The University of Cincinnati has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the NCAA’s investigation of former quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who was deemed permanently ineligible by the NCAA this summer for extensive gambling violations, according to the university.
“Earlier this summer, NCAA enforcement staff completed an inquiry into a former Cincinnati student-athlete’s prohibited betting activity during his time at the university. The inquiry is now closed, and the student-athlete was found to have committed a Level III violation,” Cincinnati athletics said in a statement from spokesperson Zach Stipe. “A Level III violation is considered isolated and limited in nature. All penalties for this violation are attached to the student-athlete and not the institution or other coaches, staff members or student-athletes. Cincinnati worked closely with the NCAA throughout the process, which began when the initial reports of impermissible sports wagering began.”
News of the NCAA clearing Cincinnati was first reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The NCAA’s inquiry into Cincinnati stemmed from its investigation into Sorsby’s impermissible gambling, which is standard NCAA practice in related investigations. Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech in January after two seasons at both Indiana and Cincinnati. The quarterback entered a 30-day rehab facility in April to treat his gambling addiction and admitted to wagering at least $90,000 on more than 9,000 bets over the course of his college career, according to court documents, including wagers on his own team as a member of the Hoosiers.
Sorsby briefly regained his eligibility in June after an extensive eligibility battle, including a lawsuit against the NCAA in Texas state court. He ultimately dropped that case after a separate lawsuit by the Big 12 Conference against Texas Tech left the Red Raiders vulnerable to potential league sanctions if Sorsby played college football in 2026. Sorsby was denied entrance into the NFL’s supplemental draft this summer and is training for the 2027 NFL Draft.
In August 2024, while Sorsby was a member of the Cincinnati Bearcats, he triggered a gambling alert via the university’s integrity monitoring software when he attempted to place a bet on UFC, according to court documents, which would not have been impermissible under NCAA rules because UFC is not an NCAA sport. Regardless, the software prevented Sorsby from placing a bet, and he was then interviewed by Cincinnati’s compliance office and received sports gambling education. Multiple people briefed on the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, also told The Athletic that in the summer of 2025, ahead of Sorsby’s second season with the Bearcats, the quarterback approached Cincinnati’s compliance office to clarify that he could bet on UFC. He was again reminded of the gambling restrictions for college athletes.
In June, Sorsby’s agent Ron Slavin claimed in an interview with a Dallas-area radio station that Cincinnati was aware of Sorsby’s gambling “for two years and never said anything and didn’t do anything about it.” Then in July, in response to Cincinnati football coach Scott Satterfield claiming Texas Tech tampered with Sorsby while he was with the Bearcats, Sportico reported on a text message from Texas Tech Board of Regents chair Cody Campbell to Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark in which Campbell said Tech had “plenty of receipts” regarding Sorsby and Cincinnati.
The University of Cincinnati maintained throughout the investigation that it had no prior knowledge of any impermissible gambling by Sorsby. Cincinnati also has a separate, ongoing federal lawsuit brought by the university against Sorsby over a $1 million buyout that was part of a multi-year revenue-sharing agreement between Sorsby and the Bearcats.
