UGA leads revolt over NCAA ruling

ATHENS — Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks believes college sports may have reached a breaking point.

In the wake of a Texas judge’s decision allowing Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby to play the 2026 season despite being ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA for gambling violations, Brooks is calling for schools across the country to reconsider competing against the Red Raiders.

“I’m not taking this lying down,” Brooks told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s time to lead, and it’s time to do what’s right.”

The comments came after Judge Ken Curry granted a temporary injunction Sunday that allows Sorsby to practice and play for Texas Tech while his lawsuit against the NCAA proceeds through the courts. The ruling effectively pauses the NCAA’s decision that declared the quarterback ineligible after an investigation uncovered extensive sports betting activity that included wagers involving his own school.

Brooks, who serves on the NCAA Football Oversight Committee, views the ruling as a threat to the integrity of college athletics.

“I think there needs to be serious conversations about not playing Texas Tech in any sports,” Brooks told Yahoo Sports. “This is not about Texas Tech — it’s about protecting our own locker room. We cannot in good conscience put our student-athletes on a field where the competitive integrity of the contest is compromised and overridden by the courts.”

Georgia has already taken action.

According to reports from ESPN and other outlets, the athletic department issued an internal memo directing coaches and administrators not to schedule future contests against Texas Tech without approval from athletic department leadership. Staff members were also instructed to notify university leadership of any existing or proposed matchups involving the Red Raiders.

Nebraska reportedly issued a similar directive, signaling growing concern among athletic departments about the implications of the ruling.

The dispute centers around Sorsby, a former Indiana and Cincinnati quarterback who transferred to Texas Tech. Court documents indicate Sorsby placed thousands of sports wagers totaling more than $90,000 over a four-year period. Public reports state the betting activity included wagers involving Indiana football and basketball while he was a student-athlete there. Investigators have not publicly alleged that Sorsby manipulated games or altered outcomes.

Texas Tech has defended its quarterback, citing his diagnosis of gambling addiction and his participation in treatment and counseling programs.

University president Lawrence Schovanec previously argued that the NCAA’s ruling should be modified in light of Sorsby’s recovery efforts and the broader rise of gambling addiction among college-aged men.

Following the injunction, Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt reiterated the university’s support for Sorsby, saying the school did not believe permanent ineligibility was warranted and that monitoring and treatment measures would remain in place.

The NCAA strongly disagrees.

In a public statement, the organization warned the ruling could have “damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing” consequences for college athletics and competitive integrity. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark echoed those concerns, saying the decision could have “broad impacts across college athletics” and announced meetings with conference leadership to discuss the situation.

The legal fight has quickly become a flashpoint in the larger debate over NCAA authority.

Brooks and Georgia president Jere Morehead have been among the most vocal advocates for stronger enforcement powers and federal legislation to create a uniform set of rules governing college athletics.

“We can’t allow the Wild West to continue any longer,” Morehead said during a recent University of Georgia Athletic Association board meeting.

The controversy arrives as college athletics continues to grapple with NIL payments, transfer portal movement and an increasing number of court decisions that have weakened the NCAA’s traditional authority.

Former Georgia Tech athletic director Dan Radakovich told Yahoo Sports that localized court rulings cannot be allowed to supersede national eligibility standards.

“You can’t have localized decisions move past NCAA rules,” Radakovich said.

The NCAA is expected to appeal Curry’s ruling, but the immediate impact is clear. Sorsby remains eligible to play while the case moves forward, and the debate over who controls college sports has intensified.

For Brooks, the issue extends far beyond one quarterback or one football program.

“If a state court wants to dictate eligibility rules,” Brooks said, “they can play themselves.”

As the NCAA, conferences and universities await the next legal step, one thing has become increasingly clear: the battle over the future governance of college athletics is no longer taking place only in conference rooms and NCAA headquarters.

It is now being fought in courtrooms.