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Paxton Threatens Big 12 With $200M Suit Over QB Gambling Ban

Resist Now 3 min read

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton threatened the Big 12 Conference with more than $200 million in legal liability if it moves to sanction Texas Tech University for playing quarterback Brendan Sorsby in the upcoming 2026 football season.

Paxton’s Office Warns Big 12 Over NCAA Gambling Suspension

The NCAA banned Sorsby after court filings revealed he placed at least $90,000 in sports bets while attending Texas Tech and playing at two prior universities. He bet on his own team while enrolled at Indiana. When in Texas, where sports betting is illegal, Sorsby routed money through people in other states to place bets on his behalf, according to those same filings.

A state district judge in Lubbock blocked the NCAA’s suspension for most of the 2026 season, ordering that Sorsby continue treatment for a diagnosed gambling disorder and sit out the first two games. The NCAA is appealing that ruling. A trial is scheduled for February 8, 2027, after the football season concludes.

“The total exposure, for both the Big 12 and its members, jointly and severally, will be substantially more than $200 million.”

Thomas York, Chief of the Texas AG’s Antitrust Division, in a letter to the Big 12 Conference, June 2026

The letter, first reported by The Athletic and signed by York, warned that any effort to “disadvantage” Texas Tech would be illegal. The threat arrived one day after Texas Tech Board of Regents Chair Cody Campbell made public statements on the matter.

Why a State AG Is Intervening in NCAA Enforcement

Paxton is using the antitrust authority of his office to pressure a private athletic conference to back off its own governance process. That is not a typical use of a state AG’s enforcement power. NCAA disciplinary procedures are handled internally, and the Big 12 Conference makes independent decisions about member sanctions. Several other university officials have already threatened to cancel sporting events involving Texas Tech in response to the Lubbock judge’s ruling.

Paxton’s intervention follows a pattern of Texas officials using state legal machinery to shield Texas institutions from external accountability. Whether or not the antitrust argument holds, the $200 million threat is designed to deter the Big 12 from acting at all, regardless of the case’s legal merits.

What You Can Do Now

  1. Contact the Big 12 Conference offices at (469) 916-2300. Ask Commissioner Brett Yormark to confirm that the conference will follow its own governance rules and not be deterred by political pressure from a state AG acting outside normal enforcement channels.

  2. Contact the Texas AG’s Consumer Protection Hotline at (800) 621-0508. Tell them that using antitrust threats to block private athletic governance is not a legitimate use of public legal resources and that you expect the office to explain its legal authority for this action.

  3. Contact your own state’s elected representatives if your state has a university in the Big 12 (Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Baylor, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, UCF, Utah, West Virginia). Ask them whether they support the conference standing by its own rules under political pressure.

  4. Follow the NCAA’s appeal through the NCAA newsroom. A February 8, 2027 trial is scheduled. If the appeal succeeds before the season starts, the legal landscape changes significantly.

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