The Brendan Sorsby saga appears to have reached its offical end, as the Big 12 has formally withdrawn its lawsuit against Texas Tech that sought to prevent the Red Raiders from playing the quarterback this season.
LUBBOCK - The conflict between Texas Tech and Big 12 that was spurred on by the high-profile eligibility saga of Brendan Sorsby appears to finally reached its end.
According to court documents filed in the Northern District of Texas, the conference has withdrawn its federal lawsuit that was brought about in June at the peak of the tensions.
That litigation from the Big 12 came in the wake of the landmark decision of a Lubbock court to grant Sorsby a temporary injunction during a scandal involving NCAA gambling violations.
It was levied not only toward Texas Tech but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after he had threatened to target the league in the courtroom if it challenged the program's ability to play Sorsby following the ruling.
The conference's suit sought to prove that it was, in fact, able to sanction its member schools, including Texas Tech, with punishments consisting of fines and even exclusion from the Big 12 Championship for violations of agreed upon rules.
According to the conference, the choice to allow Sorsby to take the field in any matchup this season, no matter what the courtroom previously ruled, would have been one of these violations.
This move is widely considered the final straw that led to the mutual decision of Texas Tech and Sorsby to part ways ahead of the season.
The Program: Texas Tech, the Paramount+ docuseries focused on the team's offseason dealings, somewhat confirmed this notion, as well.
In the documentary, head coach Joey McGuire and Sorsby are depicted to have an extensive meeting in the immediate aftermath of the news of the lawsuit being announced.
This meeting leads directly into a segment of McGuire telling the rest of the Red Raiders that Sorsby had chosen to leave the program, with his biggest motivation being not wanting to cost them a chance at another conference crown.
With no possibility of Sorsby suiting up for Texas Tech this year, it was expected that the lawsuit would not be pursued further.
But the biggest question that remains is why it took the Big 12 so long to officially pull it since that separation took place made months ago?
There is no clear-cut answer, as of now, and it is unclear if the conference will ever make that publicly known.
Regardless, Texas Tech can feel relieved that there is no threat of further legal battles with the league it has called home for three decades.
At least, when it comes to Sorsby.
And Texas Tech will not have to foot the bill, according to reports from On3's Pete Nakos.
The Big 12 had previously approved a rule that any legal fees from a case between the conference and one of its members would be the responsibility of the school.
However, the Red Raiders appeared to be given a pass in the first of any such instance.
Although the relationship shared by Texas Tech and the Big 12 got ugly at times during the offseason, it looks to be on the path to reconciliation after the final piece of a controversy neither wants to remember was finally laid to rest.
