In the ongoing saga over the future of Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, the Big 12 has made clear it does not want to be pushed around in court.
The league filed a federal lawsuit Monday in the Northern District of Texas seeking both a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief to allow the league the authority to use its bylaws to potentially punish Sorsby.
The filing seeks: "A declaratory judgment that the First Amendment protects the Conference's right to invoke its authority under its Bylaws to sanction [Texas Tech] related to its handling of the sports betting activity discussed in this Complaint, including if TTU fields a student-athlete in Big 12 competitions who has engaged in collegiate sports betting activity."
The move is a legal counter to a letter from the Texas attorney general last week, which warned that any sanctions imposed by the Big 12 would be "unlawful" and countered by legal action. The Texas AG, Kenneth Paxton, is listed as a defendant, along with the chancellor, president and athletic director of Texas Tech.
This is all playing out in the wake of a judge granting Sorsby a temporary injunction on June 8 that essentially has cleared the way for him to play for Texas Tech in 2026. That came after Sorsby admitted that he broke NCAA rules by betting thousands of times, including 40 times on Indiana football while he was on that team's roster.
The Big 12's presidents are set to meet Monday to discuss potential punishments for Sorsby, but sources have indicated to ESPN that they are not expected to make any definitive decisions.
The Big 12's federal suit includes a request for an injunction to allow the league to enforce its own rules. At the heart of this is Big 12 Bylaw 3.6, which allows the league via a supermajority vote to decide whether Texas Tech's conduct warrants sanctions.
The suit seeks to bar Texas Tech from "seeking to deter, coerce, prevent, or punish the Big 12 for exercising its rights under its Bylaws to sanction TTU related to its handling of the sports betting activity discussed in this Complaint, including if TTU fields a student-athlete in Big 12 competitions who has engaged in collegiate sports betting activity."
The measures discussed by the Big 12 executive committee last week in a call included both financial penalties to the school and penalties related to eligibility. The Big 12's filing alludes to barring the school from the conference championship game as a potential sanction.
"When one Member Institution allows a student-athlete whose admitted conduct creates serious integrity concerns to compete in Conference games for Conference championships, the consequences extend beyond that institution," the filing reads. "TTU's decision to associate with, if not endorse, a student-athlete in this manner will affect opposing schools, student-athletes, fans, broadcast partners, Conference standings, championship eligibility, and the public reputation of The Big 12 as a whole."
The suit also acknowledges the near unanimity in the college athletics industry that Sorsby should not be allowed to play and mentions bans on playing Texas Tech by the athletic departments at Georgia and Nebraska.
"These industry reactions reflect a rational institutional judgment shared by industry experts and institutions even outside the Conference that the presence of Sorsby's documented history in Conference games creates a cloud over the legitimacy of those games, a reputational risk for institutions that participate in them, and an unequal playing field for Member Institutions who are upholding the values of the Conference."
The suit is a highly unusual action from a conference, and it comes amid a volatile situation. Big 12 athletic directors have been outspoken, both publicly and in meetings, in saying they don't want Sorsby to play. Various athletic directors in the league have used the terms "disgusted," "disheartened" and "sad" over the judge's decision to grant the injunction and allow Sorsby to play.
The Big 12's legal filing Monday follows through on that tenor.
"The Big 12 and its Member Institutions [apparently save TTU] have no interest in being required to endorse or even appearing to endorse unethical and indeed unlawful conduct that strikes at the heart of athletic integrity," the filing reads.
The suit adds a layer of ambiguity to Sorsby's future. Sorsby is technically eligible to play because of the local court injunction.
The deadline listed in Sorsby's lawsuit to declare for the supplemental draft is June 22.
Texas Tech did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
