Texas Court Sets a February Date for the Brendan Sorsby-NCAA Trial A Texas court scheduled Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s trial against the NCAA for Feb. 8, 2027, two weeks after the College Football Playoff National Championship is scheduled to be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The 99th District Court in Lubbock County, Texas, where Texas Tech is located, scheduled the trial Monday, the same day a judge granted Sorsby a temporary injunction that might clear him to play for the Red Raiders in 2026 even after the NCAA declared him ineligible for wagering on college sports. The NCAA has already appealed Judge Ken Curry’s ruling to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas in Amarillo. Each of the four justices in the Seventh District — Chief Justice Judy Parker and Lawrence Doss, Alex Yarbrough and Laura Pratt — are graduates of the Texas Tech School of Law, according to their online bios.
Curry’s ruling was met with outrage by coaches, athletic directors and conference commissioners after Sorsby admitted to making thousands of bets on college and professional sports during his career at Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech. Big 12 athletic directors held a conference call Tuesday with commissioner Brett Yormark. While TCU athletic director Mike Buddie and Kansas State AD Gene Taylor have suggested that the league’s other teams might elect not to play the Red Raiders this season, the league was still determining what action it could take in light of Curry’s ruling. “We had a thoughtful and productive conversation with our athletic directors today as we continue to work through the broader implications of this situation,” Yormark said in a statement from the Big 12. “Many of our athletics directors voiced their opinions. We will continue to have open and honest dialogue amongst the group and until there is something to report, these conversations will remain within the conference.”
No immediate action was expected from the Big 12, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The Big 12 has a process to address the ruling, and the executive board will meet Thursday to discuss options. That call will likely be followed by a full Big 12 board call early next week. “The ramifications of today’s ruling are significant and could have broad impacts across college athletics, creating great concern amongst our membership,” Yormark told ESPN on Monday. “I’ve been consulting with our key stakeholders and have scheduled meetings with our conference ADs and executive board this week.”
Prominent college sports attorney Thomas Mars, who helped Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss obtain a preliminary injunction to play for the Rebels this season after the NCAA denied his application for a retroactive medical redshirt for the 2022 season at Division II Ferris State, said he believes the Big 12 can take action against Texas Tech for using a player who was ruled ineligible by the NCAA. The NCAA ruled Sorsby ineligible after it discovered he wagered approximately $90,000 on professional and college sports over four years, including 40 bets involving Indiana football when he was a freshman with the Hoosiers in 2022. The NCAA denied Texas Tech’s appeal for reinstatement Friday. “There is no question that the Big 12 could impose draconian sanctions on Texas Tech, and the type of sanctions would only be limited by their creativity,” Mars told ESPN on Tuesday. “The Big 12 is not party to the Texas lawsuit and is, therefore, not enjoined from doing anything.”
Big 12 Bylaw 3.6 allows for the conference to sanction a member with a supermajority vote of disinterested directors after “representatives of the Member(s) that are subject of such vote has been given reasonable prior notice and the reasonable opportunity to be present and to be heard.” Among other reasons, the bylaw allows for the Big 12 to discipline a member for being “engaged in any action or a course of conduct materially adverse to the best interests of the Conference taken as a whole.” The bylaws allow for the disinterested directors to “be empowered to determine whether any Sanctions are appropriate, the type, extent, and conditions to any Sanctions imposed.” The bylaw allows for discipline that includes “prohibitions on appearance in postseason events or televised events, restrictions on revenue distributions, and limitations on recruiting or scholarships.”
If the Big 12 elects to discipline Texas Tech, it wouldn’t be the first time a college sports conference doled out punishment to one of its members. In November 2023, the Big Ten suspended Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh for the remainder of the regular season under its sportsmanship policy amid the NCAA’s investigation into the Wolverines’ in-person sign-stealing ring. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti had sole discretion to discipline Harbaugh and Michigan under that league’s bylaws. Attorneys representing Michigan and Harbaugh filed a breach of contract complaint in state court and sought an emergency temporary restraining order against the Big Ten, which would have allowed Harbaugh to continue coaching. Michigan and Harbaugh later dropped the complaint.
In October 2018, the Big 12 fined Baylor University $2 million for “reputational damage to the conference and its members” stemming from a sexual assault investigation that engulfed the school’s football program. After an independent report found that the university failed to follow Title IX legislation and adequately investigate allegations of sexual assault against members of the football team, Baylor fired coach Art Briles. Baylor president Kenneth Starr was demoted and later resigned, and athletic director Ian McCaw was suspended and also resigned.
After Driving the Pace Car for the Indianapolis 500 Curt Cignetti Shifts his Focus back to Indiana University Football Forget, for just a second, Curt Cignetti’s determination to deliver another Indiana football national championship and consider his Indianapolis 500 opportunity of a lifetime. The Hoosier head coach drove the pace car before the Memorial Day weekend race that culminated in one of the most spectacular finishes in the event’s 100-plus-year history. Felix Rosenqvist edged David Malukas in a final-lap shootout by 0.023 seconds, the closest finish ever. “It was a thrill,” Cignetti says during the annual Huber’s Winery IU alumni event. “I had the whole family there. It’s something we’ll remember forever.
“For me personally, it really was a rush. I got a couple practice runs in, hit 166 (mph), 177, but it was going to be like 70 to 80 (mph) for two laps, 90, and then on the last straightaway, get out of the way at about 110. Then kind of like an hour or two before the race, a couple of my teachers told me, ‘Well, no, we want you to gun it and go a little faster,’ so I had to like rev up the focus a little bit there. “We hit 170 on that last straightaway. It was a great spectacle. Once I got out of the car to watch that race from track level, it was just incredible and then it was an unbelievable finish. I learned a lot about racing. It was great.”
As far as the upcoming season, Cignetti and his staff are blending key returners from last season’s 16-0 team with highly regarded college transfers and incoming freshmen. Prospects are promising at multiple positions, including defensive line. Cignetti says “that position is talented and has a chance to really be a winning edge for us.” With three months before the Sept. 5 season opener against North Texas, much work needs to be done. “We’re coming off the national championship,” Cignetti says, “and there are a lot of feel goods out there. It’s really important we have the edge and get better. Our guys have to be humble and hungry. So much of it is between the ears. That’s going to be really important this summer and fall.”
Players have returned to campus to begin summer workouts. Cignetti says he lets the strength and conditioning staff handle much of that. “In the summer program, I’m pretty hands off. We’re allowed to do a little with them and our position coaches do, but not much. “Bigger, faster, stronger, keeping healthy, getting more flexible, getting quicker. They’ll get some 7-on-7 and drill work in, but we’ll have a lot of work to do in camp once training camp starts.” Cignetti says his summer focus is on opponent study and official visits. “I have some media stuff and we’ve got our camps, our summer camps, high school camps. I’m looking forward to getting out of the office for a few weeks near the end of June.”
Josh Hoover, a TCU transfer, follows in the transfer quarterback footsteps of Kurtis Rourke and Fernando Mendoza in Cignetti’s first two IU seasons, and in multiple years before that at James Madison. All of them have produced impressive individual statistics and lots of victories. The approach is simple and highly effective — every year bring in veteran quarterbacks with proven success and dial them into a balanced offensive attack and system that deliver points and yards at elite rates. For those who think It’s a challenge annually breaking in a new quarterback, Cignetti says, “we do it every year. Standard operating procedure.”
Hoover had an up-and-down spring, as Rourke and Mendoza did before him while adapting to a new system, new coaches, and new teammates. Both quarterbacks put up career numbers while leading the Hoosiers into the playoffs. Mendoza took it a step further by winning that national title and the Heisman Trophy and being the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. “I’m saying that all those guys have been similar,” Cignetti says. “Some good, some bad, some ugly. Summer’s always better. August is marked improvement and build off early season success. That’s what we’re hoping for.”
IU had multiple offensive and defensive players miss spring practice with injuries, which provided extra reps for younger players, transfers, and reserves. Was that a good thing? Cignetti had reservations. “We got a lot of guys reps, but sometimes guys get too many reps. When you’re going against three groups on defense and you’ve got 10 offensive linemen, I’d rather have the starters out there.” As far as next season’s prospects, Cignetti says, “we’ve got some nice pieces, and I think the positive of spring ball was we got to work with a lot of the new guys and the young guys. Now we’ve got to get everybody on the practice field because we had so many guys out for various reasons so we can really improve as a squad.”
Indiana University Baseball’s Hogan Denny Named to ABCA Midwest All-Region Team As one of the best all-around players in the area, sophomore outfielder Hogan Denny was named to the ABCA Midwest All-Region Second Team on Tuesday afternoon. The native Hoosier started 51 games this year and led the program with 74 base knocks in his second year of college baseball. Denny burst onto the scene in 2026 as one of the best bats in the entire conference. He started a game at five different positions, the first IU player since at least 2005 to accomplish the feat. He hit .357 on the campaign with 74 hits, 63 runs, 18 doubles, 14 home runs and 44 RBIs. He played in all but three games – missing those due to an injury suffered in early April. He maintained a fielding percentage of .989 in over 185 attempts.
This is the 15th ABCA All-Region honor for an IU player since head coach Jeff Mercer took over the program in 2019. He’s the fourth different outfielder (Devin Taylor, Korbyn Dickerson and Grant Richardson) honored in that same span. Denny was also named a First Team All-Big Ten selection following his stellar sophomore campaign. The Mooresville, Indiana native will spend his summer in the Cape Cod League playing for the Cotuit Kettleers. He is joined out east by teammates Jake Hanley, Caleb Koskie and Jackson Yarberry. Denny will head into his junior campaign next spring with 114 career hits, 96 career runs scored and 20 career home runs.
Indiana University Football’s Curt Cignetti named to Time’s 100 most influential people in sports in 2026 From athletes and coaches to advocates and investors, these are the people shaping sports today, says Time Magazine. Time included IU football coach Curt Cignetti on the list of the Top 100 most influential people in sports, including him as one of the “titans.”
Here’s what Time said about Cignetti: Two words will forever be associated with Curt Cignetti, who led Indiana to its first national football championship in January: “Google me.” That’s what Cignetti said at the national-signing-day press conference in 2023 when asked how he was going to sell his vision for the Hoosiers to high school recruits and players in the transfer portal. His point: he was a winner, as evidenced by the success he enjoyed at smaller programs, most recently James Madison, which he led to a 41-8 record across four seasons and appearances in the AP Top 25 rankings in 2022 and 2023. Indiana, known more for basketball, hadn’t done much in football, but Cignetti blew past all expectations. With Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza under center, Indiana finished the 2025 season 16-0. After Indiana’s 27-21 victory over Miami in the title game, Google added a delightful Easter egg at the top of the results page for those who searched for Cignetti: “Yup, he won.”
This was the inaugural TIME100 Sports, a list recognizing the 100 most influential figures shaping the global sports landscape. TIME Chief Executive Officer Jessica Sibley said: “The inaugural TIME100 Sports list recognizes individuals who are not only excelling in their fields, but also shaping culture, expanding opportunity, and influencing the world far beyond competition.”
To celebrate the reveal of the new list, TIME will host the first-ever TIME100 Sports Gala on July 16 in New York City. The event will feature remarks and appearances from members of the inaugural TIME100 Sports list, including four-time NBA champion LeBron James; Olympic gymnastics champion Jordan Chiles; world-champion figure skater Ilia Malinin; NBA Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg, soccer star Trinity Rodman; NBA All-Star Jalen Brunson; Olympic skiing champion Lindsey Vonn; NFL star Myles Garrett and many more. The TIME100 Sports Gala red carpet will be livestreamed, featuring interviews with select list-makers and special guests. Hosted by a presenter to be announced, and produced by TIME Studios, the livestream will be available to watch on TIME’s YouTube, Instagram and X accounts.
Brownstown Central ends Bloomington South’s Boys Golf Sectional Championship Streak One streak is over. There’s another Bloomington South’s boys golf team must focus on now to make their season complete. The Bloomington North Sectional that started in forecasted rain on Monday, June 8 at Cascades Golf Course, finished with a more surprising reign as unranked Brownstown Central earned it’s first postseason title in school history. The Braves overcame top competitors No. 19 South, Bloomington North, Bedford North Lawrence and Edgewood with four scores of 77 or better for a meet best 301. Just 19 shots separated the top five as South moved on with a 308 as did North with a 309. but BNL (315) and Edgewood (320) were left to rue a handful of shots that could have made all the difference.
“You’ve got to bring it,” South coach Dustin Carver said. “I kind of defined our round today as playing fearful. Not playing fearless from what I saw. Just some swings were very hesitant. “You can’t play that way. That’s my mindset as a person and as a coach and I try to instill that in our players. I’m proud of Colton coming in first and doing his thing. But you can’t play fearful and expect to win.” South did claim the medalist as senior Colton Watson repeated as champ with a 1-under 70. He won by three strokes, but the tough part was knowing the Panthers’ 11-year run of team titles was over. “It’s a little up and down,” said Watson, a four-year varsity player. “We’ve had our lows, we’ve had our highs. We’ve played some really good rounds with four scores and we’ve played some pretty bad tournaments. “But it’s a little disappointing to not get the win.”
It’s not been smooth sailing this season for the Panthers as they worked their way through their usually tough schedule and had to shift practices to Eagle Point with the Bloomington Country Club finishing up it’s course makeover. That said, South’s streak of six straight appearances at state is on the line next week at the Washington Regional. The Panthers have been to state 10 of the last 11 years. “I think we just block this out,” Watson said. “We’re obviously through, so we’ve got Thursday to focus on regionals. Bigger tournament, so why can’t we win that one?” Karl Bailey had a 77, Easton Bellini an 80 and Owen Wisley and Carson Gady each had 81s for South. Wisley bounced back from a 45 on the Pine to finish with a 36.
“Colton, Carson and Karl have been right there,” Carver said. “Colton and Carson have played really well. Your 4s and 5s have to play well to produce a good score and to get to where we need to.“We played well the second 18 at Delaware (Country Club in Muncie). We shot a 301 there and to me, it’s a lot tougher course than Cascades.” It was raining when Watson teed off and the humidity made sure, he never dried out. But he did heat up a bit with a 33 after making the turn. “I’m drenched in sweat today,” Watson said. “It’s maybe the hottest non-sunny day I’ve ever been in. But I had a couple mental mistakes on the (Pine). I shot 1-over and then, made a couple mistakes on 1, 2 and 3, but then I saw a birdie go in and I made three in a row. “All around, I played pretty well.”
Owen Valley senior Jake Cunningham made a big jump this year, going from an 81 last year to a high school career best 2-over 73 this time to take third place after Brownstown’s Eli Downing (73) won a playoff tie-breaker. Owen Valley was ninth (361), but Cunningham will make his first trip to regional. “Started off on the front nine a little wonky but I kind of came back on the back nine,” Cunningham said. “I started hitting the shots I wanted to and made some putts, some clutch putts. I had a really good save on the par 5 on the Pine, a long putt for bogey because I hit a tree.” Cunningham is the first Patriot to advance since OV was moved to the Bloomington Sectional from Martinsville where Kolton Jackson (2022), Mason Elkins (2021) and Colby Beckwith (2019) most recently got out. Nerves got the best of him last year but his focus kept him in control this time. “Driving here, I had the mindset of, ‘This is everything I’ve ever worked for. This is where all my work pays off. So I was coming here with that mindset and on the first tee, it was ‘Go’ mode. I had the switch and kept it on until my last putt.”
The Cougars were led by freshman Ryan Decker with a 74 to tie for fourth, while seniors took care of the rest: Alec Freund had a 76, Zayan Farzad a 77 and Rex Speer an 82. It was a tight race and a group effort got it done. “Great group of guys,” Farzad said . “We’ve grown a lot this year to keep our scores relatively low. We’ve been playing good as of recently, but yeah, there’s a lot of shots that we could have taken back. “I think we really could’ve won this thing. But we’re happy to make it out. We’re happy to compete at regionals and play well hopefully.”
Decker, Farzad and Freund all had steady rounds. “I’ve been playing good recently, I haven’t shot above 80 in a month,” Farzad said. “So I’ve just been having really good confidence in my game recently. And I was just telling the team, as a captain, we’ve just got to hone in, take advantage, this is our home course. “Keep it down the middle, limit your mistakes and score when you can.” That time was the Quarry 9 for Speer, who struggled to a 47 on the Pine before shooting even par (35) after the turn. “We were happy as a team to get out,” Carmichael said. “(Assistant coach Ben) EuDaly probably said it best after the round. I think all of them showed a good amount of fight today. Because if you look at their nine-hole splits, most of them had a three or four-hole stretch that was just real bad.
“The sport is set up where it is easy to quit, just phone it in. Rex shot a 47 on his front and came back with a 35 and I think that’s a great example of he could have easily just phoned it and said, ‘That’s OK, James (Johnson) will play just fine.” North upped the quality and quantity of its schedule this year. “I know the kids are tired,” Carmichael said. “And they showed a good amount of perseverance today. Just stay out there and get it done. “It was a very competitive sectional. But we didn’t really focus on any of the other teams or any of the others players. Just how do we play this course? If you can’t play on your home course, you can’t play well.”
Edgewood sophomore Teigan Hulbert, who was a somewhat surprising regional qualifier last year, fell short this time with an 81, a tough thing to swallow after the season that he had. Freshman Caleb Garrett led the Mustangs with a 79 while Hank Ripley and the lone senior, Jaxson Collier, each had 80s. Ike Wilkie also had an 81. “You take away some three-putts and some bad double bogeys and we’re right there,” Edgewood coach Garry Lee said. “The only silver lining is Collier is the only one graduating. “Teigen got off to an awful start and had an awful ninth hole and then played pretty well on the (Pine).” At the same time, Ike Wilkie was 10 shots better than last year. Hank shot 80 again. He’s right there. Caleb’s been kind of a nice surprise as a freshman. He’s been our medalist a couple times. It’s disappointing to think how close we really were.” BNL will still be represented at regional by Evan Tillett, who tied for fourth with a 74, and Hudson Martin, one of four players who tied at 77. Mitchell shot a 414, led by a 99 from Jackson Dralee. Lighthouse Christian played in the sectional for the second time, shooting a 455, led by a 95 from Nathan Biggs.
Jason Speer retiring as Boys Basketball Coach at Bloomington North Jason Speer has spent countless hours coaching and teaching the game of basketball as a head coach. He decided it’s time to stop adding to the total, announcing he has stepped down as the boys coach at Bloomington North after 11 years with the Cougars, the first two as girls coach, then nine with the boys. He’s also stepping away as assistant athletic director, remaining as a teacher at North. “Jason did a great job in his nine years as the Bloomington North boys basketball head coach,” North athletic director Andy Hodson said. “Our basketball program had some great success throughout his tenure, including two sectional and regional championships. “We are extremely thankful for all that he did for BHSN basketball, athletics, and the North community. We wish him nothing but the best as he turns the page on an outstanding coaching career.”
Speer’s son Rex, still competing with the North boys’ golf team, has been accepted into Notre Dame and will be a student manager with the men’s basketball program. It’s just one of the things Jason didn’t want to miss out on, thinking back at all the things he didn’t get to enjoy due to coaching. All the same, the time he invested in coaching is nothing he regrets. “I am very grateful for the opportunities, relationships, and experiences that Indiana high school basketball has provided throughout my career,” Speer said in a press release. “It has been an incredible journey, and I couldn’t be happier with how it has unfolded. “As I retire from coaching, I am excited to focus full-time on the classroom and to see what God has in store for my family and me in our very first offseason.”
Speer took over when Hodson resigned in 2017. Hodson and Speer were assistants together at North under Tom McKinney from 2001-04 before Speer went back to his hometown of Bedford as an assistant then over to Columbus North, going 115-48 in seven seasons. Speer was 127-83 with the Cougar boys, winning two sectionals in 2022 and 2023, both in highly dramatic fashion topping Bloomington South in overtime (32-28) and at Center Grove (43-41).
North beat Franklin for the regional title in 2022 before running into eventual champ Cathedral and the next year, the Cougars topped Columbus North (45-43) before being downed by undefeated powerhouse Ben Davis. “Coaching has been a tremendous gift in our lives,” Speer said in the release. “And I am happy to pass that opportunity on to someone else. I hope it brings them as much joy and fulfillment as it has brought to our family.” Hodson said the search for his replacement will begin immediately. Assistant coaches will direct the team this summer. The Cougars are expected to return two of the state’s top players in seniors Derrick Cross, a Junior All-Star this year, and Levi Lindeman in addition to senior starters Nate Walker and Tevin Bridgwaters from a 14-8 squad.
Taylor University Finishes 14th in 2025-2026 NAIA Director’s Cup Standings The Learfield NAIA Director’s Cup final standings were announced on Tuesday afternoon, with Taylor making history by finishing 14th out of 187 schools to have at least one team qualify for a NAIA National Championship event during the 2025-2026 year. The 14th-place finish was the highest for Taylor since the Learfield Standings began tracking results in 1996 and gave the Trojans a ninth Top-25 showing in that span and a sixth Top-25 finish in the past eight years. Taylor saw 12 of its 20 varsity teams compete at a NAIA National Championship event, highlighting its memorable 2025-2026 year with a NAIA National Championship in women’s cross country and a runner-up finish in baseball. Men’s cross country also finished fifth, women’s soccer ended ninth and competitive cheer ended in 11th at their respective NAIA National Championship events.
TU moved up one spot in the Learfield Standings on the strong spring season performances of baseball and the men’s and the women’s outdoor track and field teams. Baseball collected 90 points with its postseason march to the National Championship game, while men’s track finished 16th for 57.75 points and women’s track took 39 points with a 33rd-place showing. Taylor’s 186.75 points from the spring seasons, combined with 185.75 from the winter sports and 264.00 from the fall seasons put the Trojans in 14th in the final NAIA standings with 636.50 points.
Points are awarded for the Learfield NAIA Director’s Cup Standings based on team finishes at NAIA National Championship events in up to 13 varsity sports. Each school’s final point total must include results from men’s soccer and volleyball in the fall season and men’s and women’s basketball in the winter season. All additional points come from the school’s next nine-highest scoring sports.
Taylor Team Finishes at 2025-2026 NAIA National Championship Events
-Women’s Cross Country, 1st
-Baseball, 2nd
-Men’s Cross Country, 5th
-Women’s Soccer, 9th
-Competitive Cheer, 11th
-Men’s Indoor Track and Field, 15th
-Men’s Outdoor Track and Field, 16th
-Volleyball, 25th
-Women’s Indoor Track and Field, 26th
-Women’s Outdoor Track and Field, 33rd
-Women’s Basketball, 33rd
-Men’s Basketball, 33rd