The University of Cincinnati is off the hook for any wrongdoing in the aftermath of quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s illegal gambling activity.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported on Wednesday that the NCAA had cleared the university following an investigation.
Key Takeaways
- An investigation found that Sorsby placed at least 165 bets on college sports and at least 40 on his team.
- Sorsby’s lawyers claimed that Cincinnati was aware of Sorsby’s betting activity.
- The NCAA can enforce a permanent loss of eligibility in sports betting cases
Sorsby, the highest-ranked player in the 2026 college football transfer portal, played the 2024 and ‘25 seasons at Cincinnati before committing to play his redshirt-senior year at Texas Tech. Plans changed when he was declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA in April after his history of illegal betting came to light.
Investigators found that Sorsby placed thousands of wagers on a variety of sports, including college football. At least 40 of those wagers were on Indiana games, in none of which he participated, when he was still a member of the program from 2022-23.
Despite his violations, Cincinnati will not be subjected to punishment for Sorsby’s actions while at the university, the Cincinnati Enquirer first reported.
“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,” Cincinnati senior associate athletic director for communications Zach Stipe said in a statement.
“The inquiry is now closed and the student-athlete was found to have committed a Level III violation. Cincinnati worked closely with the NCAA throughout the process, which began when the initial reports of impermissible sports wagering began.”
The Level III violation was ascribed to Sorsby, not Cincinnati, its athletics department, or members of its football program.
UC’s compliance department had informed Sorsby of the NCAA’s gambling bylaws, which ban student-athletes from betting on sports, especially NCAA-sanctioned events. Despite that, ProhiBet, a program developed by IC360 that prevents unapproved personnel from placing sports bets, flagged him for attempting to place at least one wager. The app prevented him from accessing the betting site.
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Cincinnati was in the dark
The NCAA sent a letter of inquiry to Cincinnati regarding Sorsby in July following a radio interview with Sorsby’s agent, Ron Slavin.
Slavin claimed that the university had been aware of Sorsby’s gambling activity and chose not to enact any punishments or report him to the NCAA. Cincinnati contested that claim and welcomed an investigation, which revealed that it did not commit any wrongdoing.
Sorsby previously admitted that he made at least 165 illegal bets worth at least $38,000 on college and professional sports, including three bets on Cincinnati's men’s basketball team using a FanDuel account he shared with a friend. He also deposited more than $60,000 into the account from December 2023 through June 2025.
On June 8, a Texas court issued a temporary injunction that would’ve allowed Sorsby to play in the upcoming college football season. The NCAA and Big 12 filed a lawsuit in federal court that aimed to authorize the use of enforcement protocols and sanctions for Texas Tech if it played Sorsby in a regular-season or postseason game.
One week after the injunction was issued, Texas Tech and Sorsby agreed to part ways. He planned on entering the NFL’s supplemental draft, which the league opted not to host.
NCAA sports betting scandals
The Sorsby case was far from the only high-profile college betting scandal.
A slew of current and former college basketball players were indicted this year on charges related to match-fixing. The piling list of incidents has led NCAA President Charlie Baker to become more committed to his campaign of rolling back dangerous betting options, namely, player props, which he believes are vulnerable to nefarious manipulation.
The NCAA still firmly prohibits sports betting and can enforce varying degrees of punishment for infractions, from educational training to a permanent loss of eligibility.
