The Brendan Sorsby saga has taken over the college football offseason after most of the discourse surrounded the fallout from a hectic coaching carousel. When Brendan Sorsby announced he was entering treatment for gambling addiction, and the news of an NCAA investigation followed, everyone had a sense that a major outcome could come out of the story. What no one expected was the outcome that we ended up getting from the Sorsby scandal.
The NCAA has ruled Brendan Sorsby ineligible each step of the way, but in this era of college football, that was never going to be the end of the story. When Sorsby was granted an injunction against the NCAA, it instantly set the landscape on fire with many wondering what power the NCAA had left in this new world where players hold all the power.
The Big 12 files for a declaratory judgement in major retaliation swing
On Monday Morning, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that the Big 12 filed a complaint in a Dallas federal court seeking a declaratory judgement to allow the league to enforce it's rules. This move comes after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to the league declaring they'd be opening themselves up to "substantial" liability if it takes action against Texas Tech.
NEWS: The Big 12 has filed a complaint in federal court in Dallas for a declaratory judgement, which would effectively give the league the ability to enforce its by-laws. This comes in response to the Texas AG's letter last week. This would empower the Big 12 to have autonomy to…
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) June 15, 2026
In the Big 12's filing, the league is seeking an injunction barring the defendants (Texas Tech, Chancellor Brandon Creighton, President Lawrence Schovance, and Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt) from seeking to punish the Big 12 for exercising its rights.
"A preliminary injunction and a permanent injunction barring Defendants from seeking to deter, coerce, prevent, or punish the Big 12 for exercising its rights under its Bylaws to sanction TTU related to its handling of the sports betting activity discussed in this Complaint, including if TTU fields a student-athlete in Big 12 competitions who has engaged in collegiate sports betting activity."Big 12 complaint filing
If the Big 12 were to get it's way, the league would have the chance to hand down sanctions such as prohibiting the Red Raiders from playing on Television, playing in postseason events, and could restrict it's revenue distributions.
The move is the Big 12 finally striking back after Cody Campbell and Ken Paxton went nuclear after Sorsby's win in court. Texas Tech has challenged the Big 12 a ton over the last year, and the Sorsby case is going to be the biggest fued between the two sides.
While the NCAA lost in court, the Big 12 will have a chance to hand down the punishments that the NCAA couldn't. The other teams in the league are going to be looking hard at the action the Big 12 takes, and while the Texas Tech program may be the crown jewel in the league at the moment, everyone in the conference will want to see justice handed down.
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