The last several weeks for Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback have been spent trying to regain his eligibility for the 2026 college football season after a sports gambling scandal led to the NCAA ruling him ineligible to play in Lubbock. Now, Sorsby is filing a motion to dismiss his court cases, hoping to be ruled ineligible.
Why? Because the goal now is to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft, and to do that, he must be ineligible to play college football.
On Wednesday afternoon, the most notorious Red Raiders’ player officially filed a motion to dismiss his case in Texas court, stating that Texas Tech informed him on Monday that he could not play for the Red Raiders this season. The motion states that “On June 15, 2026, Plaintiff was informed by Texas Tech that, notwithstanding the Temporary Injunction Order, the University would not permit Plaintiff to play for its football team.”
This goes slightly against what Cody Campbell, the chairman of the Texas Tech Board of Regents, said earlier this week, when he described the split as a mutual parting of ways as something that Sorsby and his family came to the decision on.
According to The Athletic’s Justin Williams, there was growing pressure on the leadership at Texas Tech over the weekend, and that led to many people starting to second-guess their support on the matter. After a meeting on Sunday to regroup and figure out a way forward, Texas Tech leaders were ultimately undone by a federal lawsuit filed by the Big 12 on Monday morning, which proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Opinions on the lawsuit range from a litigatory masterstroke to a well-timed roadblock. Last week, it felt as if Yormark and the Big 12 were a step behind, forced to play defense as Campbell, Paxton and Kessler went on the attack. But one legal expert briefed on the Big 12’s strategy thought Monday’s lawsuit — drafted by powerhouse firm Sidley Austin — was a clever way of turning that bravado against them. The conference used Paxton’s warning letter in particular to bolster a preemptive lawsuit on First Amendment grounds, which allowed them to file in federal jurisdiction as opposed to another Texas state court. The Big 12 beat Tech to the courthouse and outmaneuvered Kessler, who has long been a thorn in the side of the NCAA.
Now, Sorsby and Texas Tech look to move forward separately. While the Red Raiders have promised to continue to support the former college QB in his recovery from a gambling addiction, the two sides will likely split in the coming weeks as Sorsby attempts to enter the supplemental draft.
There’s a chance that in a couple of months’ time, all of this is a distant memory; just a wacky few weeks of college football to conjure up some offseason conversation. If that’s the case, oh, what a few weeks it’s been.
This article originally appeared on Red Raiders Wire: Brendan Sorsby files to dismiss case, become ineligible at Texas Tech
Reporting by Zachary Neel, Red Raiders Wire / Red Raiders Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Zachary Neel, Red Raiders Wire | USA TODAY Network
