Texas Tech says it will appeal the NCAA’s decision making quarterback Brendan Sorsby permanently ineligible after he completed inpatient treatment for a diagnosed gambling addiction and anxiety disorder. The move sets up a legal battle as Sorsby prepares to se
Texas Tech’s president didn’t wait for a formal NCAA response to settle the matter. In a letter sent to the Red Raiders community on Tuesday. May 26. Lawrence Schovanec said the university is welcoming Brendan Sorsby back to campus after his inpatient recovery—and that Texas Tech will appeal the NCAA’s decision that left the quarterback permanently ineligible.
The timing is sharp: Sorsby has been pursuing injunctive relief against the NCAA. and USA TODAY Sports has learned he is scheduled for a court appearance on Monday. June 1. The dispute. at its core. pits the NCAA’s sports betting rules—particularly for wagers on one’s own team—against Texas Tech’s argument that the circumstances of Sorsby’s case should lead to a reversal or modification.
Schovanec’s letter. a copy of which was obtained by USA TODAY Sports. was written in a tone that struck a direct chord with campus life. He described the school community as preparing to bring Sorsby back after his completion of an “intensive inpatient treatment program” for a diagnosed gambling addiction and anxiety disorder.
“Last week. Brendan Sorsby completed an intensive inpatient treatment program for a diagnosed gambling addiction and anxiety disorder – a meaningful step forward in what will be a long recovery. ” Schovanec wrote. “This week, we will welcome Brendan back on campus. We share this update because transparency with our community is not optional; it is foundational to who we are.”.
Schovanec said the university’s foremost priority as it considers Sorsby’s future is his continued health and wellbeing. He also framed Sorsby’s treatment and openness as something that should be met with institutional support.
“Brendan himself has been open about his struggle with severe gambling addiction. and we believe his vulnerability deserves to be met with the full weight of this institution’s support. ” Schovanec wrote. “Our foremost priority in contemplating Brendan’s future with Texas Tech is his continued health and wellbeing.”.
According to the letter, Texas Tech athletics leaders have worked with Sorsby’s treatment team to build a plan intended to provide ongoing “treatment, monitoring and support.” Schovanec described that plan as comprehensive and built to sustain long-term recovery at Texas Tech and beyond.
The letter also set out the university’s disagreement with the NCAA’s decision. Texas Tech said the NCAA cannot comment on the status of eligibility reinstatement requests. But the university is challenging what it says is an initial ruling that permanently eliminates Sorsby from competition.
“Recently, the NCAA issued an initial ruling that Brendan is permanently ineligible to compete. Texas Tech will be appealing that decision,” Schovanec wrote. “We believe that given the facts and the context of Brendan’s case, the NCAA’s ruling should be reversed or modified.”
Central to Texas Tech’s position is how Schovanec connected Sorsby’s situation to the growing presence of sports betting in the United States and to the mental health framework the NCAA says it wants to uphold. Schovanec argued that “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.”.
He pointed to the NCAA’s stated mission around fostering student-athlete lifelong wellbeing and its claims about promoting a “culture of care” for mental health. He also described gambling addiction as a clinically recognized behavioral disorder, as defined in the DSM-5. In Schovanec’s telling. the NCAA should align its enforcement with harm-reduction approaches rather than treating the problem strictly as a rules violation.
Schovanec referenced a position attributed to the NCAA’s own Chief Medical Officer, saying that officer has called for a “harm reduction approach” in dealing with problem gambling so that student-athletes can “seek support without fear of impacting their eligibility.”
The NCAA’s response to sports betting violations has been grounded in enforceable eligibility rules. including penalties for wagers on an athlete’s own institution team or individual performance. When Texas Tech and Sorsby’s legal team filed for an injunction earlier this month. the NCAA pointed to what it described as unambiguous language about the future eligibility of athletes who gamble either on NCAA sports at their school or their specific team.
In its May 18 statement, the NCAA said it generally does not comment on pending reinstatement requests. It emphasized that the sports betting rules are clear and that wagers involving an athlete’s own team must be enforced in every case because the integrity of the game is at risk.
“When it comes to betting on one’s own team. these rules must be enforced in every case for the simple reason that the integrity of the game is at risk. ” the NCAA said in its May 18 statement. “Every sports league has these protections in place. and the NCAA will continue to apply them equally because every student-athlete competing deserves to know they’re playing a fair game.”.
The NCAA also highlighted penalties adopted three years ago by NCAA membership. For gambling on one’s own individual performance or one’s own team. the penalty listed by the NCAA is “permanent loss of eligibility.” For gambling involving another individual or team at the athlete’s school. the penalty is one year of ineligibility and loss of one year of eligibility.
In layman’s terms. as the NCAA’s rules are described in the dispute. an athlete who admits or is found to have gambled on a team or individual at the athlete’s institution must sit out for one year of competition and loses one of four years of eligibility. unless the case falls under the “own team” or “own individual performance” category carrying permanent loss.
For Texas Tech, the fight is also about how to handle a player’s path after treatment. Sorsby has recently completed inpatient treatment for gambling addiction and anxiety disorder, and the university says it believes there is a plan for continued treatment, monitoring and support.
Sorsby’s eligibility dispute sits on top of allegations that he was involved in widespread wagers on multiple sports. including bets on Indiana while he was a member of the team. The materials say the investigation involved allegations of bets on a variety of sports and that Sorsby has not admitted to the alleged wagering.
Sorsby’s football story is tightly wound into this case. He began his career at Indiana. transferred for two years to Cincinnati. and exited the Bearcats program for the reigning Big 12 Champion Red Raiders in January. Texas Tech said the appeal is aimed at enabling him to play for a final season—his first with the Red Raiders.
The situation is complicated further by a separate lawsuit from Cincinnati. The Bearcats have filed suit against Sorsby alleging breach of contract tied to his exit from the program.
There’s a clear tension in the sequence of events already on the record: the NCAA’s framework treats wagers on one’s own team as a permanent eligibility bar, while Texas Tech argues that Sorsby’s diagnosed addiction and inpatient recovery should shift the outcome toward reinstatement.
For now, Texas Tech’s next move is litigation and appeal. With Sorsby’s court appearance scheduled for Monday. June 1. the question is no longer only whether the rules were violated. but how the system is meant to respond when the athlete involved is already in treatment and seeking a path back to competition.
And on Tuesday, May 26, with Schovanec’s letter addressed to the Red Raiders community, Texas Tech made clear it intends to press that fight in public—saying it will welcome Sorsby back while challenging the decision that stands between him and the field.
Texas Tech NCAA Brendan Sorsby sports betting gambling addiction eligibility appeal injunction Lawrence Schovanec Big 12 college football