Texas Tech booster and oil billionaire accuses Fox, ABC of rejecting his ad criticizing power conference commissioners

Texas Tech booster and oil billionaire Cody Campbell accused Fox and ABC of “refusing” to run an ad he created that criticizes power conference commissioners.

A Texas oil and natural gas billionaire who is a friend of President Donald Trump, Campbell has been throwing his weight around at Texas Tech and in college football in general in recent years. A former Red Raiders player under Mike Leach, he was appointed to the Texas Tech System Board of Regents in 2021 and elected Chairman in 2025. He not only helped fund renovations at Texas Tech’s athletic facilities, but the field at Jones AT&T Stadium was named “Cody Campbell Field,” and he is one of the co-founders of the school’s NIL collective.

Beyond that, Campbell has been lobbying Congress against the SCORE Act, which is currently making its way through the House, and wants to replace the NCAA with a new governing body.

All of which leads us to this Saturday, when Campbell posted a thirty-second ad on social media along with a long message about how TV Networks (specifically Fox and ABC) refused to air it.

The TV Networks (specifically Fox and ABC) are refusing to run this ad for @SavingCollSprts today during the games.

No good reason given as to why – just ignoring us or telling us to contact their attorneys. The General Council for one major network told me it was a “business… pic.twitter.com/P4MDI7GfiQ

— Cody Campbell (@CodyC64) October 4, 2025

“No good reason given as to why – just ignoring us or telling us to contact their attorneys. The General Council for one major network told me it was a “business decision”. This was AFTER we’d sent them a large wire to pay for the ads!” read the post.

“Why would the networks want to silence a legitimate debate around an issue that affects hundreds of thousands of kids and is existentially threatening to women’s sports and Olympic sports? What is the “business reason” that overrides the benefit and enjoyment that college sports provide to tens of millions of Americans? What are they hiding??

“If there was ever a question that money, control, and greed are being prioritized over student athletes, fans, and communities…Here you go!!”

Front Office Sports spoke with an ESPN source, who stated that ABC, which shares college football rights with ESPN under its parent company, Disney, requested “more supporting documentation” regarding the ad but did not receive it in a timely manner. As such, they were unable to air the ad this weekend. FOS also noted that ESPN has previously run Campbell’s ads.

In fact, Campbell has been running ads all season long with the stated goal to “save college sports.” Specifically, the ads call for changing the law to allow a single national college sports television package, rather than the piecemeal conference deals currently in place.

Campbell isn’t wrong to wonder aloud what role the networks might have in wanting college football and its conferences to proceed. All of the major networks have various media rights deals wrapped in the Big Ten, SEC, ACC, and Big 12. ESPN also has standalone network arrangements with the SEC and ACC. ESPN also recently signed a six-year, $7.8 billion extension to remain the rights holder for the College Football Playoff.

While Campbell has been a significant thorn in the side of efforts to pass the SCORE Act, which would grant the NCAA antitrust protections and officially classify athletes as amateurs rather than employees, major conferences such as the SEC and Big 12 have been advocating for it through TV ads, stadium announcements, and social media.

It appears that Campbell’s message on Saturday was the latest in an ongoing war of words (and money) that is likely to continue until the SCORE Act is approved or rejected.