Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said he understands the concerns of his colleagues regarding the case of Brendan Sorsby but backed the school’s commitment to seeing the quarterback through treatment for a gambling addiction.

Hocutt made his extensive comments in a statement issued Wednesday.

Sorsby, who transferred to Texas Tech in the offseason for a reported $5 million payday, was ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA after it was discovered he placed $90,000 in bets on sports — including on his own Indiana team in 2022. On Monday, a Lubbock County district court judge granted a temporary injunction that allows him to play in the 2026 season.

The NCAA issued an immediate appeal over the decision, which outraged athletic directors and coaches from programs across the country.

“I’ve watched the reaction to Monday’s court ruling with great respect for my colleagues across college athletics,” Hocutt began his statement. “Many of them are people I admire. But I also owe it to Texas Tech, and frankly to the truth, to offer a few facts that seem to be getting lost in the noise.”

Sorsby filed a suit seeking the injunction to allow him to play, with a trial set for next year — after the conclusion of the season. But if the NCAA’s appeal is unsuccessful, he will play for the Red Raiders.

Hocutt said the university is not a party to the lawsuit and is not funding it.

“A young man in treatment for a clinically diagnosed addiction exercised his legal right to seek a remedy in court, and a judge agreed with him. Our role has been to support his recovery, not to engineer his eligibility,” Hocutt said.

“I’ve heard the word ‘integrity’ used a great deal in the last 48 hours. As someone who has dedicated his career to college sports, I, too, believe integrity is central to our industry’s success. I also think integrity applies on more than one front. The integrity of sports matters. So does the integrity of how we treat a 22-year-old who sought help, entered residential treatment, and is working every day toward recovery. Those two things don’t have to be in conflict.”

Still, NCAA member institutions – including the Big 12, Texas Tech’s conference – are trying to figure out their next steps.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark led a call with conference athletic directors on Tuesday and has scheduled calls with the league’s executive committee and campus presidents in the coming days.

“We will continue to have open and honest dialogue amongst the group and until there is something to report, these conversations will remain within the conference,” Yormark said in a statement.

The Big 12 and the College Football Playoff, which is independent from the NCAA, also must consider what legal options are open to them should Sorsby ultimately be allowed to play by the courts.

The Athletic reported that coaches in all sports have been told by officials at Nebraska and Georgia not to schedule competitions against the Red Raiders. The Big Ten is expected to take up the issue on Wednesday with its member universities, per the report.

Hocutt said Texas Tech has a duty to assist Sorsby.

“Let me be direct about what Texas Tech’s position actually is: we are glad Brendan is still part of our community, because that is where we can extend him the best possible support in his ongoing recovery,” Hocutt said. “Clinical care, device monitoring, financial oversight, outpatient therapy – that infrastructure exists because we take our responsibility to this young man seriously.”

Sorsby spent his past two seasons at Cincinnati before leaving for Texas Tech. He also played at Indiana for two seasons (2022-23).

–Field Level Media

Ticket prices for NBA Finals games continue to plummet with the get-in price ahead of Game 4 between the Knicks and San Antpnio Spurs dropping to $3,898 hours before the Wednesday night contest at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The get-in cost for the Knicks’ second home game of the series had skyrocketed to nearly $13,500 before New York’s loss in Game 3 on Monday. But the defeat means the Knicks can no longer sweep the series, which will extend to at least Game 5 in San Antonio.

That led to a drop in Game 4 get-in prices to $4,025 by Tuesday. The trend continued on Wednesday with the three-day average for the game now down 66% to $3,898, according to ticket tracking service TicketData.

And for the first time in the series, the three-day average for all remaining potential games have seen a decline — and now all are in double-digit decreases.

NBA FINALS GET-IN PRICES*

Game 4 — New York: $3,898 (down 66% past three days)

Game 5 — San Antonio: $1,414 (down 24%)

Game 6 — New York: $9,262 (down 19%)

Game 7 — San Antonio: $3,549 (down 18%)

*Source: TicketData

The soonest the Knicks could clinch their first NBA title in more than a half century is Game 5, which has the lowest get-in price among the remaining potential games. Should the series return to New York for Game 6, the get-in price has dropped below $10,000 for the first time since New York won Game 1 in San Antonio, but still remains by far the most expensive at $9,262.

For comparison, the past two Super Bowls had day-of-game get-in prices of $2,002 in 2025 and $3,251 this year. The average Super Bowl get-in price since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic has been $3,914, according to TicketData.

Outside of the World Cup and the Stanley Cup Final, the next-most expensive sporting event through the end of the year currently is UFC 329. The card featuring the return of Conor McGregor against Max Holloway currently has a get-in price of $1,369 and is set for July 11 in Las Vegas.

The Knicks opened the series as significant underdogs, but flipped to -140 favorites at BetMGM following their Game 1 victory. Now ahead 2-1 with up to two more games at home, New York is still the -185 favorite compared to San Antonio at +155.

–Field Level Media

Drew Rasmussen struck out a career-high 13 batters over seven scoreless innings, and the Tampa Bay Rays held on for a 7-5, series-sweeping win over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon.

Rasmussen (6-2) allowed just two hits in the dominant outing. He struck out the side in order twice and did so again while working around a walk in his final frame. It marked the second straight outing in which Rasmussen threw seven shutout innings.

Nick Fortes went 4-for-4 with three runs scored to lead the Rays, including back-to-back doubles in his first two at-bats. Yandy Diaz added a 3-for-5 showing with one run scored and two RBIs.

After Ceddanne Rafaela’s three-run home run brought Boston within 5-4 in the top of the eighth, Cedric Mullins provided insurance for the Rays with a two-run shot out to right-center field.

Caleb Durbin accounted for half of Boston’s hits, going 3-for-4 with solo homers in the eighth and ninth innings.

Rasmussen mowed down the Red Sox in the early going, striking out the side in order twice while facing the minimum through the first four innings.

After Boston counterpart Jake Bennett (1-2) fanned three of his first six batters, the Rays manufactured the opening run after Fortes hit a leadoff double just off the top of the left-center field wall in the third. Fortes advanced to third on Mullins’ sacrifice bunt and scored on a Taylor Walls sacrifice fly.

The Rays knocked around Bennett for four hits in five batters to begin the fifth, upping their lead to 4-0. Fortes sparked the inning with a second opening double before back-to-back singles by Taylor Walls and Yandy Diaz plated another run.

Austin Slater’s RBI double made it 3-0, as his line drive up the middle deflected off Bennett and into a vacated hole between shortstop and third base. Two batters later, Ryan Vilade added a sacrifice fly.

Bennett was charged with four runs on seven hits through the first five innings.

In the sixth, Diaz’s second run-scoring single in as many innings brought home the fifth Tampa Bay run. Fortes started the frame with a one-out single before Wells’ single moved him up to third.

Durbin greeted Tampa Bay reliever Cole Sulser rudely to begin the eighth, depositing a leadoff solo homer down the line in left. After Isiah Kiner-Falefa walked and Jarren Duran singled off Steven Matz, Rafaela crushed a three-run homer out to left-center two batters later.

The Mullins homer proved to be key, as Durbin knocked out a two-out solo shot to deep left in Boston’s ninth, but Garrett Cleavinger finalized the save with the final two outs.

–Field Level Media