End of a tradition: No more throwing tortillas at Texas Tech football games

A week after Texas Tech banned its signature tortilla-throwing tradition, Red Raider fans showed they didn’t need flying flour to make Jones AT&T Stadium light up.

On Saturday, No. 14 Texas Tech shut out Oklahoma State 42–0 in a statement rebound win, and did so without a single tortilla penalty. It was Tech’s first home Big 12 shutout since 2005, and its cleanest game in more ways than one.

No tortillas, no problem: Red Raiders celebrate first shutout since 2005

The game started off with poetic justice after last week’s loss as running back J’Koby Williams took the opening kickoff, the first since the tortilla ban, 99 yards to the house. No tortillas rained down this time, only cheers.

Coach Joey McGuire made sure to thank fans for their restraint afterward.

“I am so proud of our fans and Red Raider Nation for, one, believing in this team and doing what we needed to do to help this team win,” McGuire said. “That’s the second game in a row, you look over at the student section, those towels are going crazy.”

Just two weeks earlier, Tech had been fined $25,000 and flagged twice for fans throwing tortillas during a win over Kansas. The penalties came after a new Big 12 rule cracked down on any object thrown onto the field, with escalating punishments that could reach a $100,000 fine on top of a 15-yard penalty.

Athletic director Kirby Hocutt, who initially resisted the conference rule, ultimately took responsibility, announcing the ban and warning fans that anyone caught throwing tortillas would lose their ticket privileges for the rest of the academic year.

“I leaned into this at the beginning of the season,” Hocutt said last week. “Now I must ask everyone to stop.”

A tradition rooted in humor and pride

The tortilla toss began more than 30 years ago, when an ESPN broadcaster joked that Lubbock had “nothing but Texas Tech football and a tortilla factory.” Fans responded at the next home game against Texas A&M in 1992 by flinging tortillas at kickoff, a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek celebration that quickly became a Red Raider trademark.

For decades, the harmless flutter of tortillas across the field symbolized school spirit. I did it myself when I was a student from 2008-2011. We all did it. It was weird, it was fun, and it was unmistakably Tech.

But over time, the tradition became harder to defend. Officials worried about safety and game delays, and the Big 12’s new policy left the university little choice but to end it.

Losing the tradition, keeping the spirit

As much as losing the tortilla toss stings, Saturday showed that the energy in Lubbock doesn’t come from what’s thrown on the field, but who’s in the stands.

With fans waving towels instead of tortillas and Williams sprinting 99 yards for the opening score, the Red Raiders’ message was clear: they can still honor their traditions by protecting their team’s momentum and reputation.

The ban may mark the end of a quirky chapter in Texas Tech history, but if Saturday was any indication, Red Raider Nation is already writing the next one.

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