The TCU head coach, a Texas Tech graduate, had pointed things to say about the news that sent shockwaves throughout college sports.
LUBBOCK - The Big 12 Conference held a meeting with the league members' athletic directors to discuss the stunning news in college football: Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby's temporary injunction that, despite admitting to gambling on his own team, allows him to bypass automatic ineligibility and play in the 2026 season after serving just a two-game suspension.
"We had a thoughtful and productive conversation with our athletic directors today as we continue to work through the broader implications of this situation. Many of our athletic directors voiced their opinions," said commissioner Brett Yormark.
"We will continue to have open and honest dialogue amongst the group, and until there is something to report, these conversations will remain within the conference."
Sorsby's injunction, though the hearing was held in Lubbock County, where Texas Tech University is located, was not conducted by a judge holding any possible partisan to the school. The initial judge assigned recused himself because of possible conflicts of interest, having been a Tech graduate.
Instead, the visiting magistrate was Judge Ken Curry, a native of Tarrant County near Fort Worth. He has been retired for many years, but was called upon as the visiting judge in this case in Lubbock.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, TCU athletic director Mike Buddie was "surprised, but not shocked."
"A bedrock principle of collegiate athletics was overturned with this decision, but so have many others in recent months, so sadly, it does not surprise me, Buddie said to the paper. "I just can’t fathom a judge thinking that this outcome is fair, or what is best for the young man or for his institution."
Judge Curry's ruling claims that a possible termination of Sorsby's eligibility "demonstrated that he will suffer a probable, imminent, and irreparable injury if this Court does not issue this temporary injunction because he will be unable to participate as a member of Texas Tech University's 2026 Football season."
The NCAA, as expected, has filed an appeal, but the trial date is not until after the upcoming college football season, when Sorsby's senior season will have finished with the Red Raiders.
The governing body also released the following statement:
"The NCAA strongly disagrees with the court’s ruling in Sorsby's case and is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome — which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports.
"The NCAA is committed to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one's own sport."
TCU head football coach Sonny Dykes, a Texas Tech graduate, took a similar stance on the long-term ethical implications of this decision, for not just football, but all collegiate athletics.
"We officially lost our soul," Dykes said. "How is anyone ever going to trust the outcome of a game again?"
According to The Athletic, the NCAA's filing was made official on Monday as an "accelerated appeal" in the Seventh District Court of Texas (in Amarillo, a two-hour drive north of Lubbock).
Sorsby's trial against the NCAA is set for Feb. 8, which comes two weeks after the final game of the upcoming college football season. Sorsby, if he plays, will have exhausted his eligibility by this time.
According to their online bios, each of the four judges in the Seventh District is a graduate of Texas Tech School of Law.
