What BYU AD Brian Santiago said about Texas Tech and the Brendan Sorsby situation

PROVO — Brian Santiago has broken his silence on the situation surrounding Texas Tech and quarterback Brendan Sorsby, but not in the way his counterpart at Kansas State did shortly after a Texas judge reinstated the signal caller's eligibility despite admitting to violating NCAA rules in wagering on his own team while he was a backup quarterback at Indiana.

Speaking on BYUtv's "Sports Nation" in introducing new men's golf coach Todd Miller, Santiago said the league's athletic directors had a "healthy conversation" the day after Sorsby received an injunction from a Tarrant County, Texas judge in the 99th District court in Lubbock County preventing the NCAA from enforcing a permanent ban on the quarterback's eligibility.

"There's a lot swirling right now on this topic," Santiago said after participating in a conference call with league athletic directors and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark. "What I can tell you is the commissioner of our conference, the board of our conference, the presidents, the executive committee have a great handle.

"There's heightened emotion with this topic. It was a very healthy conversation we had yesterday. There was a lot of input. Out of respect for the conference, the commissioner has asked us to allow him to take our feedback to the board and let the board and commissioner handle it."

Santiago added he has "total confidence" in Yormark's leadership to guide the Big 12 through the situation, as well as the conference's executive committee that includes BYU president Shane Reese and his counterparts at Kansas and Kansas State. That group is expected to meet next week and gather the full board to discuss options and legal risks for the conference, according to Yahoo! Sports.

"Brett Yormark is a passionate individual about protecting the integrity of sport, and our board and the presidents are some of the best in all of the universities in this country," he said. "We have total confidence; we've had some great conversations with President Reese, and we have 100% alignment and confidence that he'll represent us in the Big 12 in a perfect way."

Referring to the "complicated" nature of the litigation amid the changing landscape of college athletics, Santiago added during a call with Scotty G. and The Coach on 1280 AM that "everybody is looking" to Yormark and the conference's leadership board to "make decisions that will be in the best interest of the conference and the individual schools."

"The tenure of the meeting was, you have some of the best ADs in the country that have been in this business for a long time," he added. "They're very respectful; certainly, there's a lot of respect in the room for Kirby Hocutt at Texas Tech. This is a super dynamic, complicated situation. Everybody shared thoughts, and it was clear that the commissioner was interested in what everyone had to say and he'll take a leadership role in this with the presidents. We'll get to a good spot."

Yormark said in a statement from the conference that the league had "thoughtful and productive" conversation among its athletic directors Tuesday about the "broader implications of the situation."

"Many of our athletics directors voiced their opinions," he said. "We will continue to have open and honest dialogue amongst the group and until there is something to report, these conversations will remain within the conference."

Utah athletic director Mark Harlan voiced his displeasure on social media following the judge's ruling Monday, saying he was "disheartened" with the situation. Kansas State's Gene Taylor went a step further, telling Yahoo! Sports that the injunction was "(expletive) bull (expletive)" in an on-the-record interview.

"I know the kid has a problem," Taylor said. "Well, get well and focus on your problem. It is absolutely devastating for him to be able to play when every other sport, no matter the level, deems an athlete ineligible or they are punished severely for betting on their team."

Granted anonymity by national media, other athletic directors took a similar tone following what ESPN described as a "spirited" discussion.

"You can imagine what the mood is," one Big 12 administrator told The Athletic. "There's one person who has a different feeling than anyone else in the room."

That one, of course, is Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt, who released a lengthy statement Wednesday morning attempting to detail his university's perspective.

"To my colleagues: I understand the frustration," he wrote. "This situation is hard, it is new, and there is no perfect answer. The system we're operating within is binary, but the situation is not. We are open to ongoing conversations about how to best handle these issues as an industry going forward. We will continue to be transparent in our decision-making. Most importantly, we will keep doing what we have always done, put our students first."

Related topics