The fallout from the injunction granted to Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has drawn widespread reaction across college athletics, with major programs reportedly taking steps to avoid scheduling Texas Tech.
The situation has become serious enough that the Big 12 is expected to address the issue with its member schools as the league works through the fallout.
Outside the Big 12, SEC and Big Ten schools have reportedly started to reassess future scheduling plans involving Texas Tech.
Big Ten athletic directors and commissioner Tony Petitti reportedly met Wednesday to discuss a potential league-wide ban on scheduling Texas Tech in all sports.
The controversy has generated a response that will hit home for many Penn State fans.
Texas Tech mega-booster Cody Campbell is not backing down from the criticism surrounding Sorsby.
Campbell, appearing on Dan Dakich’s show, pushed back on the outrage and compared the situation to how schools responded to past controversies at other major programs, including Penn State.
His larger point was that schools did not refuse to play major programs after serious off-field scandals, but some Big 12 rivals are now objecting to facing Texas Tech with Sorsby eligible.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“There are kids that are playing and have gotten DUIs, that have beaten up women. There are kids that have committed horrible acts,” Campbell said. “Nobody boycotted playing Penn State a few years ago when that horrible situation happened there.”
Campbell suggested the reaction has less to do with principle and more to do with Texas Tech becoming a legitimate threat in the conference.
“It’s because the college football world doesn’t think that Texas Tech should be as good as we are,” Campbell said. “We’ve been a disruptor, just like Indiana has. And so we’re a target, and we have been before any of this started.
“Now, the volume has gone way up, and a lot of it’s been directed at me and Coach McGuire and our university. But that’s not fair. If this had happened at LSU, people would say, ‘Ahh, it’s LSU. They’re always going to kind of do what they do.’ But it happened at Texas Tech, and people don’t want to compete with us.”
The Red Raiders have leaned heavily into the modern NIL era and have been aggressive in building their roster. Campbell argued that Texas Tech’s rise has made the program a target and said opposing athletic departments have a competitive interest in keeping Sorsby off the field.
Sorsby is expected to miss the first two games before becoming eligible under the court ruling.
The case is not finished, however. The NCAA is expected to continue fighting the decision, and the Big 12 could still face pressure from its member schools as the season approaches.
