The fallout from the Brendan Sorsby case is only just beginning, and it is eerily similar to something the Iowa program went through only a few years ago.
Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has created a media circus not only with his transfer announcement, but also with something that occurred off the football field. The former Cincinnati star transferred to the Red Raiders this offseason, with Rivals ranking him as the No. 10 overall transfer in the 2026 transfer class. After transferring, other news has surfaced, keeping Sorsby in the spotlight.
Background of the Sorsby gambling case
The news surrounding Sorsby's commitment was big enough, but the story over the past few months has flipped to his gambling addiction and suspension by the NCAA for gambling. The NCAA ruled Sorsby ineligible for the 2026 season after it was revealed that he had gambled nearly $90,000 on college and pro sports over a four-year span.
Texas Tech fought the suspension, but the NCAA denied their appeal on May 5. Sorsby and his representation continued to fight the NCAA, and in an unprecedented move, a Texas judge granted him an injunction. Judge Ken Curry ruled that Sorsby's attorneys proved he will suffer "prominent, imminent, and irreparable" injury if he doesn't play for Texas Tech in 2026.
The NCAA will likely appeal the ruling, but the appeal could take place after the season. The decision not only proves the NCAA is losing its ability to enforce its own rules, but it also proves that Iowa and Iowa State athletes have legitimate cause to raise an alarm.
Iowa Football now has a case to fight a 2023 ruling in their own gambling probe
Before the Sorsby case came to light, Iowa and Iowa State were entrenched in a similar gambling scandal that did not go either program's way.
In 2023, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation used geofencing technology to discover sports betting on both campuses, with hundreds of students' betting information surfacing in the probe. Iowa DCI charged 14 players with gambling-related offenses, and all the players in the probe were immediately suspended by the NCAA.
Even though some players were ultimately not criminally charged, like Iowa's Noah Shannon, the NCAA ruled them ineligible for the 2023 season. That effectively ended Shannon's and many other players' college careers.
For the athletes who were not criminally charged, the punishment did not fit the crime, and Sorsby's injunction should not sit well with either program. It would not be surprising to see a statement from either program regarding Judge Curry's decision in the case. The NCAA is losing its grip on enforcing its own rules, and this ruling further proves that the court system will play a part in college athletics in the future.
Let us be clear: Sorsby is suffering from a gambling addiction that many people have struggled with, especially with sports gambling so easily accessible these days. However, the NCAA has clear rules on sports gambling, and Sorsby didn't follow them. He was caught, and a two-game suspension is ludicrous compared to what multiple athletes from Iowa and Iowa State suffered. The NCAA laid down the law regarding the Iowa-Iowa State gambling scandal, and no appeal or injunction was considered.
The landscape of college athletics took another crazy twist, and it isn't going to stop any time soon.
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