A former Texas Tech wide receiver is suing the NCAA in an effort to overturn a six-game suspension he received for betting on sports.
Roy Alexander, who played three games for the Red Raiders last fall before transferring to Incarnate Word, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on Aug. 19 in Bexar County. District Court in Texas. The lawsuit alleges that the NCAA's suspension is unjust and constitutes breach of contract, and asks for a judge to issue an injunction to allow Alexander to return to the field earlier in his final season of eligibility.
The suit acknowledges that Alexander violated NCAA rules by betting on sports from 2023 to '25, but it states that he did not wager on any games involving his teams and therefore did not impact the integrity of the game. He played for Albany from 2021 to '24 and Incarnate Word in 2024-25, before transferring to Texas Tech.
The suit alleges that Texas Tech reported Alexander's past gambling after he transferred in January 2026.
According to the suit, Alexander placed small bets -- most of them under $12 and the largest $80 -- through an app from January 2023 to April 2025 while on the teams at Albany and Incarnate Word. He stopped betting after reading an ESPN article on the "perils of wagering" on college sports, according to the filing.
"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 suit states.
Alexander was allowed to play in Incarnate Word's season opener on Aug. 29, a 76-14 rout of Oklahoma Panhandle State, because it was against an NAIA opponent and did not count toward postseason eligibility.
Alexander's attorneys did not respond to a request for comment from ESPN.
The NCAA said its rules on sports betting and the reinstatement conditions for violations are clear.
"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 NCAA said in a statement to ESPN.
Texas Tech declined comment, and Incarnate Word did not immediately respond to messages left by ESPN.
The suit is similar to the one former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby filed against the NCAA this spring. Sorsby admitted to placing hundreds of bets, including some on college football, while playing for Indiana and Cincinnati, before transferring to Texas Tech. He alleged the NCAA was in breach of contract after ruling him ineligible. He withdrew the suit in June and declared for the NFL, but the league elected not to hold a supplemental draft.
ESPN's Mark Schlabach contributed reporting to this story
