In a development that has sent shockwaves across the college football landscape, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has filed a civil lawsuit against Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables, alleging a calculated and sustained effort to lure recruits and staff away from the Texas program. The lawsuit, filed in Travis County District Court, has ignited an already ferocious Red River rivalry and pulled the inner workings of two of the sport’s powerhouse programs into the spotlight.
According to court documents obtained Monday morning, Sarkisian accuses Venables of “tampering, inducement, and unethical recruitment practices,” including directly contacting players, parents, and assistant coaches within the Texas program in violation of NCAA rules and what the lawsuit calls “the spirit of professional coaching ethics.” The 58-page filing lays out a case that paints a picture of covert meetings, secretive NIL pitches, and even alleged attempts to poach players still under scholarship with Texas.
The most explosive part of the lawsuit hinges on what Sarkisian’s legal team calls a “pattern of persistent and unauthorized contact” with multiple five-star recruits committed to Texas, particularly one unnamed quarterback prospect from the Class of 2025. Sources familiar with the situation believe this individual to be Jaxon Riley, a top-rated dual-threat out of California who committed to Texas in March but has recently gone quiet on social media and declined multiple interviews.
In a press conference Monday afternoon, Sarkisian did not mince words when addressing the media. “This isn’t just about football,” he said. “This is about respect for the process, for the game, and for the commitment that families make when they choose our university. What we’ve seen is a blatant attempt to destabilize what we’re building here in Austin. I’ve always said we’ll compete on the field — but this, this is something else entirely.”
The lawsuit is unprecedented in scope, naming not only Venables but also several members of the Oklahoma recruiting staff, two prominent boosters affiliated with the Sooners’ NIL collective, and an unnamed “third-party consultant” who allegedly facilitated meetings between Oklahoma personnel and a group of Texas recruits during the recent Elite 11 camp in Las Vegas.
Venables has yet to make a public statement, but a source close to Oklahoma’s program pushed back on the claims, calling the lawsuit “a media stunt and legal overreach rooted in frustration, not fact.” The source added, “We recruit hard. We recruit honestly. And we don’t need to resort to anything underhanded to win battles.”
The timing of the lawsuit adds another layer of intrigue. Texas and Oklahoma, both in the final stages of preparation for their move to the SEC, have ramped up efforts to solidify top-tier recruiting classes that can carry them into the new era of college football. For Sarkisian, whose program surged in 2024 and made a College Football Playoff appearance, protecting the pipeline of elite talent is paramount. For Venables, still battling to prove himself as the long-term answer in Norman after a turbulent first year and a bounce-back 10-3 season, winning high-stakes recruiting wars is essential to regain footing among the national elite.
But according to Sarkisian’s lawyers, this wasn’t a war — it was sabotage. The filing includes text messages allegedly exchanged between a Texas assistant coach and a Sooners staffer that allude to “sitting down with the kid and his family in Phoenix next weekend” and “getting him out of Austin while we still can.” Also attached to the complaint are sworn affidavits from two parents of Texas commits who say they were approached by representatives claiming to be “connected to Oklahoma’s NIL partners,” offering promises of larger endorsement deals and more favorable media exposure.
Perhaps most damning is a video clip, timestamped from early March, that appears to show Venables himself exiting a hotel conference room alongside a high school quarterback coach, the father of a Texas commit, and two men wearing Oklahoma athletic gear. While the context of the video is unclear, Sarkisian’s legal team argues it proves Venables’ direct involvement in illicit communication.
“Coach Venables didn’t just turn a blind eye,” the complaint reads. “He orchestrated, facilitated, and benefited from this conduct. This is a breach of both NCAA rules and the unwritten code that governs our profession.”
Legal experts say that while NCAA enforcement has been historically slow to act on tampering allegations — especially in the modern NIL era — civil court may offer Sarkisian a faster path to holding Oklahoma accountable. “It’s rare to see these kinds of disputes taken to court,” said Michael Feldstein, a sports law professor at the University of Texas. “But if Sarkisian has documentation of intent, inducement, and financial influence, this could become a landmark case in how recruiting violations are handled moving forward.”
Feldstein added that the introduction of NIL and the transfer portal has created “a Wild West atmosphere,” in which the lines between honest recruiting and tampering have become increasingly blurry. “Coaches are under pressure to deliver elite rosters every year, and the temptation to cut corners is real,” he said. “But if one coach is willing to go this far to call it out, it may force the NCAA to step in — or at least create pressure for reform.”
In Austin, the reaction among Texas fans has been swift and impassioned. Online forums have lit up with support for Sarkisian, while sports radio callers praised him for “standing up for what’s right.” One local muralist in South Austin has already begun work on a new piece titled “Loyalty Over Luring,” featuring Sarkisian in burnt orange armor facing down a crimson serpent.
In Norman, the mood is different. Many fans see the lawsuit as a desperate attempt to distract from Texas’s own recruiting stumbles, citing recent decommitments and rumors of unrest among Long