​Before we wade into Brett Yormark’s patently performative posturing at Big 12 media days, let’s ground ourselves in a few undeniable facts. Back in March, the NCAA disclosed that it had received a tip—originating from an online sportsbook—about Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s gambling activity, and that the sportsbook had been alerted by law enforcement. In April, multiple sources told USA TODAY Sports that not only was Sorsby gambling on games, but that Cincinnati, his former team for two years, knew about it during the summer of 2025. Sorsby himself claimed in a lawsuit filed last month against the NCAA that Cincinnati was aware of the situation.
That brings us to Tuesday’s media day, a grandstanding showcase for Brett Yormark, the Big 12 commissioner, and what many liken to a modern-day P.T. Barnum for college sports. No moment is too trivial or too monumental to be leveraged for attention—and none seems safely immune to hype. During the event, a member of the media posed a legitimate, loud question that I’ll paraphrase: why isn’t Cincinnati part of any investigation into Sorsby’s gambling?
Yormark, who kicked off the day by announcing the conference’s new “entitlement” partner would adorn every football and men’s and women’s basketball jersey with a patch, and would have signage across fields and courts—because what better symbol of college athletics than NASCAR-style branding—seized the opening moment to respond. Instead of straightforwardly saying, “It’s an ongoing process,” he pivoted. He briskly moved to his left, locked eyes with the reporter, and declared, “Stand up, ask that question again, and then I’m going to give you the answer I want to give you.” After the question was repeated, he offered, “We’re going forward as 16 strong, and that’s my answer to your question.” It was a move that many viewed as the kind of stunt you’d expect at a showy media day, more about theater than clarity.
If there’s a clear directive we’d love to hear from Yormark, it would be this: the truth about Cincinnati’s alleged knowledge of Sorsby’s gambling, and whether that knowledge (or lack thereof) implicates the university in any way, should be addressed transparently. If Cincinnati knew and nevertheless played Sorsby, there ought to be NCAA sanctions. If Cincinnati didn’t know, why permit the university to bear the burden of a question that the conference itself should help resolve? It’s a moment that demands accountability, not dodge-and-deflect theater.
Now or never: the clock on expansion is ticking. Are the Big Ten and the SEC preparing a final maneuver? And as for preseason horizons, the season’s forecasts and all-conference prognostications will soon follow, but the central issue remains unchanged: clarity on the Sorsby matter and Cincinnati’s role in it.
What we witnessed at that media day, however, was not a straightforward answer to a legitimate inquiry but a display of adult-to-adult posturing aimed at diminishing the reporter’s question rather than addressing it head-on. If the NCAA and the Big 12 are serious about integrity and accountability, they should provide a direct, unambiguous update on the investigation’s status and the university’s involvement. If they’re not ready to do that, they should acknowledge as much and proceed with the matter as an ongoing process rather than offering a choreographed retort that leaves the essential questions unanswered. Until then, the concern about how the conference and the NCAA handle this issue will persist, and rightly so, because fans, players, and institutions deserve a straightforward accounting, not another act of high-stakes theater.