The easiest way to kill a sport is to cast real aspersions on the legitimacy of the competition. For that reason, gambling has long been the red line in any sport that participants could not cross. Gambling is a legal activity in most of the US, and that is fine for non-participants. Brendan Sorsby admitted to gambling on Indiana football while being a member of the team, which breaks NCAA rules.
Let’s be clear…it doesn't matter if he played in the game. He had access to detailed injury information, game-planning, and film study…it is an equivalent of insider trading in many ways. Sorsby was even found to have bet on negative outcomes for his team.
The parts of college football that remain sane have reacted with understandable indignation. Multiple media outlets reported that Georgia Athletic Director Josh Brooks and Nebraska Athletic Director Troy Dannen instructed their departments to refrain from scheduling Texas Tech in future athletic events. ESPN reported that many of TT’s fellow Big 12 schools were also mulling the idea of not playing Texas Tech this year.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark was forced to address the situation with the following statement:
"We had a thoughtful and productive conversation with our athletics directors today as we continue to work through the broader implications of this situation…Many of our athletics directors voiced their opinions. 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."Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark
The Big 12 could take a stand if they so choose? They could declare Sorsby ineligible by Big 12 rules and if Texas Tech plays him, declare Tech ineligible for the conference title. The College Football Playoff Committee could take a similar position. At the end of the day, those results are highly unlikely.
What is more likely to happen is that the leaders of the SEC and the Big 10 may have more substantive discussions about moving forward with exploring the Super-Conference concept? It was less than three weeks ago that Georgia HC Kirby Smart, speaking at the SEC Spring Meetings, said:
"I’ve been a huge advocate that we can’t find rules that everybody played by, then we should play by our own. I’m not afraid of that. I’m not afraid to break away and say that our conference is strong enough to go out and have and play — I mean, like, if we could actually function and it financially would make our programs more stable, and we could support things financially. I’m talking about all the sports and do by our own rules. I’d be all for that."Georgia HC Kirby Smart
The Protect College Sports Act, co-sponsored by Texas Senator and friend of Cody Campbell Ted Cruz, is in danger of failing primarily because of the pooling of media rights section and restrictions it places on the future growth of the SEC and Big 10…essentially ending the possibility of the Super-Conference. It was a major part of Cody Campbell’s input on the bill. As Campbell put it in a recent USA Today Op-Ed:
"They dislike the bill because it would limit their ability to grow an emerging duopoly and to form a “Super League,” which will choke out smaller conferences and schools, as well as “non-revenue” women’s and Olympic sports."Cody Campbell
Make no mistake, Texas Tech playing Brendan Sorsby in 2026 will have the likely unintended consequence of pushing the Big 10 and SEC into more serious discussions of breaking away. There could also be a bigger push for removing the offending sections of the Protect College Sports Act, while maintaining the limited anti-trust language, eligibility, and transfer language. Clearly, that would threaten the ability of the bill’s supporters to pass it in a divided congress.
The point is this: By his own hubris and desire to watch his team win at any cost, Cody Campbell may have killed the bill he hoped to force on the Big Ten and SEC. He also may have hastened the arrival of what he fears most, the breakaway that could reshape the sport entirely.
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