Ex-Texas Tech Player Sues NCAA Over Betting Suspension
Former Texas Tech wide receiver Roy Alexander filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on August 19, 2026 in Bexar County District Court in Texas, seeking to overturn a six game suspension imposed for betting on sports between January 2023 and April 2025.
The suit, first reported by ESPN, alleges the suspension is unjust and constitutes a breach of contract, and asks a judge to grant an injunction that would let Alexander return to the field before serving the full ban in his final season of eligibility.
Alexander played for Albany from 2021 to 2024, then Incarnate Word in the 2024 to 2025 season, before transferring to Texas Tech, where he appeared in three games last fall. He transferred back to Incarnate Word in January 2026, and the lawsuit alleges Texas Tech reported his past betting activity to the NCAA at that point.
The filing acknowledges that Alexander broke NCAA betting rules, but argues the six game penalty is disproportionate. According to the suit, his wagers through a sportsbook betting app were mostly under $12, with the largest a single $80 bet, and none involved a game played by either of his own teams. His lawyers argue that fact means the integrity of any game was never affected.
NCAA Holds Its Line
"While Roy has taken accountability for his actions, ceasing to stop wagering on his own, the [NCAA] dealt him a six-game suspension which is wholly unreasonable in light of the conduct," the lawsuit states, according to ESPN's review of the filing. The suit also says Alexander stopped betting on his own initiative in April 2025, after reading an ESPN article on the risks of wagering on college sport.
The NCAA rejected any suggestion it should soften the penalty. "The Association stands by these rules, which were recently upheld and supported by the majority of Division I schools, and we will continue to defend against threats to avoid accountability and undermine these common sense standards," the organisation said in a statement to ESPN.
A Second Texas Tech Case
Alexander was cleared to play in Incarnate Word's August 29 season opener, a 76-14 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State, because the fixture was against an NAIA opponent and did not count toward his postseason eligibility under the suspension.
He is the second Texas Tech player this year to challenge an NCAA betting suspension in Bexar County. Quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who transferred from Cincinnati in January 2026, was permanently ruled ineligible over gambling violations before a Texas judge granted him a temporary injunction in June that let him practise. Sorsby later withdrew his suit amid public criticism and declared for the NFL, where he went unpicked in the following draft.
Alexander's case differs from Sorsby's on the facts his lawyers are emphasising: smaller stakes, no bets tied to his own team, and a suspension he stopped voluntarily. Whether a Texas court views that distinction the same way it viewed Sorsby's injunction request will determine whether he plays again this season, or sits out the six games the NCAA has already assigned him.
The case adds to a run of college sports betting disputes reaching state courts this year, as more athletes contest how the NCAA enforces its wagering rules following the legal spread of regulated online casino and betting markets across the country.
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