NCAA denies reinstatement for QB Sorsby; Texas Tech to appeal - ESPN

The NCAA has denied Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby's request to be reinstated as eligible for the 2026 season, even as the school president publicly backed Sorsby's desire to play for the Red Raiders this season amid a «complex situation.»

The NCAA decision, which is in line with precedent, will put Sorsby's lawsuit against the NCAA seeking an injunction for his eligibility for the 2026 season into further focus, as his court date looms on Monday in Lubbock County.

Along with that case, Texas Tech president Lawrence Schovanec also stated in a letter to the Texas Tech community that the school plans to appeal the NCAA's ruling.

«We believe that given the facts and the context of Brendan's case, the NCAA's ruling should be reversed or modified,» Schovanec wrote. «As a generation of college athletes face the legalization and rapid proliferation of sports betting in our country, gambling addiction is rising to the point of epidemic among college aged men in particular. The NCAA's stated mission includes „fostering [student-athletes'] lifelong well-being,“ and they have claimed their goal is to promote a „culture of care“ for student athletes' mental health. Gambling addiction is a clinically recognized behavioral disorder.»

Sorsby filed a lawsuit in a local court in Lubbock County on May 18 seeking his eligibility. In the suit, he admitted to betting on thousands of sporting events as part of his gambling addiction. That included betting on Indiana football games while on the team. He did make clear that he never bet on a game he played in nor did he bet against his team.

The suit cites the NCAA's «deeply hypocritical» position on gambling and a «wholesale abandonment of its obligations and duties to promote the