Brendan Sorsby's Texas Tech future murky | Here's ghost transfer rules

With former University of Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby under NCAA investigation for reportedly making thousands of online bets during his college career, there's doubt about his eligibility and future at Texas Tech.

What would the Red Raiders do at quarterback if Sorsby is unavailable?

Texas Tech, which is scheduled to visit the Bearcats on Oct. 24, undoubtedly is familiarizing itself with transfer rules, and the DI Cabinet finalized its process for ghost transfer violations earlier in April.

The changes apply to all transfers on or after Feb. 25, 2026.

"On April 1, the Cabinet adopted a recommendation from the Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee to automatically penalize schools for circumventing transfer rules and adding to rosters or playing "ghost transfers," per NCAA.org's Meghan Durham Wright. "The penalties, which apply to all sports, include a suspension of the team's head coach for 50% of the season and a fine equivalent to 20% of that sport's annual budget."

The penalties are triggered automatically and expected to be self-applied by the schools.

Some have questioned whether the DI Cabinet's penalty process would hold up in court, and a school potentially could seek an injunction to keep its coach eligible.

What is a ghost transfer?

A ghost transfer takes place when a school circumvents transfer rules and adds a transfer student-athlete who did not enter the transfer portal to its roster, signs the student-athlete to a revenue-sharing agreement or permits them to practice or compete.

That said, there's no way to prevent someone from withdrawing from one school and enrolling at another.

Why are there new ghost transfer rules in place?

Instances that prompted the DI Cabinet to implement the new process for ghost transfer violations include but aren't limited to the following: