TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — Nearly 50 years after Elvis Presley 's death, a gaggle of exuberant young boys and teens shook up his hometown, intent on keeping the king's legacy alive for a new generation.
Ranging in age from seven to 17, some in jeweled jumpsuits, they took the stage at the Tupelo Elvis Festival's youth tribute artist competition last week.
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Gibbs Jones, 11, rests his hands on a jeweled belt while showing off his costume for the Tupelo Elvis Festival's youth tribute artists competition on June 4, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)
Ayden Maloy, 16, performs at the Tupelo Elvis Festival's youth tribute artists competition on June 4, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)
Charles Session, 15, holds still while he gets his makeup done ahead of the Tupelo Elvis Festival's youth tribute artists competition on June 4, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)
Tucker Gladden, 17, rehearses his rendition of "My Boy" by Elvis Presley before taking the stage at the Tupelo Elvis Festival's youth tribute artists competition on June 4, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)
In contrast to their peers, who may never have heard of Elvis, the competitors have dedicated an enormous amount of time and energy to embodying the king's singing voice, mannerisms and style.
They are careful to specify they are Elvis tribute artists. Unlike impersonators, who pretend to be Elvis and sometimes present a characterized version of the king, tribute artists strive for authenticity. Some wore costumes created by B&K Enterprises Costume Co., a company licensed to recreate Elvis' outfits and provide costumes for Elvis movies, musicals and TV shows.
“We're not trying to be him,” said Tucker Gladden, 17, from Madison, Mississippi. “We want to recreate the experience as much as we can for people that maybe didn't get to see Elvis in their lifetime.”
As for their fascination with a long-dead musician, several of the tribute artists credited the 2022 “Elvis” movie with sparking their interest. A couple said their admiration began after discovering they were distantly related to Elvis. Others said it was Elvis' faith and charity that inspired them. Some said they had been performing Elvis songs since they were 3 years old.
For 16-year-old Ayden Maloy from Logansport, Indiana, it was the way Elvis' music helped him during a difficult time in his life and motivated him to begin performing as an Elvis tribute artist three years ago.
“I just broke down in tears because it healed me,” Maloy said. “I think Elvis is the healer.”
In an afternoon of dazzling outfits and daring dance moves, the performers got the audience clapping, singing and swaying along to their Elvis covers. Ultimately, RJ Hursey, a 14-year-old from Bloomington, Illinois, won the competition.
Hursey, who inherited his love of Elvis from his grandfather, said he practices his tributes every day, and when he's too sick to sing, he researches. He performs at nursing homes and assisted living facilities and hopes to someday star in a remake of an Elvis movie.
“It's humbling,” Hursey said. “It makes you feel good because we know that he died thinking he'd be forgotten, and we're just so glad he's still around."
While in Tupelo, the tribute artists also toured the Elvis Presley Birthplace, a sprawling complex that includes the home where Elvis was born and the church where he was first exposed to Southern gospel music.
“It feels so surreal to pay tribute to Elvis in his hometown,” said 15-year-old Charles Session from Morrilton, Arkansas. “I hope that he’s looking down and smiling at all these young performers.”
Gibbs Jones, 11, rests his hands on a jeweled belt while showing off his costume for the Tupelo Elvis Festival's youth tribute artists competition on June 4, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)
Ayden Maloy, 16, performs at the Tupelo Elvis Festival's youth tribute artists competition on June 4, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)
Charles Session, 15, holds still while he gets his makeup done ahead of the Tupelo Elvis Festival's youth tribute artists competition on June 4, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)
Tucker Gladden, 17, rehearses his rendition of "My Boy" by Elvis Presley before taking the stage at the Tupelo Elvis Festival's youth tribute artists competition on June 4, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)
A Texas judge granted Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby a temporary injunction that clears the way for him to play this fall despite being declared ineligible by the NCAA for wagering on college sports, including bets made on his own team while he was at Indiana.
The decision sent shock waves across college sports since bans for gambling are a bedrock rule of the NCAA and in many professional sports.
The NCAA said it strongly disagrees with the ruling and “is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome — which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports.” The NCAA said it would appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas in Amarillo.
Sorsby, whose school said he has a gambling problem that he is addressing through treatment, will miss the Red Raiders’ first two games next season under a judge-approved penalty that had been proposed by his attorneys. The NCAA, which usually handles such punishments, was not involved.
The ruling by Judge Ken Curry prevents the NCAA from being able to block the transfer QB's eligibility for what will be his final college season with a team among the favorites to win the Big 12 Conference and return to the College Football Playoff for a second consecutive season.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said the ramifications of the ruling “could have broad impacts across college athletics, creating great concern amongst our membership.” He called a meeting this week of his league's athletic directors and executive board, and been in touch with NCAA President Charlie Baker.
Texas Tech opens the season on Sept. 5 at home against Abilene Christian. The Red Raiders then play Oregon State before their Big 12 opener at home on Sept. 18 against Houston.
“I’m very grateful for the endless support I have received throughout this entire process,” Sorsby posted on social media. “I am also grateful for the chance to rejoin my teammates. This opportunity comes with the responsibility to remain focused on my personal growth, the ability to learn from this experience, and to be able to use my situation to help others going forward.”
Curry held a two-hour hearing last week in the 99th District Court in Lubbock County, where Texas Tech is located. In his decision, he wrote that he agreed Sorsby would suffer “a probable, imminent and irreparable injury” if he cannot practice or play for the Red Raiders.
The injunction comes with conditions that Sorsby must continue counseling for his gambling and to participate in peer support through Gamblers Anonymous or a similar group. He also must continue treatment to address “the underlying anxiety that served as the primary driver of (his) gambling behavior.”
Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said a comprehensive support structure, including clinical care, monitoring and compliance checks, will remain fully in place for Sorsby during his time at the school.
“As we have said before, we do not believe that the circumstances of Brendan’s case warranted permanent ineligibility,” Hocutt said. “As he returns to our football program, we remain committed to supporting Brendan’s recovery and ensuring his compliance with the court’s order.”
Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor told Yahoo Sports he was disappointed by the ruling.
“It is absolutely devastating for him to be able to play when every other sport, no matter the level, deems an athlete ineligible or they are punished severely for betting on their team,” he told the outlet.
“I think there needs to be serious conversations about not playing Texas Tech in any sports,” Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks, a member of the NCAA Football Oversight Committee, told Yahoo Sports. “If a state court wants to dictate eligibility rules, they can play themselves. ... We’ve officially reached the point of no return.”
NCAA attorney Taylor Askew had said during the hearing that allowing Sorsby to play another college season would provide “reputable harm” to the governing body.
“Saying the NCAA is now the first league in America that allows you, without punishment, to bet on its own contests, that’s a reputable harm to the NCAA,” Askew told the court. “This would be the first league in America that does that. ... We should not say for the first time serial gambling is OK.”
Court records show that Sorsby has acknowledged making thousands of impermissible bets totaling at least $90,000 during his time at Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech. That included 40 bets on Indiana while he was a freshman there in 2022, though none on any of the games he played in with the Hoosiers.
While some guidelines for penalties related to gambling have changed in recent years, NCAA rules still call for a permanent loss of eligibility for any player who wagered on his own team.
Sorsby was at Indiana for two seasons before the past two at Cincinnati.
The Texas native transferred in January to Texas Tech for a reported multimillion-dollar deal. The Red Raiders brought him in to be the starting quarterback when trying to defend their first Big 12 title and return to the CFP.
According to court filings, on March 11 the NCAA received a tip about Sorsby’s gambling activity from an online gambling book, which had been informed by law enforcement. Texas Tech was notified April 14 that an investigation was underway by the NCAA.
Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney who negotiated the $2.8 billion House settlement against the NCAA and now represents Sorsby, told the court that the 22-year-old quarterback has a diagnosed addiction and anxiety-driven compulsion. Sorsby recently completed a monthlong stay in a residential treatment program in Arizona that he entered after the start of the NCAA’s investigation.
According to a clinician who treated Sorsby, Kessler said, not allowing the quarterback to play would hurt his mental health and hamper his recovery.
The NCAA in its statement Monday said it is “committed to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one’s own sport.”
The injunction came in Sorsby’s lawsuit filed May 18 against the NCAA seeking the restoration of his eligibility. That case was initially assigned to District Judge Phillip Hays, a Lubbock native and Texas Tech graduate who later recused himself. Curry is a retired judge from Tarrant County, nearly 300 miles away.
Since the filing of that lawsuit, the NCAA has twice denied Texas Tech’s petition to restore the quarterback’s eligibility.
When the school on May 26 revealed the first denial and its intent to appeal, university president Lawrence Schovanec wrote in a letter to the Texas Tech community that the school felt “the NCAA’s ruling should be reversed or modified.”
That comment illustrates the difficult landscape for the NCAA, which has lost multiple court cases challenging rules that were put in place by the very schools that make up its membership. Many focus on eligibility, with athletes contending they should be allowed to play and continue to earn money that was made available under the House ruling.
The NCAA is on the verge of approving a new eligibility model following meetings among stakeholders and even President Donald Trump. The NCAA continues to also seek limited antitrust protections from Congress in hopes of eliminating or at least smoothing the state-by-state rulings that have thrown the industry into chaos.
“There is no better example of why targeted intervention from Congress is necessary,” Baker said on social media after the ruling. “When you have schools and deep-pocketed supporters willing to look the other way on the glaring integrity threat of betting on your own team — and judges whose rulings effectively strip away our ability to stop them — only Congress can equip the NCAA to apply this common sense rule to everyone fairly and consistently. The Protect College Sports Act would empower the NCAA to enforce rules including the gambling restrictions — it’s needed now more than ever.”
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
FILE - Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby (2) walks off the field after a NCAA college football game against Baylor, Oct. 25, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tanner Pearson, file)
FILE - Quarterback Brendan Sorsby attends an NCAA college basketball game between Texas Tech and Houston, Jan. 24, 2026, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Annie Rice, file)
