Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s eligibility case against the NCAA is set for trial on Feb. 8, 2027, long after the end of the college regular season and extending past the College Football Playoff.

Sorsby was ruled ineligible by the NCAA after it found he had bet about $90,000 on college and pro sports in a four-year span, including on his team when he attended Indiana in 2022. His appeal to the NCAA was denied on Friday.

But on Monday in Lubbock County, Texas, district judge Ken Curry issued a temporary injunction and restored Sorsby’s eligibility and said the NCAA cannot prevent him from “practicing, playing or otherwise participating on Texas Tech’s football team for the 2026 season.”

Sorsby, 22, filed for an injunction against the NCAA on May 18, seeking reinstatement. Sorsby’s filing accused the NCAA of being “deeply hypocritical” with regard to gambling and said Sorsby would be “irreparably harmed” if the injunction was not granted.

And that is just what Curry’s action did, much to the dismay of the college athletics community on Monday. The NCAA immediately appealed Curry’s verdict to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas in Amarillo. Each of the four district judges are graduates of the Texas Tech School of Law, according to their court biographies posted online.

Among the outraged parties on Monday was the Big 12 — Texas Tech’s conference. Commissioner Brett Yormark told ESPN that the conference’s executive board, and then likely the full board, will discuss what action the Big 12 could take.

College sports attorney Thomas Mars, who has tangled with the NCAA on eligibility issues in the past, told ESPN on Tuesday that he thinks the Big 12 can severely punish Texas Tech should a player ruled ineligible by the NCAA be inserted into the lineup.

“There is no question that the Big 12 could impose draconian sanctions on Texas Tech, and the type of sanctions would only be limited by their creativity,” Mars told ESPN.

On3 reported in January that Sorsby had struck a one-year deal with Texas Tech for estimated at $5 million in a move that put the Red Raiders among CFP title contenders.

After a solid season at Cincinnati in 2025, when he passed for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns, Sorsby was considered the No. 1 quarterback in the transfer portal.

–Field Level Media

Team USA captain Hilary Knight is joining the PWHL team in Detroit through a sign-and-trade deal with fellow expansion side Las Vegas, multiple outlets reported.

Las Vegas announced the signing of the 36-year-old forward to a one-year contract on Tuesday.

Per the reports, Detroit is sending its first-round pick in next week’s draft to Las Vegas to acquire Knight. The deal will not become official until the PWHL trade freeze lifts on June 16, the day before the draft.

A five-time U.S. Olympian who won her second gold medal this year at the Milano Cortina Winter Games, Knight is one of the most decorated players in women’s hockey history. The 10-time world champion also won gold in South Korea in 2018, and she three silver medals.

She spent last season as the inaugural captain of the Seattle Torrent and contributed 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 22 games. Knight played her first two PWHL seasons as the captain in Boston and has 54 points (26 goals, 28 assists) in 76 career games in the league.

–Field Level Media

The Somali referee who has been denied entry into the United States ahead of the World Cup has spoken out about his ordeal.

Omar Abdulkadir Artan, the 34-year-old who was named 2025 Male Referee of the Year by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), landed in Miami on a flight from Istanbul on Saturday, but was refused entrance into the country by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

He would have been the first-ever Somali referee to take charge of a match at the World Cup.

“Despite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career,” Artan said in a statement, according to the Miami Herald. “I would like to thank FIFA and CAF for all their support and I promise to keep (more) my refereeing levels up as I concentrate on the future.

“I want to thank the football family for their messages and wish my colleagues all the best success during the World Cup and I look forward to joining them again in future competitions.”

Artan had previously officiated in two African Cup of Nations.

A year ago, Artan took charge of his first major continental final, Leg 2 of the 2025 CAF Champions League final between Egypt’s Pyramids FC and South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns in Cairo on June 1.

His denial to enter the U.S. comes despite insistence from FIFA, in the buildup to the World Cup, that athletes and approved match officials would not be affected by increased immigration scrutiny from the United States government.

The current administration is enforcing a full or partial immigration ban from 39 countries. Somalia is among the nations where all immigrant and non-immigrant visas have been suspended.

Of 104 total matches at the 2026 World Cup, 78 will be played in the United States.

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request to clarify why Artan could not officiate one of the 26 matches being played in Mexico or Canada.

“FIFA can confirm that match official Omar Abdulkadir Artan will be unable to train and officiate at the FIFA World Cup 2026 after he was denied entry into the United States,” a FIFA spokesperson said in a statement. “FIFA is not involved in host country immigration processes, including visa adjudications, and has been informed by authorities that Mr Artan’s status will not be changed at present. In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country.”

–Early referee assignments for USA, Mexico set

FIFA announced some early tournament referee assignments with veteran UEFA Champions League official Danny Makkelie to take charge of the United States’ opener against Paraguay in Inglewood, Calif., on Friday night.

Born in Curacao, the Dutch citizen was the referee of two group stage matches at the 2022 World Cup.

In Europe, he took charge of the 2020 UEFA Europa League final between Sevilla and Inter Milan, as well as Leg 1 of this year’s UEFA Champions League semifinal between Atletico Madrid and Arsenal.

Meanwhile, Brazilian official Wilton Pereira Sampaio will be in the middle for the tournament opener between Mexico and South Africa on Thursday afternoon in Mexico City.

The 44-year-old will be making his second World Cup finals appearance after taking charge of four matches in Qatar in 2022. His biggest assignment came in the quarterfinals, where he officiated France’s 2-1 victory over England.

–Ian Quillen, Field Level Media