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Texas Tech Red Raiders Tickets |
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Alabama Crimson Tide
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Texas Tech Red Raiders TicketsTexas Tech is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in Division I-A for athletics in all "major" sports. Men's teams are the Red Raiders, women's teams are the Lady Raiders. The university was a dominant member of the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association from 1932 to 1956. Texas Tech became a member of the Southwest Athletic Conference in May of 1956 and remained so until the conference was disbanded. Of the major sports, Texas Tech has had its greatest success in women's basketball. In 1993, the women's team won a national championship led by its star player Sheryl Swoopes and head coach Marsha Sharp. In addition to the "major" collegiate sports, the university offers other sports such as rugby, lacrosse, and soccer through campus intramural sports organizations. The Masked Rider is the oldest of Texas Tech's mascots still in existence today. Originally called "Ghost Rider," it was an unofficial mascot starting around 1936 when an unknown student (or students) would circle the field on horseback at home football games, riding into the stadium and away. The Masked Rider became the official mascot with 1954's Gator Bowl and has led the team onto the field at nearly every football game since. The Masked Rider was the nation's first horse ridden mascot used in football games. The Florida State Seminoles and the USC Trojans are the most notable schools that use such a mascot today. Tech's other current mascot, Raider Red, is more recent. Around the time of the 1971 football season, the Southwest Conference created a rule that forbade the bringing of live animal mascots to away games unless the host school permitted it. Since the Masked Rider's horse would fall under this rule an alternate mascot was created. Jim Gaspard, a member of the Saddle Tramps student spirit organization, created the original design for the Raider Red costume, basing it on a character created by Lubbock cartoonist and former mayor Dirk West. Though the Masked Rider's identity is public knowledge, it has always been tradition that Raider Red's student alter ego is kept secret until the end of his tenure. The student serving as Raider Red is a member of Saddle Tramps. Legendary coach Bobby Knight has served as men's basketball coach since 2001. In early 2006, Marsha Sharp announced her resignation.
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Texas Tech Red Raiders Tickets
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