The villain in many a western movie wore a black hat.
There was Lee Van Cleef’s Angel Eyes from “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” with his steely, cold gaze beneath that black hat, perfectly suited to his portrayal of a merciless bounty hunter.
Who can forget Henry Fonda’s ruthless killer Frank from “Once Upon a Time in the West,” or Jack Palance’s unscrupulous gunfighter Jack Wilson from “Shane,” or Lee Marvin’s ruthless outlaw from “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.”
The villain typically wears black, which fits perfectly for Texas Tech athletics, as one of its two primary colors is black. Even though the official mascot, “The Masked Rider,” dons a white hat with a black band, but close enough.
A pair of billionaires from the hydraulic fracking industry, Cody Campbell and John Sellers, have poured millions of dollars into The Matador Club, Texas Tech’s NIL collective. The objective was simple, and many folks supported it at first, as the group led by Texas Tech grads was hell-bent on taking down the blue bloods in this new era of college athletics.
The Red Raiders would outspend everyone else and, in the process, hoist those elusive national titles that were always out of their grasp. It didn’t matter that the tycoons were self-serving, as the football playing field was named after one of them, and the softball facility was rebranded after the other’s wife.
As long as all the money is paid off, it’s all that matters.
The early results have paid off as the softball team has gone to back-to-back Women’s College World Series championship series, and the football team won 12 games last season, won the Big 12 Championship, and earned a berth in the College Football Playoffs.
But in the past few weeks, any sympathy for the teams out in West Texas, with their fans that shoot finger guns, has evaporated quicker than juice out of a desert cactus plant.
It began with the softball team hitting the portal and buying All-American players Taylor Pannell (Tennessee) and Mia Williams (Florida), which raised eyebrows. Most notably, Tennessee coach Karen Weekly, who did not mince words about alluding to tampering going on in sports, including her program.
The program’s RPI this past season took a hit as teams refused to play the Raiders, who had 15 transfers on the roster, and then came a few dustups that turned the softball program into wearing black hats.
Williams was hit by pitches five times in the Gainesville Super Regional, and her father, former Gator basketball star Jason Williams, was ejected from the ballpark during the first game. In the winner-take-all game, Mia made waves with a bat flip while her father yelled at the Florida dugout, and then, after the win, he was allowed to give a postgame speech on the field.
Then came what transpired in Oklahoma City at the Women’s College World Series.
After a defeat to Tennessee, former Lady Vol-turned-Raider Pannell claimed her former coach told her in the handshake line, “that she made a mistake.” Weekly vehemently denied that it happened and called it an “outright lie,” and video evidence from ABC and ESPN’s coverage supported the coach’s claim.
Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco, formerly of Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns before going to the greener pastures of Lubbock, has embraced “the villain” moniker, telling ESPN’s Holly Rowe, “If softball needs me to be the villain, I’m all about it.”
Who needs integrity when you are getting millions to chase championships? Which is why everyone cheered the fact the team lost for the second straight year in the championship to Texas, who, by the way, spent more money on their roster.
Then came the football team drama.
Earlier this year, Texas Tech drew the fastest in the gun fight for the NCAA Transfer Portal’s most prized quarterback — former Indiana and Cincinnati signal caller Brendan Sorsby. The QB chose Tech over LSU, Miami, and Tennessee, among others, and signed a reported $5 million NIL deal.
After spending an estimated $25 million on the 2025 roster, five million for a quarterback was nothing. Campbell himself told reporters that the fund would “double down” on roster investment in 2026.
Texas Tech took out a giant billboard in Times Square to celebrate, and it appeared the Red Raiders would be title contenders in 2026. But being a quick draw may have been a mistake.
In April, news broke that Sorsby bet on games while a student-athlete. The NCAA ruled Sorsby ineligible to play this season after it discovered he wagered approximately $90,000 on professional and college sports over four years. This included 40 bets involving Indiana football while he was a freshman with the team in 2022. The appeal was also denied by the NCAA.
Sorsby took an indefinite leave of absence and entered a treatment program for gambling addiction, while he filed for an injunction.
Then came the unexpected moment earlier this week when Texas judge Ken Curry granted a temporary injunction and ruled Sorsby could play this season, sans a two-game suspension to start the season. The judge’s rationale was that Sorsby would suffer “irreparable harm” if he wasn’t allowed to play for Texas Tech.
If he were not able to play for the Red Raiders, he would not earn that five million. But could he still have entered the NFL’s Supplemental Draft this summer or play in the UFL or CFL? Yep. He would still have the opportunity to make money playing a game. In fact, he is not being forced to work on a dangerous oil rig in the Gulf during a hurricane or live off of food stamps and live at a shelter.
The NCAA has already appealed Curry’s ruling to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas in Amarillo. An interesting tidbit is that the four justices who would hear the appeal are all Texas Tech graduates.
The outcry has been swift. Nebraska and Georgia have informed their coaches not to schedule games with Texas Tech in any sport. Fellow Big 12 Conference members TCU and Kansas State have indicated they may refuse to play Texas Tech this season, and Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark had an emergency conference call with league leaders on Tuesday.
Of course, Campbell and the rest of the Lubbock brain trust have gone on full attack mode, albeit done without understanding the optics or public relations.
Campbell went on the defensive, stating, “We’re a target. If this had happened at LSU, people would say ah it’s LSU… but it happened at Texas Tech.”
The entire state of Mississippi and national college football insiders blasted Kiffin and LSU about his taking the job in Baton Rouge, while still trying to coach the Rebels in the CFP. Apparently, that news didn’t make its way to West Texas.
Red Raider football coach Joey McGuire told supporters. “As a society, we’ve been okay with other things that happen and allowing players to play. It’s crazy… It’s not murder, it’s not beating somebody.”
Tone deaf, anyone?
The PR campaign of nightmare fuel continued as Texas Tech officials filmed and then released a 20-minute filibuster video of gaslighting and finger-pointing about how they are supporting their players. Yet they never explained why Sorsby has to play in the games. Not once.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also came to Texas Tech’s defense by warning the conference that if they take any action against them, he will come after them.
Worth noting that Paxton found himself facing 20 articles of impeachment for bribery and abuse of office, has had to settle whistleblower lawsuits involving the FBI, a securities fraud incident that legally lasted nearly a decade, and a very public divorce due to claims of infidelity.
By the way, Campbell has donated to Paxton’s campaigns.
The appearance of having purchased custom legislation or finding a friendly judge to bypass the rules, instead of holding your athletic department accountable, is not about integrity. No matter how many times you state it in a video.
Texas Tech could easily support Sorsby in his addiction while also teaching him a valuable lesson by abiding by the NCAA’s ruling that he is ineligible for gambling.
Every NCAA athlete signs paperwork every season about gambling, and Texas Tech knew about the possibility of him having an issue because reports came out a year ago that Cincinnati, his former team and fellow Big 12 team, was made aware of possible issues.
Yet, they aren’t doing that. Why? Because it is more important for them to keep the quarterback they spent five million on, so they can win a national title. Period.
If he were playing for TCU, Baylor, or Sam Houston, they wouldn’t care. Heck, if we were their own third-string QB or backup left guard, they wouldn’t care either. They claim to care because having him on the field is the best for their investment. Millions of dollars were poured into the program to win titles.
Any other team in the Big 12, SEC, or Big 10 would do the same. College football and collegiate athletics are a billion-dollar industry, and everyone is in a never-ending arms race to win and win now. Not to mention, several programs are dealing with players with far more serious issues.
Just because it is true doesn’t make it right or give Texas Tech the excuse to fight the system so they don’t have to obey the rules. Moving the goalposts back again and again isn’t solving the issue — it is only making it worse.
Finally, if you are going to be the villain, then fully embrace it. If you want to buy championships and bend the rules through power and influence, then that means donning the black hat not only when it is cool but also when there is the threat of the sheriff walking out to the middle of the street to gun you down.
Even if you lose the gun fight and find yourself in the middle of the street bleeding out, you can at least have the satisfaction of being respected as a real black-hat villain — not some clowns dressing up as a villain for Halloween.
Raymond Partsch III is the co-host of “RP3 & Meche” which is broadcast weekdays (11-1) on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles — Southwest Louisiana’s Sports Station.
