Texas Tech Bans Decades-Old Tradition of Tossing Tortillas on the Football Field

That's a wrap!

Texas Tech fans are officially nary longer allowed to propulsion tortillas onto nan section astatine shot games, a quirky assemblage contented that began astir nan early 1990s and has continued each play complete nan years.

The long-standing contented involves nan crowd tossing nan discs into nan aerial chiefly earlier kickoff astatine Jones AT&T Stadium. Now, nan Big 12 has had enough.

Red Raiders diversion head Kirby Hocutt said astatine a news convention alongside caput coach Joey McGuire connected Monday, Oct. 20 to denote nan ruling, and explained nan logic for nan extremity of nan practice.

"We are nary longer going to promote nor licence nan throwing of tortillas astatine nan opening kickoff for our location shot games,” Hocutt said astatine nan conference.

The school's diversion head cited capacity arsenic a logic why they're doing distant pinch nan ritual.

"We person an opportunity and we are connected nan cusp of a very typical shot season," he continued astir nan team, which is classed No. 14 successful this week's AP Top 25. "We cannot consequence letting our actions penalize our shot team."

"The stakes are excessively precocious and we request to help, not risk, penalizing our squad again for throwing tortillas," he added.

The prohibition originates this week erstwhile Texas Tech faces Oklahoma State connected Saturday, Oct. 25.

The alteration comes soon aft nan Big 12 threatened in-game penalties and $100,000 fines if fans proceed to propulsion tortillas onto nan playing surface.

The tortilla talk heightened this play aft nan Red Raiders' triumph over Kansas on Oct. 11 erstwhile nan squad drew 2 15-yard penalties. The assemblage later faced a $25,000 fine for repeated instances of objects being tossed onto nan field.

"We power our ain destiny successful each business connected nan shot section arsenic good arsenic pinch our arena operations," said Hocutt. "We cognize that arsenic Red Raiders, nary 1 tells america what to do. We make our ain decisions, and we promote actions because they are nan correct point to do."

He added, "Give these players, this squad and each of our Red Raiders each of our support and each of our power to make judge we springiness them each imaginable chance to execute our extremity of getting to Arlington for nan Big 12 convention title and nan College Football Playoff."