Copyright Men's Journal
College football is a unique sport, home to a ton of traditions all around the country. The annual whiteout at Penn State, the Ohio State band dotting the “I,” and Miami running through the fog are all time-honored examples, but one school is telling students to put a beloved pre-game ritual behind them. On Monday, Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt and head football coach Joey McGuire announced that the university would “no longer encourage nor permit the throwing of tortillas” at the kickoff of home football games in Lubbock. The tradition dates back to the 1990s, but recent conference crackdowns are forcing the Red Raiders to put it to a stop. What Forced the Big 12 to Step In? Texas Tech and Kansas were both fined after a game earlier this month in Lubbock in which students threw the tortillas on the field. Kansas was fined an equal amount by the Big 12 for “disparaging comments about the Conference and a member institution,” and for comments by Kansas head coach Lance Leipold about a pocket knife. “After a formal review, Texas Tech did not take sufficient steps to prevent and deter the repeated throwing of objects onto the field and team bench areas,” said Big 12 commissoner Brett Yormark. “Coach Leipold’s comments questioned the integrity and professionalism of both the Conference and a member institution. Both actions warranted a financial penalty. The Big 12 Conference prioritizes integrity and will have no further comment on the matter.” Before the 2025 season, the Big 12 voted to assess a 15-yard penalty to teams after fans were warned twice about throwing objects. Texas Tech and Hocutt represented the lone dissenting vote, and the athletic director remained adamant that the tradition would not be affected. After this month’s game against Kansas, the Big 12 amended the rule instituted before the start of the season. The new rule comes with only one warning, and a subsequent violation will incur both a 15-yard penalty on the home team and a $10,000 fine for the school. “We know that as Red Raiders, no one tells us what to do. We make our own decisions,” Hocutt said while announcing the decision, acknowledging that his own daughter was among the tortilla throwers. “This situation is on me. I leaned into throwing tortillas at the beginning of the football season. Now I must ask everyone to stop.” How Will Texas Tech Enforce the New Rule? In order to stop the practice, event operations staff at Jones AT&T Stadium will encourage and remind fans to not bring tortillas into the venue. They’ll request that fans discard the tortillas before entering the stadium, and if they’re discovered inside the venue ushers have been instructed to take them. If any tortillas make it through and are thrown, the offending party will have ticket privileges revoked for all Texas Tech sports for the remainder of the year. We’ll see if fans adhere to the new rules when the Red Raiders face BYU in their next home game.
