Judge Ken Curry of Lubbock County granted Brendan Sorsby a temporary injunction that makes the Texas Tech quarterback eligible for the 2026 season, despite the NCAA’s decision to declare him permanently ineligible over gambling violations. The ruling allows hi
By the time Monday turned into evening in Lubbock. Brendan Sorsby had the one thing the NCAA had taken away: a path back to the field. Judge Ken Curry of the 99th District Court of Lubbock County granted the Texas Tech quarterback a temporary injunction he was seeking. making him eligible to compete for the Red Raiders this upcoming college football season.
Sorsby. who had been fighting the NCAA through a series of legal steps tied to his gambling addiction. reacted with visible relief in a statement on Monday. “I’m very grateful for the endless support I have received throughout this entire process. I am also grateful for the chance to rejoin my teammates,” he wrote. He added that the return comes “with the responsibility to remain focused on my personal growth. ” and said he wants to use what he called “my situation to help others going forward.”.
The ruling is temporary in the sense that it came through an injunction—but for Texas Tech and for Sorsby, it changes the stakes of the next season immediately. Curry’s order also built in consequences: Sorsby will serve a two-game suspension under the judge’s injunction.
He will be suspended for Texas Tech’s first two games, against Abilene Christian on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. ET and against Oregon State on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The NCAA, however, signaled it would not simply accept defeat. In the days ahead, the governing body is planning to file an appeal, with at least one report describing the situation as “shocking” after the NCAA ruled Sorsby permanently ineligible following violations of its gambling protocols.
Curry’s decision addressed a central question in Sorsby’s lawsuit: whether the quarterback would suffer a “probable. imminent. and irreparable injury” if the court didn’t grant the injunction. In the ruling. Curry also laid out the missed opportunities Sorsby could face without eligibility—benefiting from the Division I football environment. using the season to build skills for success for both himself and the Texas Tech team. and making an informed decision about whether to enter the 2026 NFL Supplemental Draft.
Curry also wrote that the “applicant” had demonstrated a probable right to the relief he sought on claims that included breach of contract, declaratory judgment, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, and breach of fiduciary duty.
Before the court’s Monday ruling, the NCAA had already denied Sorsby’s request for reinstatement for the 2026 season on Tuesday, May 26. That denial meant the only realistic route to playing this season would be Sorsby’s own court case.
In the background of the legal fight is an admission that has been at the heart of the controversy since it surfaced publicly: Sorsby placed online bets while a student-athlete. ESPN first reported on April 27 that he placed “thousands” of online bets on a variety of sports via a gambling app. The bets included wagers involving Indiana games during his true freshman season in 2022.
The details of what was bet on ranged far beyond college sports. with wagers on Major League Baseball. UFC. tennis. Romanian soccer. Turkish basketball. and even the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. Across four years. Sorsby placed over $90. 000 worth of bets through accounts registered under his name or under names of family members and friends.
The NCAA prohibits student-athletes and athletics department staff members from betting on collegiate athletics and professional sports.
Sorsby stepped away from the program in late April to enter a residential treatment program for his gambling addiction. He later announced on May 28 that he had completed a 35-day inpatient rehab program in Arizona.
In his statement on May 28. the quarterback said. “While I accept responsibility for my behavior and know that I have a lot of work ahead of me. for the first time in many years I feel more free and no longer fully at the mercy of my addiction.” He described recovery as a long road and said he is committed to ongoing treatment while becoming “a resource to many other student-athletes and other kids out there dealing with gambling addiction and other mental health issues.”.
His court fight began with an attempt to get clarity on eligibility—whether he would be able to play for Texas Tech this season or whether he would need to apply for the NFL’s supplemental draft during the summer following the NCAA’s investigation. In court filings, his legal team argued that the injunction was necessary to avoid imminent harm.
The case also included a medical element. In the injunction filed in his lawsuit against the NCAA on Monday, May 18, Sorsby was said to have been “clinically diagnosed” with a gambling disorder, described in the filing as “a mental health condition.”
Financial and institutional tension runs alongside the legal dispute. Sorsby began his collegiate career at Indiana and played there for two seasons before transferring to Cincinnati. For the Indiana portion of his timeline. he placed bets during his true freshman season in 2022—bets placed for the first eight games of the 2022 season when he said he had been a member of the Hoosiers’ “scout team.”.
According to the injunction, Sorsby bet on the Hoosiers during 2022 to feel more “connected” to the program. In the affidavit. he said. “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.”.
The record also includes the scope of the betting. In court documents filed by Sorsby’s legal team to the NCAA on May 29, he placed more than 9,000 bets for a total of over $90,000, and at least 40 bets on Indiana football during the 2022 season.
A separate report described additional figures while at Indiana: more than 8. 600 impermissible bets totaling more than $30. 000. plus roughly 40 bets on Indiana football (not including the game he started). It also reported at least 40 bets worth more than $1. 400 on the Hoosiers’ men’s basketball program during his time in Bloomington.
Sorsby’s next landing spot was Texas Tech. He chose the Red Raiders after becoming a sought-after transfer following two seasons starting at Cincinnati. This offseason, he signed a lucrative NIL deal with Texas Tech, making him one of the highest-paid players in college football this season.
One figure tied to his compensation is $1.66 million this season, along with the claim that the remainder of his NIL earnings will bring total compensation to nearly $4 million. That total was described as different from a previously reported near $5 million.
For Texas Tech, money and compliance collide directly with the court’s partial win. Cody Campbell. a prominent Texas Tech booster and Texas Tech University System Board of Regents chairman. said in a statement on Monday that the program is “super excited” and “happy to pay him. even if he can’t play the first two games.”.
The dispute has already started to pull in national politics around sports gambling. In a statement posted on X on Monday, NCAA president Charlie Baker called the ruling a reason Congress must act, arguing that the Protect College Sports Act would empower the NCAA to enforce gambling restrictions.
The NCAA itself issued its own statement on Monday. saying it “strongly disagrees” with the court’s ruling and is “deeply concerned” about “damaging. far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications.” It said the outcome undermines and corrupts integrity in sports. while also stating it remains committed to student-athlete mental health and will continue to “aggressively defend” against actions it described as defrauding college athletics and threatening competitive integrity.
On Texas Tech’s side, athletic director Kirby Hocutt posted a statement on the school’s official X account saying the athletic department is committed to supporting Sorsby’s recovery and “ensuring his compliance with the court’s order.”
Legal reactions from both sides have been sharp. Texas Tech’s booster called the ruling “the outcome of a broken system,” while NCAA lawyer Tom Mars said, “In 40 years as a lawyer, I’ve never been as shocked and surprised by a court ruling.”
On Sorsby’s side. antitrust and sports labor attorney Jeffrey Kessler. who served on Sorsby’s legal team. described the outcome as “a just result. ” saying Brendan gets to devote himself to his team and education about the dangers of gambling addiction. Kessler added that Sorsby will continue treatment. miss two games. and that there is “no injury to the competitive integrity of the NCAA. ” calling it what was proposed and what the NCAA should have accepted.
All of this leaves Sorsby with a season that still has limits. but also a chance to move forward—starting after the first two weeks. His schedule begins with the suspension. Then. starting later in September. he is set to be available for games against Houston. Sam Houston. Colorado. Arizona State. Cincinnati. Arizona. West Virginia. Oklahoma State. Baylor. and TCU.
The court’s decision also placed a spotlight on what Sorsby asked for in the first place: whether he could continue in college football long enough to make an informed decision about the 2026 NFL Supplemental Draft. Judge Curry’s ruling explicitly tied the injunction to that decision-making—one of the practical reasons the temporary relief mattered.
In the final snapshot of a player now walking back into the spotlight, Sorsby’s collegiate statistical record shows production across multiple seasons at Indiana and Cincinnati:
In 2022 (Indiana), he was 3-of-6 passing for eight yards with an interception. In 2023 (Indiana). he went 135-of-236 passing for 1. 587 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. plus 112 carries for 286 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. In 2024 (Cincinnati). he completed 249-of-389 passes for 2. 813 yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. and added 105 carries for 447 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns. In 2025 (Cincinnati). he was 207-of-336 passing for 2. 800 yards with 27 touchdowns and five interceptions. with 100 carries for 580 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns.
The season now sits at a turning point—eligibility for 2026 secured by a temporary injunction. a two-game suspension already determined. and an NCAA appeal still in play. For Sorsby. the court’s decision turns the immediate page from litigation to practice—while keeping the larger fight. and the questions surrounding sports betting and accountability. unresolved.
Brendan Sorsby Texas Tech NCAA appeal gambling addiction college sports betting injunction Ken Curry NIL college football 2026 Protect College Sports Act Charlie Baker
Wait so the NCAA just gets overridden? wild.
This is why I don’t trust any of these rules. If it was “permanent,” then why is he playing in 2026 anyway. Also gambling addiction?? like how’s that supposed to work?
So the judge let him play temporarily… and the NCAA was like “permanently ineligible” but now he’s like eligible for the upcoming season? Sounds like paperwork beat consequences. I’m not saying he shouldn’t get help, but come on.
I swear these cases always end up with the athlete back on the field. Like, the NCAA decides one thing then a local judge says nope and suddenly it’s okay. Was it really “permanent” if it can be undone in court in like a week? And why does it say he had a gambling addiction—so is he getting rehab or just playing and “growing” or whatever.