Texas Tech | Texas Tech Announces Largest One-Time Gift in Athletics History

Texas Tech Athletics announced Friday a $20 million gift from Board of Regents member Dustin R. Womble to fund construction of a new football training facility. It marks the largest one-time gift to the athletics department in its history.

The lead gift will help Texas Tech continue to reshape its athletics facilities with the help of Womble, who already provided more than $10 million to fund a state-of-the-art basketball practice facility in his name, the Dustin R. Womble Basketball Center that opened this past May across from United Supermarkets Arena.

To date, Womble has gifted his alma mater with more than $30 million as part of The Campaign for Fearless Champions, placing him historically among one of Texas Tech University’s largest individual donors and the largest athletics donor. He joins the ranks of other generous supporters such as Jim Sowell, Ed Whitacre and Jerry Rawls.

“We are so thankful for the continued support and loyalty from the Womble family,” Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt said. “Football is the lifeblood of our department, and we are going to continue to invest in our success and the success of our student-athletes. This project will immediately boost our football facilities and set the standard for what other universities can aspire to have.”

Once completed, Texas Tech will boast one of the largest investments into its football program in history as construction of the Womble Football Center is expected to be a $40-50 million project. The two-story complex will remain in its same location adjacent to both Jones AT&T Stadium and the Sports Performance Center, which has earned rave reviews since its unveiling in 2017 as one of the premier indoor football facilities in the country.

We’ve got schematics!

Our future home 🏠 pic.twitter.com/9Znzx8Jszh

— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) October 8, 2021

And photos!

Make no mistake about it. Our ongoing investment into Texas Tech Football is accelerating and is our primary focus for our athletic department as we look towards the future.#WreckEm pic.twitter.com/tZ6xxjNfsb

— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) October 8, 2021

Obviously this sort of thing deserves its own post. For simplicity purposes, this is one of the most significant thins to happen for Texas Tech athletics that I can remember. A $50 million project and a new facility that will equal The Womble is without question the biggest gift on record.

Dustin Womble, thank you.

The Dallas Morning News’ Ryan Mainville | The Main Point: TCU matchup on Saturday could be tenure-defining for Matt Wells

I love this question and I think the answer is more significant than it’s being credited for. Matt Wells was asked something along these lines on Tuesday, and his answer was something along the lines of football being a player’s game. That sentiment is certainly true, but I think it’d be foolish to imagine he hasn’t gone to Cumbie a few times this week trying to dig up details on this team.

If a team has a Cumbie advantage, I think it’s Texas Tech. The most important reasoning behind that is the fact that his offensive system has been working well so far this season. The Red Raiders have spread the ball out well amongst the receivers, incorporated the tight ends and ran the ball efficiently. That’s Cumbie’s bread-and-butter, and Texas Tech has the personnel to make it difficult to stop. Obviously, the players on the offensive end need to step up. But if for nothing more than just being a good play-caller, I think the Red Raiders will benefit from having Cumbie on their sideline against TCU for the first time since he was taking snaps at quarterback.

Star Telegram’s Drew Davison | TCU football vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders: Kickoff time, TV, line, radio, prediction

PREDICTION
Many of the storylines coming out of TCU’s loss to Texas centered on the running backs. Bijan Robinson had a career day and finished with 20 more carries than TCU’s Zach Evans. Expect Evans to become even more involved in TCU’s game plan on offense and Patterson to make some adjustments in the secondary to help the defense. TCU 34, Texas Tech 27.

Athlon Sports’ Allen Kenney | TCU vs. Texas Tech Football Prediction and Preview

Final Analysis
Get ready for some points. Neither of these teams is stopping opponents: Texas Tech is giving up 30.8 points per game, while TCU is allowing 27.3.

With Tech playing shorthanded, that would suggest the Red Raiders would struggle to keep up in a shootout. If Tech gears up to stop Evans, it should give Duggan open windows to hit his explosive wideouts, Taye Barber and Quentin Johnston.

Don’t underestimate longtime Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson’s ability to get his team motivated in what is looking like a must-win game. Unless the Red Raiders generate a few more turnovers than TCU, this should go the way of the Horned Frogs.

Dallas Morning News | Texas Tech, TCU meet after different results to bad losses

Texas Tech and TCU were both coming off unsettling losses when they played last weekend. They responded with different results, and now face each other.

The Red Raiders (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) bounced back by winning at West Virginia.

“As sad as we were, upset as we were, as embarrassed as we were last week, we feel that good this week,” Texas Tech coach Matt Wells said. “Now now what it needs to do is inspire us to go back and restart all over again.”

TCU (2-2, 0-1), which plays in Lubbock on Saturday night, lost to local rival SMU and then fell 32-27 in its Big 12 opener last week against the same Texas team that a week earlier at home overwhelmed the Red Raiders, 70-35.

“Emotional three games, SMU, Texas and now Texas Tech. They won a good ball game last week. … Morgantown is a hard place to go play,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “It’s always tough to play a night game (in Lubbock). Get ready to go, that’s what we do.”