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Texas Tech Red Raiders




  logo Texas-Tech-University-logopng
  university Texas Tech University
  conference Big 12
  division Division I
  director Gerald Myers
  city Lubbock
  state Texas
  stateabb TX
  teams 15
  stadium Jones AT&T Stadium
  arena United Spirit Arena
  mascot The Masked Rider & Raider Red
  nickname Red Raiders
  fightsong Fight Raiders, Fight
  color1 Scarlet
  color2 Black
  hex1 E42217
  hex2 000000
  pageurl http://wwwredraiderscom/
  pagename wwwredraiderscom


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Texas Tech Red Raiders is the name given to the sports teams of Texas Tech University . The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders; however, all other women's teams use the "Red Raiders" nickname. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I , fielding 15 Varsity teams in 10 sports.


ATHLETICS

Texas Tech has teams in these varsity sports:





Basketball


Bob Knight has served as the men's basketball coach since 2001 . On New Year's Day 2007 , a 70-68 defeat of New Mexico by Tech marked the 880th total win for Knight, making him the winningest coach in men's college basketball history. Knight also has several other distinctions, including being the only coach to win the NCAA, the NIT, the Olympic Gold, and the Pan-Am Gold, and has been given several awards. He is currently a nominee for the 2007 ESPY Award in the category of Best Record Breaking Performance. The winner in each area is selected by online votes from fans.1

The Red Raiders' participation in the 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament marked another record. With their inclusion as the #10 seed in the East Regional, Knight became the coach to lead his team to more NCAA Tournaments than any other. Tech lost to Boston College in the first round by a score of 84-75.

Men's basketball record under Bob Knight

(First set of figures after year denotes overall record. Second set denotes Big 12 record.)
  • 2001-02 23-9, 10-6 (Postseason: 1st Round of NCAA Tournament)

  • 2002-03 22-13, 6-10 (Postseason: 3rd place of Postseason NIT )

  • 2003-04 23-11, 9-7 (Postseason: 2nd Round of NCAA Tournament)

  • 2004-05 22-11, 10-6 (Postseason: Sweet Sixteen of NCAA Tournament)

  • 2005-06 15-17, 6-10 (Posteseason: None)

  • 2006-07 21-13, 9-7 (Postseason: 1st Round of NCAA Tournament)


Texas Tech men's basketball conference championships

Southwest Conference:
  • 1961

  • 1962---

  • 1973

  • 1985

  • 1995---

  • 1996


  • denotes shared title''


Of the varsity sports, Texas Tech has had its greatest success in women's Basketball . Led by its star player Sheryl Swoopes and head coach Marsha Sharp , the Lady Raiders won the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in 1993 . In early 2006 , Lady Raiders coach Marsha Sharp resigned and was replaced on March 30, 2006 by Kristy Curry , who had been coaching at Purdue .


Football

See Also: 2007 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team



Texas Tech played its first intercollegiate football game on October 3 , 1925 . The contest, against McMurry University , ended in a controversial 0-0 tie.http://www.redraiders.com/techs75th/timeline.htm

The football team has been affiliated with the following conferences:

The team has the distinction of being the only one in the Big 12 to have a winning season each year since the conference was created in 1996.http://kansasstate.rivals.com/barrier_noentry.asp?sid=889&script=/content.asp&cid=680485&fid=&tid=&mid= Further, each year since 2001, the American Football Coaches Association has recognized Texas Tech for having a team graduation rate of at least 70 percent. In 2007, only three other Big 12 schools shared this honor, Baylor , Nebraska , and Texas . The overall graduation rate of the 107 Division I-A schools that responded to the survey was 60 percent for the 2001 freshman class.http://www.redraiders.com/stories/051807/foo_051807012.shtml

In July 2007, ESPN ranked all 119 FBS (formerly 1-A) football programs on performance from 1997-2006 and placed Texas Tech at number 32.http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2947981 Also, with 12, the Red Raiders rank fifth nationally in consecutive winning seasons, trailing only Florida State (30), Michigan (22), Florida (19), and Virginia Tech (14).http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/090307/col_090307027.shtml

Mike Leach became the head coach in 2000 . Texas Tech has gone to a bowl game every year since he took the position. He is the school's all time winningest coach in postseason play with a 4-3 record. Behind only the Texas Longhorns, the Red Raiders are second in the Big 12 for postseason wins since 2000, having won four of their last five bowl games. In the 2006 Insight Bowl , the team defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers , overcoming a 31-point deficit in the third-quarter to beat their opponent by 3 in overtime.http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=263630135 This made NCAA Division I FBS (formerly I-A) history as the largest come-from-behind bowl victory ever recorded.

Described as a program on the rise, the Red Raiders earned 56 wins from the 2000 through the 2006 season. During the same period, only 3 other Big 12 teams had more victories— Oklahoma , Texas, and Nebraska. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=2949643

The Red Raiders, with returning quarterback Graham Harrell , opened the 2007 Season in Dallas on September 3 with a televised game against SMU .http://texastech.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/text-m-footbl-sched.html Texas Tech defeated the Mustangs, 49-9.http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/colleges/topstories/stories/090407dnsposmubriefs.329f7cf.html


Baseball

Texas Tech's baseball team is coached by Larry Hays . During the 1990s, Tech players drew notice from 17 big league organizations. Two Red Raiders were selected in the second round, one each in the third, fourth, and fifth rounds. As of 2002, 16 former Tech players have appeared in Major League Baseball .http://www.baseball-almanac.com/college/texas_tech_university_baseball_players.shtml


Golf

2007 saw the men's golf team compete in it's first back-to-back National Championship tournaments since 1960. The team, coached by Greg Sands , qualified for the tournament after finishing 7th in NCAA Central Regional.2


Polo

The Polo Club team is coached by Clyde Waddell. In spite of having no previous experience, at the invitation of students, he took the job in 2000. Six year later, the team beat in-state rival Texas A&M to win the United States Polo Association National Intercollegiate Championship.http://www.tribune-chronicle.com/Sports/articles.asp?articleID=20057


Track and field

Texas Tech's track and field teams are presently coached by Wes Kittley . Under his leadership, the program has reached new heights. For the 2005 Outdoor National Championships, Tech sent 31 athletes, which is more than any other school in the country.

From 1990 to 2006, the men's team garnered 91 awards, 20 Big 12 championships, and 1 national title. In the same time period, the women's team won 32 awards, 29 Big 12 championships, and 5 national titles. In 2007, the women had another strong showing behind Sally Kipyego , who won four individual national titles (cross country, indoor 3k and 5k, outdoor 10k) and placed 2nd in her bid for an unprecedented fifth title in one academic year (outdoor 5k).


Tennis

Tim Siegel has been coaching at Tech for 15 years, helping the men's tennis team to numerous winning seasons. He has coached players who are now college coaches themselves.3


Other

Additionally, the university offers other sports such as Rugby , Lacrosse , Soccer , and Ice Hockey through campus intramural sports organizations.


TRADITIONS


Bangin' Bertha

Bangin' Bertha is a bell on a trailer. It is carried to home basketball and all football games. It was designed in 1959 by Saddle Tramp Joe Winegar and donated by the Santa Fe Railroad .http://www.redraiders.com/techs75th/traditions.htm


Goin' Band from Raiderland

See Also: Goin' Band from Raiderland


Texas Tech's band is known as the Goin' Band from Raiderland. It traces its beginnings back to the founding of the school and performed at the opening football game, fielding twenty-one (some sources say twenty-five) members.


Guns Up

Guns Up is the handsign of the Red Raiders. It is made from a closed hand by extending the index finger forward and the thumb up. It was originated in 1972 by a Tech graduate, intending to symbolize shooting down the opponents.


Mascots

See Also: The Masked Rider
Raider Red



The Masked Rider is the oldest of Texas Tech's remaining mascots, tracing its origins to 1936. It became the official mascot in 1954.

Beginning with the 1971 football season, the Southwest Conference created a rule restricting the use of live animal mascots. Since this rule applied to the horse ridden by the Masked Rider, Raider Red was created as an alternative.


Songs


Alma Mater

See Also: The Matador Song



" The Matador Song " dates from 1931 . The lyrics were written by Tech student R.C. Marshall and the music was composed by Tech Band Director Harry LeMaire. The words and melody have remained unchanged.


Fight Song

See Also: Fight, Raiders, Fight



" Fight, Raiders, Fight " is the Fight Song of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. It was written for the Matadors, the original name of teams representing the school (known at the time as Texas Technological College). In 1936 , Tech band members Carroll McMath and James Nevins updated it to reflect the teams' new name, Red Raiders.


Spirit

Red Raider spirit is led by such organizations as the Saddle Tramps , the High Riders , and the Spirit Squads (consisting of the Cheer Team and the Pom Squad). In April 2007, the Texas Tech cheerleaders finished fifth at the National Cheerleading Association's Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship.4


RIVALRIES

The Red Raiders' main rivals are the . It is common for people to camp out in front of Jones AT&T Stadium a few days prior to a football game against either of these teams.


HEAD COACHES



FACILITIES

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NOTABLE ATHLETES, COACHES & ATHLETICS FACULTY

See Also: List of Texas Tech University people#Athletics



In the sports world, Texas Tech Red Raiders have gone on to play in the NFL, NBA, WNBA, Major League Baseball, and more.


NOTES AND REFERENCES




EXTERNAL LINKS