Brendan Sorsby has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in Texas state court, looking to gain eligibility for the 2026 college football season amid a probe into alleged gambling violations.
The Texas Tech quarterback is said to have placed bets on Indiana football while he was a member of the program in 2022, in addition to also betting on Romanian soccer, Turkish basketball, the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, UFC, tennis and MLB.
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Sorsby announced last month that he would be taking an immediate, indefinite leave of absence to enter a treatment program for gambling addiction.
The suit filed on Monday is seeking a temporary injunction that would expedite the reinstatement of Sorsby for the 2026 season.
Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby watches the school’s NFL football pro day, Thursday, March 26, 2025. AP
The QB says he needs to get clarity on his status in college football in order to have enough time to apply for the NFL supplemental draft by the end of June.
In an affidavit attached to the lawsuit, Sorsby claimed that he had started betting on Hoosiers football in order to feel more “connected” to the football program
“I rationalized placing those bets as a way to feel more connected to the team, to root for my friends, and to feel like I had a real ‘stake’ in the games that I otherwise was not involved in,” Sorsby claimed in the legal filing.
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In the affidavit, Sorsby also said he was placing “small bets” on Indiana football and that they typically amounted to somewhere between “$5 and $50.”
Sorsby had been a true freshman in 2022 with the Hoosiers and was a member of the scout team, which he said presented “no reasonable chance that I would play” due to the team’s depth chart.
The football player added that he had lost most of the bets he made because the Hoosiers were not a “strong competitor” in 2022.
Texas Tech Spring Game at Jones AT&T Stadium on April 17, 2026. Getty Images for ONIT
“All of these bets were in support of Indiana,” the affidavit states. “In other words, I placed bets on Indiana to win a game or score more than a certain number of points or for the quarterback to throw for more than a certain number of touchdowns or yards.”
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Sorsby has one year left of eligibility in college football after spending two seasons at Indiana and two at Cincinnati.
He is coming off a 2025 season in Cincinnati where he had a career-high 27 touchdowns and threw for 2,800 yards.
Sorsby signed a one-year NIL deal with Texas Tech after going into the transfer portal and was believed to make over $4 million.
