Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire says Brendan Sorsby controversy brought Red Raiders 'closer'

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Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire speaks during Big 12 Football Media Days at Ford Center on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in Frisco. (Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News)


FRISCO - The biggest offseason saga in college football was bound to come up Tuesday as the Big 12 held its annual preseason event.

Just don't ask commissioner Brett Yormark.

During the Q-and-A portion of his state of the league address, Yormark dodged questions about Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who was banned by the NCAA for betting thousands of dollars on college football while playing at Indiana and Cincinnati.

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"Today is not the time to address that issue," Yormark said during his remarks as the Big 12 kicked off its two-day event inside The Star. "Today is about celebrating the upcoming football season and celebrating our 16 schools."

Yormark was later asked by a reporter about perceived targeting toward Texas Tech while Cincinnati was not penalized despite indications the school was aware of Sorsby's gambling violations. Cincinnati has denied knowing about Sorsby's gambling.

At one point, Yormark walked to the other side of the stage and asked the reporter to "stand up (and) ask that question again." In the question, the reporter noted the Big 12 previously marketed the notion of being "greater than 12" when promoting the league's 16 teams.

"No, I didn't say greater than 12; you misquoted me," Yormark said. "I said, ‘We're going forward as 16 strong.' And that's my answer to your question. But thank you for that question. Appreciate it."

It was the latest chapter in the Sorsby saga, which included legal wranglings, threat of possible sanctions by the Big 12 against Texas Tech, a since-dismissed court order and the quarterback's decision to walk away rather than challenge for a final year of college eligibility.

Sorsby won't play a down for Texas Tech, but he still cast a large shadow as the countdown to the college football season officially began. Sorsby was granted a temporary injunction against the NCAA that would have allowed him to remain eligible even after he acknowledged making thousands of impermissible bets worth at least $90,000 on college and pro sports. Some of the bets occurred on his own team when he was a freshman at Indiana in 2022.

Sorsby has since dropped his lawsuit against the NCAA. The Big 12 filed a still-pending federal complaint in U.S. District Court in Dallas.

Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire was more than happy to talk about the offseason chaos - and the chance for the Red Raiders to move on and begin defense of their championship.

"Shared adversity brings you even closer," McGuire said. "You know, the last couple of months, we've gone through some adversity."

McGuire said despite the way the offseason played out publicly, it was business as usual inside the Red Raiders' Lubbock headquarters.

"I do believe if you walked into our building every single day and you walked into the weight room and the workouts or football school, you wouldn't know that anything was going on," McGuire said. "At no point did I feel, you know, over the last few months that anything is taken away from the football as far as in the building."

McGuire was asked if his position defending Sorsby cost him his reputation, particularly among other coaches.

"It's tough," he said. "You know, the thing for me that through all of this, my president and my AD, who are good friends of mine, who believed in me, who hired me, they went through a lot. If you look as a whole, there were not a lot of coaches that said really a whole lot. There were some funny jabs taken by some coaches, but there wasn't a lot of coaches that just really came out and said a lot of different things."

McGuire said he got a call from Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris. BYU coach Kalani Sitake reached out. Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham made a joke on a group text.

"I had so much support from my peers," McGuire said. "And it was tough to see Kirby (Hocutt) and president (Lawrence) Schovanec have to go through that. I hate that for them."

As he wrapped up his appearance, McGuire began to field questions about his football team. Does he expect quarterback Will Hammond (knee) to be ready for the season? Can the Red Raiders' defense be just as good? Can Tech repeat as champs?

"We want to do something that very few teams have been able to do, and that's to win the Big 12 championship again," he said.

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This article originally published at Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire says Brendan Sorsby controversy brought Red Raiders 'closer'.

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