Fallout from this week’s Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s NCAA eligibility ruling continues to shake college sports.
As many powerhouse schools and conferences across the country threaten to boycott playing games against Texas Tech—in any sport—the three non-conference opponents on the Red Raiders’ 2026 football schedule have millions of dollars at stake as they weigh their options.
FCS program Abilene Christian is set to receive $375,000 from Texas Tech for traveling to Lubbock for the Red Raiders’ season-opener Sept. 5.
Conference USA member Sam Houston will be paid $1 million for playing at Texas Tech on Sept. 26—one of many seven-figure paydays that non-power conference teams will receive from top schools this fall.
It’s unclear if either program would have to pay a cancellation fee to Texas Tech if it backed out of its respective game, but simply forfeiting those guaranteed paydays would be a major blow to both Abilene Christian and Sam Houston as smaller schools that rely on big checks like that to boost revenue.
