Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University is a public, coeducational research university located in Lubbock, Texas. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the fifth largest student body in the state of Texas. The campus is the only one in Texas and one of few in the world to house a university, law school, and medical school at the same location. The university receives its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders are members of the Big XII Conference and compete in Division I for all varsity sports. The Red Raiders football team has made 30 bowl appearances, which is 19th most of any university. The men's basketball team has made 14 appearances in the NCAA Division I Tournament. Bob Knight, the winningest coach in men's NCAA D-1 basketball history, has served as the team's head coach since 2001. The Lady Raiders women's basketball team won the 1993 women's national championship.

History
Texas Tech University offers 150 bachelor's, 104 master's, and 59 doctoral degree programs, and receives its general accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources
College of Architecture
College of Arts & Sciences
Rawls College of Business
College of Education
College of Engineering
College of Human Sciences
School of Law
College of Mass Communications
College of Visual & Performing Arts Organization

Campus
Texas Tech maintains a number of libraries, both general-purpose and specific (such as the Architecture and Law libraries). The most notable of these are the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library and the Vietnam Archive, one of the world's largest and most comprehensive collections of information on the Vietnam War.

Research facilities
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. The original seating capacity was 27,000, but it was expanded in 1959, 1972, and again in 2003 to the current capacity of 53,000. In March 2007, a $40 million upgrade was announced. It will add 10,000 new seats and a five-story building for club, retail, and suite space. Another expansion of 20,000 seats will take place over the next 20 years.
The United Spirit Arena is a 15,020-seat multi-purpose arena that opened in 1999. It is home to the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders basketball teams and volleyball team. United Supermarkets, a Lubbock based supermarket chain with numerous stores in west Texas, made a major contribution to the facility's construction and was granted naming rights.


Sports facilities

Main article: Texas Tech Red Raiders Athletics
The Masked Rider is the Texas Tech's oldest mascot. Starting as a dare in 1936, "ghost riders" circled the field at the beginning of home football games. The Masked Rider became an official mascot in 1954, when Joe Kirk Fulton led the team onto the field at the Gator Bowl. The sensational entrance awed the crowd. Texas Tech's Center for Campus Life explains:
According to reports from those present at the 1954 Gator Bowl, the crowd sat in stunned silence as they watched Fulton and Blackie rush onto the football field, followed by the team. After a few moments of stunned disbelief, the silent crowd burst into cheers. Ed Danforth, a writer for the Atlanta Journal and a press box spectator later wrote, "No team in any bowl game ever made a more sensational entrance."
Tech's other mascot, Raider Red, is a more recent creation. During 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 or her tenure. The student serving as Raider Red is a member of the Saddle Tramps or High Riders.

Mascots
There are over 390 student clubs and organizations at Texas Tech. The Student Union Building, located centrally on campus, is the hub of day to day student activity. Within the Union, students find opportunities to relax, study, and enjoy a meal. The Student Union Building also houses the Student Government Association (SGA), and provides space for many of the student organizations to operate.
Housed with a partition directly adjacent to the Student Union Building is the School of Music, home of the Texas Tech Goin' Band from Raiderland. The 450-member band, which was awarded the prestigious Sudler Trophy in 1999, performs at all home football games and at various other events.
The university maintains KTXT-FM 88.1, a student radio station focusing on alternative, indie rock, industrial, and hip hop music. National Public Radio station KOHM 89.1, which features classical music and news, is also found on campus. Additionally, the university owns and operates Public Broadcasting Service television station KTXT-TV. The Daily Toreador is Texas Tech's student-run newspaper. It was named The University Daily until 2005. A satirical newspaper, The Perversity Weekly, is independently published by students. La Ventana is Texas Tech's yearbook.


Notable people

Traditions
To celebrate the Christmas season, Texas Tech holds an annual event called the Carol of Lights. The event commences with the Texas Tech University Combined Choirs performing selections of classic holiday songs at the Science Quadrangle. When the lights are fully lit, over 25,000 red, white, and orange lights illuminate the 13 buildings surrounding Memorial Circle.
This tradition started in 1959 when Harold Hinn provided the funds and the idea of covering the science quadrangle and the administration building with lights. Unfortunately, students were away on Christmas break and did not see the display. The next year, the Residence Hall Association sponsored the Christmas Sing, incorporating Harold Hinn's original idea. The Carol of Lights, as it is now called, is one of Texas Tech's most well-known traditions.

Carol of Lights
In 1999 the tradition that incorporates a singular design for the university's class ring was revived. While a universal ring design had been used in the past, many different designs came to be worn by alumni. The Official Texas Tech Alumni Association Class Ring was introduced and copyrighted in 1999 and became the standard ring of the university's graduates. The ring symbolically captures the essence of Texas Tech with the prominent Double T surrounded by the university's full name and date of foundation. Tradition states that an undergraduate who acquires the ring during his/her senior year must wear the ring with the Double T logo facing inward. Upon graduation the ring is worn with the Double T facing outward.
On one shoulder of the ring is the Administration Building, with the bells that represent victory. On the other shoulder is the university seal, which features the American eagle, perched above a book, representing a church; a star, representing the State of Texas; a key, representing home; and, a lamp, representing knowledge. These elements are separated by a cross - featuring 10 cotton bolls representing Lubbock and its surrounding nine cotton-producing counties.

Texas Tech ring
One of the best-known landmarks on campus is the statue of Will Rogers and his horse Soapsuds. This memorial was dedicated on 16 February 1950 by longtime friend of Rogers, Amon G. Carter. Carter believed Texas Tech was the perfect setting for the statue and that it would fit into the traditions and scenery of West Texas.
The statue stands at 9 feet 11 inches (3 m) tall and weighs 3,200 pounds (1,450 kg); its estimated cost was US$25,000. On the base of the statue, the inscription reads "Lovable Old Will Rogers on his favorite horse, 'Soapsuds,' riding into the Western sunset".
Today, Texas Tech tradition and legend surrounds the statue. According to one legend, the initial plan to face Will Rogers due west (so that he would be seen riding off into the sunset) was rejected as it would cause Soapsuds' posterior to face due east (toward downtown Lubbock; this was perceived as an insult to the Lubbock business community which had been highly supportive of the university). It would also have placed the horse's rear facing the main entrance to the university. To solve this problem, the statue was turned 23 degrees to the northwest so Soapsuds' rear would face southeast (in the general direction of College Station, Texas, home of Texas A&M University). Before every home football game the Saddle Tramps wrap the statue with red crepe paper. Will Rogers and Soapsuds have also been wrapped in black crepe paper to mourn national tragedies.

Will Rogers and Soapsuds
In 1936 victory bells were given to Texas Tech as a class gift. The bells rang for the first time at the 1936 class's graduation. It is said that after the win over TCU, the following year, the bells rang through out the night. The bells kept Lubbock residents up all night. Thereafter, the bell ringing was limited to 30 minutes. After Texas Tech victories and special occasions the bells are rang by the Saddle Tramps or High Riders. The Victory Bells - one large and one small, which combine to weigh 1,200 pounds - hang in the east tower of the Administration Building.

Victory bells
"The Matador Song" dates from 1931. The lyrics were written by Tech student R.C. Marshall and the music was composed by Tech Band Director Harry LeMaire. The words and melody have remained unchanged through time. When performed by the Texas Tech Marching Band outdoors the song is preceded by a preparatory fanfare, a musical signal for students and alumni to stand and sing the Alma Mater.

Fight Song

Alpha Phi Omega Chapter (Co-ed Service Fraternity)
Beta Gamma Sigma Chapter (International Business Honor Society)
Goin' Band from Raiderland (marching band)
High Riders (spirit organization)
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program
Phi Alpha Delta (Professional Law Fraternity)
Phi Beta Kappa Chapter (Liberal Arts & Sciences Honor Society)
Residence Halls Association
Sabre Flight Drill Team
Saddle Tramps (spirit organization)
Student Bar Association
Tau Beta Pi Chapter (Engineering Honor Society)
Tau Beta Sigma Chapter (National Honorary Band Sorority)
Texas Tech Alumni Association
Texas Tech Forensic Union (Debate Team)
Texas Tech Ice Hockey