In video, Texas Tech officials defend school, Brendan Sorsby - ESPN

In a 20-plus-minute video released Thursday night, Texas Tech officials defended their integrity and reiterated their support for Brendan Sorsby amid widespread criticism from the rest of the Big 12 Conference and other corners of college sports to the likelihood of the quarterback playing for the Red Raiders this fall.

Athletic director Kirby Hocutt — appearing in the video alongside football coach Joey McGuire, university president Lawrence Schovanec and Grant Stovall, Texas Tech's senior associate athletic director for student-athlete health and wellness — said he understood why his AD colleagues had spoken out against the school allowing Sorsby to play this fall.

A message to the Texas Tech community from our leadership. pic.twitter.com/MpbXtNJakp

On Monday, Sorsby was granted a temporary injunction by a Texas judge that cleared the way for him to play in 2026 despite being ruled ineligible by the NCAA for widespread sports wagering, including 40 bets involving Indiana football while he was a freshman with the Hoosiers in 2022. The NCAA has appealed the injunction. Sorsby does have to sit out the Red Raiders' first two games, against Abilene Christian and Oregon State.

Several Big 12 ADs have voiced their opposition to playing Texas Tech this season, and the league's presidents met Thursday and will again meet next week to discuss potentially sanctioning the school for allowing Sorsby to play even with the judge's ruling.

«There's no reason whatsoever to question the integrity of our athletics department, or the competitive product that we put on the fields or on the courts each and every time that we go out,» Hocutt said. «Integrity of the game is sacred, and that's why we've gone to such great lengths to ensure the