Recapping a wild week: Texas Tech’s comeuppance, Gould’s extension, a CFP snoozer and Senate bill tumult

The busiest week of a chaotic month within a dizzying offseason ended Friday with a mix of clarity and clutter on key issues facing college sports.

Here’s our recap of four developments – one regional in scope and three relevant to every nook and cranny of the industry.

Monday: Big 12 KOs Texas Tech

The Brendan Sorsby affair came to an abrupt conclusion after Texas Tech was outmaneuvered by the conference, thanks to a dead-of-night legal filing.

After Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton threatened to sue the Big 12 if the Red Raiders were punished for playing Sorsby, the conference responded by asking a federal court to reaffirm (via declaratory judgment) its ability to sanction members in accordance with the bylaws.

The likelihood of victory for commissioner Brett Yormark and the other 15 schools was such that Texas Tech backed down Monday afternoon and parted ways with Sorsby, who gambled on his own team while redshirting for Indiana in 2022.

The big winner? Yormark, who stayed calm, acted decisively and showed the world that Texas Tech and its billionaire booster, Cody Campbell, don’t run the conference.

The big loser? The Red Raiders, of course.

Their hubris was matched only by their hypocrisy, given that they voted to sanction Baylor a decade ago using the same bylaws that they opposed. Paxton’s grandstanding (with Texas Tech’s support) was their ultimate undoing, as legal experts noted that the attorney general’s preemptive threat was necessary for the Big 12 to carry out its counterpunch in federal court.

In our view, the damage done to Texas Tech’s reputation within the conference and across the country will be severe and lasting. Until further notice, it’s institution non grata, a victim of its own ambition and bravado.

Notably, the Big 12 has not responded to a question from the Hotline seeking clarity on whether it has, or will, withdraw the legal complaint.

Given the likelihood that another school could attempt to challenge the conference, it might behoove Yormark to confirm his authority.

Tuesday: Pac-12 extends Gould

It was easy to miss, at least for fans in other regions, because of the Sorsby news. But the Pac-12 announced Tuesday morning that commissioner Teresa Gould has received a five-year contract extension that runs through the 2030-31 academic year.

The news, which broke Monday afternoon, came roughly two weeks before the Pac-12 officially returns (July 1) with the addition of seven schools.

The terms were not disclosed, although Gould received about $1.5 million in compensation for her first 10 months on the job, in 2024, according to conference tax filings.

The length of the contract is more significant than the dollars, however: Her tenure will span the duration of the Pac-12’s five-year media rights agreements with CBS, the CW and USA Network.

The deal was designed to offer the schools security during this tumultuous time but also the flexibility to seek opportunities elsewhere in the 2030s if another wave of realignment occurs.

Additionally, Gould’s extension provides the Pac-12 with vital leadership stability while it attempts to gain competitive traction and maintain political relevance within the roiling industry.

Wednesday: CFP expansion snoozer

The FBS commissioners gathered Wednesday in Denver with the College Football Playoff’s staff and media consultants, but no decisions were made on expansion.

In fact, the commissioners did not receive the information at the heart of the 24-team discussion: Will the influx of cash from TV partners justify doubling the field size and eliminating conference championship games?

After all, the 12 games added to the CFP schedule would be first- and second-round matchups (e.g., No. 9 vs. No. 24) that wouldn’t carry the same value as conference championships, especially in the SEC and Big Ten.

CFP executive director Rich Clark told ESPN that they “didn’t actually get into numbers as far as revenue goes.”

Instead, the discussion focused on the operational aspects of a 24-team field that would create a slew of complications with 12 additional games in the crowded December sports calendar.

“I’ll be honest, every time we gave an answer, two or three more questions would pop out of that,” Clark told ESPN. “That’s how good decisions are made. So we walked away with a list of things that we have to figure out and work through and give them some options.”

The CFP faces a Dec. 1 deadline to change the format for the 2027 season.

Thursday: Capitol Hill tumult

The chaos crescendoed Thursday following a Senate Commerce Committee meeting on the Protect College Sports Act, which addresses a barrage of issues facing college sports and has the support of all the FBS conferences … except the two that matter most.

The SEC and Big Ten remain opposed to the bill despite changes Thursday in the markup process. If anything, the relationship between the two conferences and the authors, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., deteriorated over the course of the day.

Cantwell accused commissioners Tony Petitti (Big Ten) and Greg Sankey (SEC) of exerting unacceptable control over their member schools, which prompted the conferences’ presidents to issue a joint retort.

Yes, it got ugly.

That’s not entirely surprising given Congressional involvement, but it underscores the rift that has developed between college sports’ most powerful conferences and the Group of Eight leagues.

At the heart of the conflict are two provisions within the PCSA that:

• Prevent the SEC and Big Ten from expanding.

• Offer a path to pooling media rights among the 10 conferences (and Notre Dame).

Both components are designed to reduce the influence held by the SEC and Big Ten. Naturally, they don’t want Congress telling them how to run their business.

In our view, the PCSA could pass the Senate but faces fairly long odds of becoming law. Both the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, and the House Majority Leader, Steve Scalise, are from Louisiana, which is SEC country.

But the frustration oozing from the Big Two – well, that won’t soon be forgotten.