Cincinnati spent much of the summer with one question hanging over the program. How much did the Bearcats know about Brendan Sorsby’s gambling? The NCAA has now answered it, and it’s not a good look for Texas Tech Board of Regents chair and billionaire booster Cody Campbell, who said he had “receipts” regarding the situation.
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The NCAA’s inquiry into Cincinnati athletics is closed, and the school will not face any punishment stemming from Brendan Sorsby’s gambling violations. The development was shared by The Athletic’s Justin Williams and first reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Scott Springer. The former Bearcats QB was given a Level III violation, but the NCAA determined the offense was limited to him individually.
“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 athletics spokesperson Zach Stipe said. “The inquiry is now closed, and the student-athlete was found to have committed a Level III violation.”
A Level III violation is considered isolated and limited in scope. That means the violation was assigned to Brendan Sorsby individually.
“All penalties for this violation are attached to the student-athlete and not the institution or other coaches, staff members or student-athletes,” the statement added.
The NCAA investigation was first reported July 8, when head coach Scott Satterfield and Cincinnati players were in Frisco, Texas, for Big 12 Media Days. At the time, Satterfield had accused Texas Tech of improperly pursuing Brendan Sorsby while he was still with the Bearcats. That accusation brought Cody Campbell into the picture.
“In the spirit of not publicly airing ‘family disputes,’ somebody should inform Coach Satterfield that Texas Tech has gone out of its way to not drag Cincinnati on the Sorsby deal,’” he wrote to Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark on July 8. “We have plenty of receipts, and he wants no part of it. This is not a fight he should start.”
Those claims made the story louder than it needed to be. The Cincinnati side was simpler. In August 2024, Brendan Sorsby’s name popped up in the school’s betting monitor while he tried to access PrizePicks for UFC. That wasn’t an NCAA sport, so betting on it wasn’t banned under NCAA rules.
Cincinnati compliance investigated and determined that Brendan Sorsby had been denied access to the platform. He did not place the bet, and the school then assigned him educational work. Now, with the school cleared, fans have started looking back at the claims that surrounded the investigation.
“If @CodyC64 was honorable, he’d admit his mistake after dragging an unrelated party’s name through the mud. Especially when he undermined the integrity of a university. We won’t hear a peep,” one fan wrote.
Another called it the “kind of thing that deserves a very public apology. #Bearcat.”
Then came the big question directed at Campbell, “CodyC64 wait I thought you had receipts?”
A fourth fan added, “Wow so all those Texas Tech fans had no idea what they were talking about? I’m shocked.”
Another added a jab writing, “Mr. Compliance just won his Super Bowl.”
Cincinnati also has a separate federal lawsuit against Brendan Sorsby involving a $1 million revenue-sharing buyout. But on the NCAA investigation into the school, the conclusion is now official: The Bearcats are clear.