Texas Tech Can SUE Cincinnati Over Brendan Sorsby NOW.

The prospect of Texas Tech suing the University of Cincinnati over the Brendan Sorsby saga is largely a hypothetical exercise in legal brinkmanship, as there is no clear cause of action that would hold up in a standard court of law. While Texas Tech’s administration was understandably aggrieved by the collapse of a multi-million dollar NIL investment and the resulting reputational firestorm, shifting that blame onto a former institution is legally tenuous.

To succeed in a civil suit, Texas Tech would need to prove that Cincinnati committed a tort—likely fraudulent misrepresentation or negligent disclosure—during the transfer process. Specifically, Tech would have to argue that Cincinnati knowingly withheld information regarding the scope of Sorsby’s gambling activities or his addiction issues while acting as a "bad faith" partner in the transfer portal exchange. The challenge here is that NCAA schools are generally bound by student privacy laws (FERPA) and have no affirmative duty to disclose the private medical or behavioral history of a student-athlete to a prospective transfer destination.

Furthermore, the "buyer beware" nature of the modern transfer portal places the burden of due diligence squarely on the acquiring program. If Texas Tech’s vetting process—which presumably included interviews, background checks, and the oversight of a coaching staff—failed to uncover evidence that was potentially discoverable, courts would be unlikely to view Cincinnati as liable for that oversight.

Ultimately, such a lawsuit would likely be viewed as a desperate PR move rather than a viable legal strategy. Any filing would force discovery, potentially exposing Texas Tech's own internal vetting failures and creating a "mutually assured destruction" scenario that neither university would want to pursue. With Sorsby now headed to the NFL and the parties having moved on, the window for litigating the "what-ifs" has effectively slammed shut, leaving the situation as a cautionary tale rather than a legal precedent.

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