Administrative
Under Armour was in town yesterday, which may not mean anything, but it could also mean that there could be more uniforms on the way soon?
Loved welcoming @underarmour to Lubbock! Thank you for your continuous support of Texas Tech! #RuleYourself #IWILL pic.twitter.com/f9pHjMAEzw
— Texas Tech Pom Squad (@ttupom) August 16, 2016
Lady Raider Basketball
The Lady Raiders Begin their Europe trip, including Spain and they are starting off in Lisbon.
Basketball
The official site officially announced that Tommy Hamilton IV has signed his National Letter of Intent and Athletic Scholarship Agreement on Tuesday. The 6’11” center will have to sit out this year and will be eligible for the 2017-18 season. Hamilton averaged 8.8 points and 5.2 rebounds last year.
CBS Sports Matt Norlander anonymously interviewed college basketball coaches and 76% of them think that Under Armour is the #2 shoe in college basketball behind the Nike-giant.
Under Armour is also considered to be the most fervently loyal to its affiliates, even when including Nike. There is a sense that Under Armour is at once an inner circle, us-against-the-world company but also a brand that’s used its inner momentum to punch up and sway a lot of schools away from Adidas and/or Nike. You see coaches at Under Armour schools consistently citing their UA sponsorship as a major inspiration for success.
What was interesting was to see how many coaches at Nike schools saw the race unfolding. They see Nike as streets ahead of both — most of them, anyway — but realize that Under Armour has done so much in such a little amount of time. The belief is Under Armour is more fully invested in their schools, and that Under Armour has more presence right now, and will soon have more national prospects — than Adidas.
Football
Derrick Willies is back:
#TTUCamp16 Day 9 ✔️ #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/5aJ1JQrplT
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) August 17, 2016
Get to know freshman linebacker Jordyn Brooks:
Mahomes named to yet another watch list, this time the Campbell Award watch list:
Patrick Mahomes earned another preseason nod today on the @CampbellAward watch list https://t.co/A2b0givG8v #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/gCdNO6g5b7
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) August 16, 2016
Via The Ledger, former Texas Tech linebacker Mike Mitchell will be attending Southeastern in Louisiana this year adn will be playing there with his brother, Kiwi.
LOL. And make no mistake, I think Briles will absolutely get hired next year. Athletic directors get desperate.
Art Briles visits #Texans practice: “I’ve never done anything illegal, immoral or unethical.” pic.twitter.com/gf0rGDJlj7
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) August 16, 2016
Beware of auto-play, but Sports Illustrated has an oral history of the formation of the Big 12.
CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodds has a lengthy notebook on Big 12 expansion and where things stand. Dodds writes that Texas and Oklahoma are still in charge, ranks the top ten candidates for expansion, notes that BYU’s honor code is an issue and that there is a money grab, but who the flip cares. Before anyone feels sorry for the television networks, here’s this bit, which is true:
The rights holders want to keep their costs down. If the Big 12 expands by four, we’re talking about a possible network payout increase of $80 million-$100 million per year.
But consider this: These are the same TV giants who paid for TCU to come to the Big 12 in 2011 and Utah to enter the Pac-12 in 2010. Were Rutgers and Maryland to the Big Ten in 2013 any better than what the Big 12 is trying to do?
If you’re counting: In the last five years, that’s two Group of Five schools (TCU, Utah) in addition to Rutgers being assured major-conference status. The Scarlet Knights went to exactly one bowl in the first 136 years of their history.
Now the likes of Houston, Cincinnati and BYU don’t deserve a shot? That’s being a bit hypocritical.