​Frisco, Texas — tucked into the Fort Worth entertainment district known as The Stockyards, an emblematic, nearly eight-decade-old restaurant remains a place where more than bread is shared. At Cattlemen’s Steakhouse, deals are made along with meals. Under linoleum floors and wood-paneled walls, ranchers and cattlemen have gathered for almost eighty years to savor Texas-sized steaks, all while discussing business: cattle sales, markets, rodeo plans, and the kind of commerce that defines the area.
But just last week, on a Tuesday, college athletics claimed the spotlight as the main course. Officials from the Big 12 conference and administrative leaders from Texas Tech came together at Cattlemen’s to air grievances, evaluate the league’s trajectory, and, perhaps most crucially, to bury the proverbial hatchet in the wake of the Brendan Sorsby affair—a three-month saga that unsettled the college sports world. Those present described the meeting as a constructive step for the long-term coexistence of the two entities. For Texas Tech and the Big 12 along with its 15 other member schools, however, several issues still linger.
On Tuesday, during Big 12 football media days, Tech head coach Joey McGuire indicated that a full reconciliation would require more time. In an interview with Yahoo Sports, he acknowledged the complexity and the tendency for finger-pointing, adding that healing would be a gradual process. “I think it’s tough,” McGuire said. “I think there’s going to be a process. There’s a lot of finger pointing. It’s going to be something we’ll have to work through.”
As Texas Tech and the Big 12 strive to mend fences, the Sorsby situation remains unresolved. The NCAA has issued a letter of inquiry to the University of Cincinnati related to Sorsby’s tenure there, sources familiar with the matter told Yahoo Sports. While receiving an inquiry letter is not unusual and does not automatically indicate wrongdoing, it can signal the beginning of a formal review into potential rules violations, typically a process conducted in collaboration with the school involved. Sorsby spent his last two seasons at Cincinnati, and he has acknowledged wagering on sports. Cincinnati officials are expected to respond to the inquiry promptly, likely with documentation and information the NCAA requested.
A Cincinnati spokesperson would not comment on the letter of inquiry itself but offered a broader statement regarding the Bearcats’ ongoing situation with the NCAA: “We have had continuous conversations with the NCAA since the initial reports related to impermissible sports wagering began. As we have stated before, we do not believe any athletics official or staff member was aware of any impermissible sports wagering.” The NCAA generally does not comment on active inquiries and investigations with its member schools.
From the Dallas suburb on Tuesday, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark began the league’s football media days with a notable reluctance to address questions about Sorsby and the conference’s relationship with Texas Tech, the league’s most financially capable program. He told reporters that “today is not the time for better SEO,” signaling a cautious approach to media narratives around the subject while the league navigates the evolving landscape of college athletics.