Red Raiders clash with Longhorns in final Big-12 showdown

LUBBOCK, Texas — The Texas Tech track & field teams are set to compete in the Big 12 Championship meet in Waco beginning on Thursday, where the men’s team is looking for their fourth consecutive conference title, and the women’s team will look to win their first. The Big-12 meet is also where teams and individuals alike will try to qualify for the regional meet regardless of a win or loss. So the pressure is on…right?

A few things are different this time for head coach Wes Kittley and the Red Raiders. The meet is Thursday through Saturday instead of Friday through Sunday. A few races have been changed as well, for example, the 400-meter hurdles and the 200-meter race will be on Thursday instead of the last day. While these are all just a few details and logistics, there’s something special about this particular Big-12 get-together.

This is the last time within the Big-12 conference format that Texas Tech and the University of Texas will ever face off in any sport with a trophy on the line. It is one of the biggest conference rivalries and arguably one of Texas Tech’s most hated opponents of all time.

“On the men’s side, it’s us, Texas, and BYU, in that order,” Kittley said.

“On the women’s side, it’s us and Texas.”

Coach Kittley is in his 25th year coaching at Tech, and in those 25 years, he’s won 12 Big-12 Team Championships (along with many other national awards and titles). Needless to say, he knows a little bit about the highly anticipated matchup that is Red Raiders versus Longhorns in every sport.

The rivalry seemingly ignites something in all fans from both sides, for instance, Tech students camped outside the United Supermarkets Arena for days and days after once the men’s basketball head coach in Lubbock, Chris Beard, hopped on a plane to take a job as the head coach in Austin. The passion of hatred for each other’s school is the understood ‘school pride’ when it comes to Texas Tech vs. Texas.

The passion of hatred for each other’s school is in fact the understood ‘school pride’ when it comes to Texas Tech vs. Texas

So why does the pressure of this last Big-12 meeting between the two matter so much this year at the track and field meet in Waco? Well, for bragging rights, of course, but also for Texas Tech fans, it’s a form of redemption. In UT’s last year in the Big 12 before heading to the Southeastern Conference the Longhorns have taken down Texas Tech in nearly every sport.

“I want to beat everybody,” Kittley said. “But it would be special to send them out since they are leaving the conference and don’t want to be here anymore. It’s always a healthy rivalry.”

While it’s essential for the fans and loyal Red Raiders for the track and field teams to beat the Longhorns this week, it’s more important that the Tech teams take care of business. With the men’s track and field team winning the National Championship last year they have a big target on their back (and one that’s pretty hard to catch too) and Kittley knows this could be a crucial meet for marks and times.

“This is going to be important for the whole team to step up,” Kittley said. “We need some kids to step up that haven’t stepped up. Or maybe they are our fourth and fifth kids and they need to be second or third in this meet, and I think they are ready to do that.”

On the men’s side, Terrance Jones and Caleb Dean, two of the biggest scorers in running events, have been out for a few weeks due to nagging injuries, which have affected the relays and overall scoring.

“They know that it’s important to score for them in their events,” Kittley said. “There’s a little bit of indirect pressure, but I think they are also excited because those guys have had really good practices and they feel like they have them back. So I think it gives everybody a lot more confidence, and they know Texas wants to beat us really bad.”

There’s a double-edged sword in the Tech versus Texas rivalry because just as badly as Tech fans want the track and field teams to win the Big-12 title, the Longhorns want to take down the Red Raiders with every last chance they get in conference regulation.

“It’s their (Texas) last time in the Big-12 and we’re going for four in a row,” Kittley said. “So, it’s going to be a battle because Texas is really having some good meets.”

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