​The NCAA is seeking to determine what the University of Cincinnati knew about former quarterback Brendan Sorsby and his gambling issues during his two seasons with the program. According to multiple media outlets, the NCAA has sent an official letter of inquiry to the school concerning Sorsby, who was deemed permanently ineligible by the NCAA in April after placing thousands of impermissible sports bets over the past four years. Sorsby spent two seasons at Indiana and two at Cincinnati before transferring to Texas Tech earlier this offseason; Texas Tech has since severed ties with him. Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield, who coached Sorsby during his Bearcats tenure, declined to comment on the letter at Wednesday’s Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas. Yahoo Sports was the first to report the existence of the letter, with ESPN also noting that Cincinnati had received it, both citing anonymous sources. A Cincinnati spokesperson would not confirm whether the school had received an NCAA inquiry. “We have had continuous conversations with the NCAA since the initial reports related to impermissible sports wagering began,” the spokesperson told The Associated Press. “As we have stated before, we do not believe any athletics official or staff member was aware of any impermissible sports wagering.”
The NCAA’s ruling declared Sorsby ineligible for making bets totaling at least $90,000 over his college career, triggering a protracted legal dispute. Sorsby wagered at least 40 bets while a freshman at Indiana in 2022, though none of those bets involved games in which he played. He later acknowledged placing at least 165 impermissible bets on college and professional sports, totaling at least $38,000 in 2024, including three wagers on Cincinnati men’s basketball made on a FanDuel account he shared with a friend. He also provided more than $60,000 to that friend to fund the shared account between December 2023 and June 2025.
Sorsby’s stock rose after transferring from Indiana to Cincinnati in 2024, as he threw for 5,613 yards with 45 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over two seasons with the Bearcats. He had been viewed as the top transfer-portal prospect before choosing Texas Tech for his final year of college eligibility. After the NCAA banned him, Sorsby sued and secured an injunction allowing him to play, but he later dropped the high-profile legal challenge. He then applied for the NFL’s supplemental draft, though the league ultimately decided not to hold a supplemental draft for him. The NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams last week stating that Sorsby will not pursue legal action against the league after denying his petition to enter the supplemental draft, and he intends to enter the NFL draft next year.
“I accept 100% responsibility for my actions,” Sorsby posted on Instagram recently.