Lost in the chaos and madness that has been conference realignment is a sleeping giant in Lubbock, Texas, ready to take control of the new look Big 12 in a few years.
If one listened to pure social media talk, they would assume the Texas Tech athletics programs struggle to win on a consistent basis. While that might be true for football in recent years, only looking at football ignores the success of the rest of their sports.
The men’s basketball team has competed for a national championship. Baseball has quickly become one of the best programs in the country, consistently serving as a threat to make it to the College World Series. Not to be left out, Track & Field won a National Championship.
On top of the success in several aspects, Texas Tech athletics has seen an influx of money in recent years being spent on upgrading facilities. A $30 million basketball facility, $12 million for baseball facilities and $200 million to both renovate the south end zone and build a new football complex.
As well, the recent announcement from Texas Tech’s NIL collective, The Matador Club, can be a game changer on the NIL front. They announced plans to sign 100 Texas Tech football players to $25,000 contracts.
No, Texas Tech will likely never compete with the likes of Texas, Ohio State or other major college brands. The thing is though, they don’t need to. If they can outclass Baylor and TCU, as well as schools such as Cincinnati, then there is no reason not to expect them to rise to the top of the new Big 12.
When Texas and Oklahoma leave for the SEC, whenever that ends up being, there will be a fight for top dog status in the new Big 12, especially with four new schools. With how things are trending for Texas Tech, it might have put itself in prime position to establish a claim for top dogs in the Big 12.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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