Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark declined to address Brendan Sorsby’s gambling dispute during Big 12 football media days, saying the moment was meant to focus on the upcoming season and the league’s 16 schools. Yormark later emphasized the conference is “moving ahead as 16 strong,” including Texas Tech, which was part of ongoing discussions about potential penalties tied to whether Sorsby could have played this fall.
Sorsby will not play this season. After being granted a temporary injunction last month that would have kept him eligible, he later dropped his lawsuit against the NCAA. The AP reporting also describes the NCAA appeal and a still-pending federal complaint filed by the Big 12 in U.S. District Court in Dallas as part of the backdrop for how the conference planned to preserve options under its bylaws.
Yormark’s comments also touched on the Big 12’s broader football direction, including a multiyear agreement with Monster Energy as the entitlement partner for conference-controlled regular-season football games and men’s and women’s basketball. The conference’s schedule includes international games again this season: Arizona State and Kansas play in the Union Jack Classic on Sept. 19, and Kansas hosts Missouri the night before.