Texas Tech University Athletics
Riding Together
August 29, 2014 | Football
Texas Tech has sold out of football season tickets for the first time in school history.
BY BRITTON DROWN
Special to TexasTech.com
Erik Book still recalls the heightened anticipation surrounding the Texas Tech Athletics offices in December 2012. It was a Wednesday evening, specifically, when that eagerness transformed to action.
That evening, his staff prepared for what they knew would be a conclusion in the search for the 15th head coach of the Red Raider football team. Still though, they hadn't been informed, officially, just whom that coach would be. So Book, Tech's Associate Athletics Director for Marketing/Sales/Service, prepared his team for what would be a busy day of season ticket sales as Thursday approached.
With the announcement, Hocutt initiated a demand never felt before in Lubbock.
The response was instant. Texas Tech went on to sell 500 season tickets in 24 hours, and 1,500 tickets that week alone. Something Book, in his career of athletics ticket sales, had never experienced in December - eight full months separated from the start of Kingsbury's career as head coach in Lubbock.
"It was unprecedented," Book said. "I don't think anybody in the country has sold 1,500 new season tickets in December. In looking back, I don't think that has ever been done."
The response was a sign, a unanimous voice from the Texas Tech fan base bringing life to what was to come.
RECORDS TUMBLE
With the start of the Kliff Kingsbury Era, the Texas Tech fan base immediately set itself apart from the national trend. In contrast to the declines in attendance in college football venues across the country, Texas Tech went on to break numerous records at Jones AT&T Stadium in 2013.
Football, the way Texas Tech fans embrace it, was back on the South Plains - and in grand fashion. Tech averaged 57,932 fans per-game, breaking the previous mark of 57,215, while twice breaking the stadium record with crowds of 60,997 (Texas State) and 61,836 (Oklahoma State).
"I don't believe I had any way of anticipating how quickly that would unify and excite a fan base." Hocutt said. "To watch that transpire, and watch that evolve, is something that has been a lot of fun and something that I believe is only going to continue to grow."
Perhaps the most significant response from the Tech fan base came this summer, when it was announced July 9 that for the first time in school history, the program sold out of season tickets for the upcoming football season.
"We have one of the most unique atmospheres in college football," Book said. "We wouldn't have that without the great fans that we do have."
Book and the Tech ticket office announced that day a record 38,502 season ticket commitments were made, while on Aug. 6, the department announced that the Texas game officially reached sellout status - the earliest sellout of a game in school history.
"The Red Raider Nation, fan base and alumni base is as passionate as any in this country," Hocutt said. "The excitement that they have shown and demonstrated by selling out Jones AT&T Stadium for the first time in school history just speaks volumes to the excitement that surrounds this program and this university."
A SIGNATURE MOMENT
One full calendar year had passed since Kingsbury's hiring, and beneath the lights at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Calif. another spark was ignited. This one came in the form of a brilliant 37-23 upset victory over No. 14 Arizona State.
In front of a nationally televised audience on ESPN, true freshman quarterback Davis Webb peeled apart the Sun Devil defense, throwing for 403 yards and four touchdowns in the victory.
All was well in California that night as Kingsbury capped off his inaugural season with a masterful showing in his first-ever bowl game as head coach. Cameras flashed and the Red Raider fans turned Qualcomm Stadium into red and black pandemonium as he hoisted the trophy at midfield. Kingsbury led the Red Raiders to an 8-5 campaign, and put in place a firm foundation for 2014.
"It gave Red Raider nation a glimpse into what the future was going to hold for us," Hocutt said. "It was obviously an optimistic outlook even before the Holiday Bow, but I think that game, in so many ways, set the table for what lies ahead."
LOOKING AHEAD
What came with the hiring of Kingsbury was a thrilling 2013 football season, a marquee victory at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego and now a near fever pitch anticipation as the Red Raiders are set to build upon that momentum.
The Holiday Bowl victory that chilly December evening in San Diego proved to be a table setter for the 2014 season. With the victory, Book and his team felt the response almost instantaneously. To support the demand, his staff started marketing efforts in February, a rarity for a season that kicks off on Aug. 30.
"Excitement has never been at the level that it is," Hocutt said. "It's going to be a lot of fun this year. We are excited to open the season."
Now, the Red Raiders enter the 2014 campaign with their identity set in Kingsbury and arguably the best home schedule in recent memory. Tech will welcome the likes of Arkansas (Sept. 13), West Virginia (Oct.11), Kansas (Oct. 18), Texas (Nov. 1) and Oklahoma (Nov. 15) to Jones AT&T Stadium in 2014.
And they will do so in front of the most united fan base in school history.
"Our fan base has stepped forward." Hocutt said. "They have shown historic levels of support, and we will ride together. We will experience and share many victories and success in the years to come. If we are going to elevate this program and achieve success at the level that we all expect, it is going to take a team effort."
