Texas Tech Board Chair Donated to Paxton Before Sorsby Intervention

The Texas Tech University board chairman donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign for U.S. Senate the day before Paxton called on the NCAA to allow the Texas Tech quarterback who admitted to improper sports betting to play without repercussions, The Texas Tribune reported. 

Cody Campbell, the board chairman, who has publicly defended quarterback Brendan Sorsby, donated $274,300 to support Paxton’s bid for Senate on June 10, according to campaign finance records. A day later, Paxton sent a letter to the Big 12 Conference on behalf of Texas Tech, telling the conference it must respect a June 10 temporary injunction and warning that sanctioning the university for allowing Sorsby to play would be “unlawful” and could expose it to $200 million in damages. 

Campbell declined to comment on the record to the Tribune. Sorsby will not play at Texas Tech this fall, not because of pending legal issues but because he applied to enter the NFL supplemental draft last month—a move the NFL denied.