New judge appointed in Texas Tech football QB Brendan Sorsby case

A retired Tarrant County judge has been appointed to hear arguments in the Brendan Sorsby case as the Texas Tech football team's starting quarterback fights to regain his eligibility, having acknowledged he broke NCAA rules on gambling. Bloomberg Law reported on Thursday, May 21, that Senior Judge Ken Curry, who retired from a Tarrant County district court bench in 2012, was assigned in Sorsby's case against the NCAA. The report cited a court order.

More: Judge recusing on Texas Tech football case makes right call | Opinion More: We're having the wrong discussion in regard to Brendan Sorsby | Opinion Texas Tech has ruled Sorsby ineligible and asked the NCAA to begin the process of reinstatement. Sorsby's legal team on Monday, May 18, filed for an injunction that would allow him to play in the 2026 season. Curry's appointment came one day after Lubbock District Judge Phillip Hays filed an order recusing himself .

Sorsby's suit was filed in Lubbock's 99th District Court, over which Hayes presides. Hayes is a Lubbock native and a Texas Tech graduate who has practiced law in Lubbock for about 36 years. The new judge was assigned by Judge Ana Estevez, who presides over the 9th Administrative Judicial Region, which includes Lubbock.

According to his biography at trellis. law, Curry earned a political science degree from UT-Arlington in 1974 and a law degree from the University of Houston in 1976. The Fort Worth native served as a judge for the 153rd District Court in Tarrant County.