Big 12 Files 47-Page Complaint Over Brendan Sorsby
The Big 12 filed a 47-page federal complaint Monday morning in U.S. District Court in Dallas over brendan sorsby’s eligibility fight and the league’s ability to punish Texas Tech. The filing puts the conference on a direct collision course with Texas officials while it seeks permission to enforce its own bylaws.
Dallas Federal Filing
The complaint names Texas Tech University, System Chancellor Brandon Creighton, University President Lawrence Schovanec, Athletics Director Kirby Hocutt, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. It asks a federal judge for declaratory judgment and a preliminary injunction so the conference can sanction Texas Tech without breaking the law.
At the center is whether Sorsby can play in the 2026 season. A visiting judge granted him a temporary injunction earlier this month, and the Big 12 is now trying to separate its own enforcement power from the NCAA case that produced it.
Sorsby’s Eligibility Fight
The NCAA investigation found that Sorsby bet on his own Indiana football team in 2022. It also found that he made approximately $90,000 in bets over the past four years while enrolled at Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech. Texas Tech was not part of his lawsuit against the NCAA.
The conference says that NCAA case controls NCAA enforcement only, not its separate authority under conference bylaws. That distinction is the core of the filing: the Big 12 wants a ruling that it can act on Texas Tech even though Sorsby already has court protection in his eligibility case.
Paxton, Texas Tech, And Sanctions
Paxton warned the Big 12 on Thursday that it could face major legal liability if it moves to punish Texas Tech for supporting Sorsby. On Friday, the Oklahoma Attorney General urged the conference to take action over the gambling violations and called Paxton’s antitrust arguments “meritless.”
The Big 12 wants the court to block the State of Texas from punishing or threatening it for sanctioning Texas Tech. The sanctions it says could be on the table include withholding revenue and barring Texas Tech from the conference championship game this season.
For Texas Tech, the filing turns a school-level eligibility fight into a broader test of whether a conference can enforce its bylaws when state officials threaten legal consequences. Sorsby’s ability to play in 2026 now sits at the center of that fight, with the league asking a judge to say it can move first.
