The Big 12 has reportedly filed a complaint against Texas Tech - Deseret News

See More Deseret News Stories In SearchView 34 CommentsShareBig 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark speaks at a press conference during the 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News By Jackson PayneJackson has been writing about sports for the Deseret News since 2023. Your browser does not support the audio element.Play audioNEW: Try Article AudioNEW: Try Article AudioAudio quality:|Skip back 15 secondsPlay audioSkip forward 15 seconds00:0000:00Decrease playback rate1.0xIncrease playback rate00:00/00:00Skip back 15 secondsPlay audioSkip forward 15 seconds-0.5x0.6x0.7x0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.3x1.4x1.5x1.6x1.7x1.8x1.9x2.0x2.1x2.2x2.3x2.4x2.5x2.6x2.7x2.8x2.9x3.0x+The Big 12 has elected to pursue legal action against Texas Tech for its handling of the Brendan Sorsby situation. The conference filed a 47-page complaint against Texas Tech on Monday, with the listed defendants being Texas Tech, its university system, its president, chancellor and athletic director, and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton. “Last night, the Big 12 filed a legal complaint asking a federal court to protect the constitutional and contractual rights of the conference and our member institutions to take actions expressly permitted under our Bylaws,” the Big 12 board of directors said in a statement. “The Big 12 has long spoken out about the dangers of sports wagering by student-athletes and remains committed to protecting the competitive integrity of conference competition. Universities should not field players who have bet on their own team’s games in college athletics.” “This situation is evolving with pending legal matters and the upcoming start of the football season, and the conference hopes for a timely resolution of these issues. The board continues to keep all options on the table.” Paxton sent a letter to the Big 12 last week claiming it would be held liable for “Texas Tech’s lost football revenues, damages to its alumni contributions and damages to its recruitment, plus attorneys’ fees” if the school was punished for allowing Sorsby to remain eligible in 2026. In the Big 12’s Monday complaint, the conference said any legal action against it would “prevent the Big 12 from exercising its rights under its Bylaws and the First Amendment” to sanction Texas Tech. Sorsby was previously banned by the NCAA following investigations of his gambling activity, which included him betting on Indiana football games while a member of the Hoosiers’ program in 2022, but retired Texas judge Ken Curry granted the senior quarterback a preliminary injunction last week, rendering Sorsby eligible to play in 2026. “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 complaint said. “Instead, the Big 12 seeks declaratory and injunctive relief that will permit it to exercise its rights in full and leave no doubt in the minds of its many other upstanding student-athletes, its potential future student-athletes, its rival athletic conferences and their member institutions, and the general public of exactly where it stands on an important moral, ethical and legal issue.” According to The Athletic, Big 12 presidents will meet Monday to further discuss possible sanctions against Texas Tech.