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The Big 12 Conference filed a federal lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment and temporary injunction to allow its governing board to sanction Texas Tech if quarterback Behren Morton plays this season, citing violations of betting rules and competitive integrity.
Monday's episode of "As the Big 12 Turns" did not feature a vote to sanction Texas Tech for its plans to play quarterbacka legal complaint against the Red Raiders in federal court seeking declaratory judgment and a temporary injunction that would clear the way for the Big 12's governing board to penalize Texas Tech if Sorsby sets foot on the field this fall.
Conference bylaws allow the board, by a super-majority vote , to sanction member schools. Both Texas Tech and the Texas Attorney General's Office last week threatened to take action against the Big 12 if penalties were imposed.
", 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 conference said in a statement released Monday afternoon. "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.
""Everybody but Texas Tech, 99.9% of the people who follow college football, thinks Sorsby shouldn't play football this season," an industry source said. "It's a specter hanging over the NCAA. "— Sorsby was banned by the NCAA for breaking the most unbreakable rule in sports but receivedAccording to the complaint filed Monday, the Big 12 asked Texas Tech not to play Sorbsy, but the school has yet to agree.
— The 47-page complaint was filed by Sidley Austin LLP, described by college sports legal expert Tom Mars as a "powerhouse law firm.
" It states that sanctions under consideration by the conference include banning the Red Raiders from the conference championship game. If enacted, the penalty would prevent Texas Tech from receiving an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff.
However, the Red Raiders seemingly could participate in the CFP with an at-large bid awarded by the selection committee. — The complaint underscores the degree to which other members of the Big 12 are unified in their opposition to 1) Texas Tech's plans to play Sorsby; and 2) the school's threat to sue the conference for enforcing bylaws that Texas Tech itself has supported in the past.
"TTU participated in and supported the Conference Board's unanimous vote to sanction Baylor. TTU's representative on the Board of Directors voted in favor of the resolutions imposing these sanctions. TTU raised no objection to the Conference's authority under Section 3.6 of the Bylaws to sanction a member institution for conduct that the Conference Board determined warranted sanctions.
" The unity extends well beyond the 15 campuses. The attorneys general of Oklahoma, Kansas and Utah have authored letters supporting the Big 12's right to sanction its members..
" and I stand behind the Big 12 and support its right to enforce its own rules.
""Every day this injunction remains in effect, the harm compounds: the NCAA's governance authority erodes, copycat litigation becomes more likely, and the integrity of every contest in which an ineligible athlete competes is called into question. "While the injunction granted in Lubbock is not viewed as legal precedent for courts elsewhere, the reality of Sorsby taking the field after gambling on his own team would kneecap the integrity of Big 12 competition this season.
Additionally, it could lead to players across the sport doing the same because they don't fear repercussions. — The Big 12's legal complaint also carries ramifications for the conference's ability to enforce its bylaws on a broad level, against any school for any transgression.
To this point in the process, his tepid public pronouncements have frustrated many Big 12 fans opposed to Sorsby's return. Clearly, Yormark was following the advice of his legal counsel to avoid statements that could jeopardize the conference's ability to respond. The latest twist in the Big 12's summer soap opera suggests he is well aligned with every member of the governing board ... except one.
The Brendan Sorsby ruling, Big 12 outrage and the singular test of commissioner Brett Yormark's tenurehas been covering college sports for decades and is an AP Top 25 football and basketball voter as well as a Heisman Trophy voter. He was named Beat Writer of the Year in 2013 by the Football Writers Association of America for his coverage of the Pac-12, won first place for feature writing in 2016 in the Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest and is a five-time APSE honoree.
You can follow him on. Pac-12 Hotline is not endorsed or sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference. The Hotline's early Top 25 for the 2026 season: Indiana, Texas, Oregon and Notre Dame lead the way
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