page_title: Texas Tech University
section_title: Athletics
hierarchical_section_title: Texas Tech University / Athletics
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo credit: Jay Davis. Edward Britton of the Red Raiders of Texas Tech University @ SMU Mustangs on September 3, 2007. The Red Raiders defeated the Mustangs, 49-9.
context_page_description: Texas Tech University is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on February 10, 1923, and called until 1969 Texas Technological College, it is the main institution of the four-institution Texas Tech University System. The university's student enrollment is the seventh-largest in Texas as of the Fall 2018 semester.
  The university offers degrees in more than 150 courses of study through 13 colleges and hosts 60 research centers and institutes. Texas Tech University has awarded over 200,000 degrees since 1927, including over 40,000 graduate and professional degrees. The Carnegie Foundation classifies Texas Tech as an "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity." Research projects in the areas of epidemiology, pulsed power, grid computing, nanophotonics, atmospheric sciences, and wind energy are among the most prominent at the university. The Spanish Renaissance-themed campus, described by author James Michener as "the most beautiful west of the Mississippi until you get to Stanford", has been awarded the Grand Award for excellence in grounds-keeping, and has been noted for possessing a public art collection among the ten best in the United States.
context_section_description: Texas Tech's athletic teams are known as the Red Raiders with the exception of the women's basketball team, which is known as the Lady Raiders. Texas Tech competes in NCAA Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) and is a member of the Big 12 Conference. From 1932 until 1956, the university belonged to the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association. After being rejected eight times over more than 20 years, Texas Tech was admitted to the Southwest Conference on May 12, 1956.  When the Southwest Conference disbanded in 1995, Texas Tech, along with the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, and Baylor University, merged with schools from the former Big Eight Conference to form the Big 12. Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt is a member of the College Football Playoff committee. Texas Tech varsity teams have won two NCAA national titles, most recently the men's outdoor track and field championship in 2019, while the Lady Raiders basketball team won the school's first ever title in 1993.
  The Texas Tech Lady Raiders, led by player Sheryl Swoopes and head coach Marsha Sharp, won the 1993 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship. The men's basketball team has made 14 appearances in the NCAA Men's Division I Tournament. Bob Knight served as men's basketball coach from the beginning of the 2001 season until February 4, 2008. On January 1, 2007, he set the record for most coaching victories in men's NCAA Division I basketball history when the Red Raiders defeated the New Mexico Lobos, 70–68. Upon Knight's retirement, his son Pat Knight became the head coach of the team for several seasons until Billy Gillispie replaced him. In 2013, Tubby Smith replaced Gillispie. After Tubby Smith's departure in 2016, Chris Beard, a previous assistant under Bob Knight, came aboard. Beard quickly achieved national attention, leading the team to its first Elite Eight appearance in just his second season. He led the Red Raiders to the Final Four in his third year, losing in the National Championship game to Virginia.
  Since 1999, home basketball games have been played at United Spirit Arena, a 15,020-seat multipurpose facility which cost $95.2 million in 2019 dollars to build. In addition to serving as home to the men's and women's basketball teams, the arena is used by the Red Raider volleyball team. Texas Tech students broke the Big 12 Conference record for student attendance at the United Spirit Arena during a February 25, 2014 loss to Kansas State. The record of 6,086 students fell less than 2,000 short of the national record.
  The Red Raiders football team, is a member of the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-A) and is currently coached by former Utah State coach Matt Wells. Throughout the 2000s, then head coach Mike Leach lead the team to national prominence. In 14 of its last 15 seasons, the Red Raiders have finished with a winning record, the fourth-longest such streak in the nation at the time. The Red Raiders have made 36 bowl appearances, which is 17th most of any university. From 1932 to 1956, as members of the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Red Raiders won eight conference championships and one co-championship, the most held by a Border Conference member. After joining the Southwest Conference, the Red Raiders added conference co-championships in 1976 and 1994.
  Jones AT&T Stadium serves as home to the Red Raiders football team. The stadium, named for Clifford B. and Audrey Jones, opened in 1947. In 2000, the stadium was renamed Jones SBC Stadium after SBC Communications made a $30 million contribution to the university. Following SBC Communications' acquisition of AT&T Corporation in 2006 and its subsequent adoption of the AT&T name, the stadium was renamed Jones AT&T Stadium. The stadium's original seating capacity was 27,000, but it was expanded in 1959, 1972, 2003, 2009, 2010, and 2013.
  On August 7, 2008, the Board of Regents of the Texas Tech University System announced a $25 million expansion project. The expansion added a Spanish Renaissance-themed façade to the stadium's ea
caption: Red Raiders in action in 2007
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