law and ‘would expose the Conference to substantial liability.’” In a statement, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said that “‘all options remain on the table’ and the conference is ‘taking time with our legal counsel to understand the concerns of the state and will meet again with the full Board next week’” (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/11).
HANDLE ON YOUR OWN: THE ATHLETIC’s Ralph Russo cited sources as saying that the Big Ten is “not expected to implement a mandate that would prohibit schools from scheduling Texas Tech.” Big Ten ADs were scheduled to meet with Commissioner Tony Petitti later Thursday. Some in the conference “wanted to consider a league-wide ban on playing the Red Raiders across all sports.” The sources said that Big Ten “plans to continue to let schools handle those decisions on their own.” Illinois has a men’s basketball game against the Red Raiders scheduled for November. Oregon has a home football game against Texas Tech in 2033 (THE ATHLETIC, 6/11).
MAINTAIN INTEGRITY OF THE GAME: In Atlanta, Jason Armesto wrote in the Univ. of Georgia’s refusal to play Texas Tech, UGA said that it is “protecting the integrity and fairness of college sports.” This move has “received praise from corners of the collegiate landscape,” with some hoping that “more schools and conferences follow suit.” Georgia’s athletic department has budgeted $239M for FY2027, representing 11% of UGA’s entire $2.07B budget. A gambling scandal, and “a world where fans question the legitimacy of games, puts the multibillion-dollar world of college sports at risk.” Karen Weaver, a Univ. of Pennsylvania professor who researches college athletics, said that even so, UGA’s reaction to the Sorsby decision “is about much more than just the Bulldogs’ bottom line.” University leaders and athletic department staff nationwide “fundamentally believe in the purity of college sports” (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 6/12).
SENSING SOME HYPOCRISY: In San Jose, Jon Wilner wrote Texas Tech Board of Regents Chair Cody Campbell has “attempted over the past year to position himself as the champion of the little guys in college sports. … Perhaps Campbell could explain how supporting Sorsby’s return to the field is in the best interest of college sports.” Sorsby “broke the one unbreakable rule at the heart of sports competition at all levels, in all leagues and across every continent: Don’t bet on your own team.” Wilner poses the question, “How is allowing Sorsby to return -- after a paltry two-game suspension -- the right move for the greater good?” Wilner: “The reality is, Campbell can’t explain his hypocrisy. He is no better than anyone else in college sports. He just has more money and a larger platform. And he supports whatever policy or strategy is best for Texas Tech” (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 6/11).
SITTING IN THE GREY: In Lubbock, Nathan Giese wrote, “How Texas Tech as a whole has become the center of this vitriol is understandable, though misplaced.” Texas Tech “doesn’t have the 400-plus page handbook that’s been ruled unconstitutional on so many occasions that it’s going to take another 20 years to decipher just how flimsy the house of cards really was.” Giese: “As much as people want to make this a black-and-white issue, there’s just too much grey to see the dividing line. All those clamoring for the sanctity of the game, consider the kind of nonsense everybody gets away with on a regular basis under the NCAA’s umbrella” (LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL, 6/11).
