The Power Of A Phone Call
December 05, 2014 | Men's Golf
Dec. 5, 2014
By Blayne Beal
Associate Athletics Director
For junior first baseman Eric Gutierrez, growing up in Mission, Texas, might as well have been Mexico.
Mission didn't feel like the rest of Texas where up-and-coming athletes are in the spotlight and college recruiters come calling. He felt isolated and alone, his chance at a baseball career slipping away before it ever started.
Like most high school students with big dreams, he wondered why? Why wasn't anyone taking notice? Why not one single phone call from a Division I school?
Then one day, he got a call that changed everything.
Head Baseball Coach Tim Tadlock, known for scouring every nook and cranny of the country, took notice of Eric and saw something in him that others had missed. He offered him a scholarship and a chance to play at the highest level in collegiate sports.
The All-American dream was being presented to a young man who spent the majority of his life on the outside looking in.
Eric's story is not all that different than those of countless other student-athletes who have worn the Double T since the school's founding in 1925. An institution forced to raise itself up against all odds, has long provided a home to those seeking to showcase their merit.
That one phone call from Tim Tadlock to Eric Gutierrez completely changed the course of his life.
Eric was about to become the first member of his family to go to college.
Those of us that were provided the means and expectations of a college education often lose sight of its privileges. A college education provides opportunity and has the power to change lives and the circumstances of an entire family.
Did you know that a little more than half of the student-athletes on our current football roster are the first in their family to attend college? These young men are being provided an opportunity at an education that will forever change their lives and that of their family's life.
Look across every other team roster and you will find dozens of other young men and women who are the first in their family to pursue a college education.
According to a study conducted by Georgetown University, workers with a high school diploma have a career earnings projection of $1,304,000. Compare that to their counterparts in the workforce that have a bachelor's degree and the projected career earnings improve to $2,268,000 - a difference of almost one million dollars.
Based upon current graduation rates, Texas Tech Athletics is providing a combined $54,188,502 annually in projected career earnings for Texas Tech student-athletes compared to individuals that achieved a high school diploma.
These powerful and life changing numbers are only possible with your support.
Your annual contributions to the Red Raider Club provide opportunities that otherwise would not be available to the young men and women who compete at Texas Tech.
And for that we say thank you.
Thank you for changing lives and providing opportunities so that aspiring student-athletes like Eric Gutierrez have a chance to live their dreams.
As Eric stood in the batter's box at the College World Series last June or at the Home Run Derby two weeks later, do you think he ever dreamed that one day he would have that chance?
Of course he did. And Texas Tech Athletics, through your investment into the Red Raider Club, provided the foundation for this reality.
Thank you for supporting over 400 dreams and specifically for making Eric's dreams come true.
Your Support, Their Effort, Our Fearless Champions.
Players Mentioned
