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Kirby Hocutt: The busiest AD in America since 2011

By Matthew Conner

Jan 16, 2016; Lubbock, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders athletic director Kirby Hocutt answers questions from the press before the game against the Baylor Bears at United Supermarkets Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2016; Lubbock, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders athletic director Kirby Hocutt answers questions from the press before the game against the Baylor Bears at United Supermarkets Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jun 17, 2014; Omaha, NE, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Tim Tadlock (6) and Mississippi Rebels head coach Mike Bianco (5) shake hands prior to game seven of the 2014 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 17, 2014; Omaha, NE, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Tim Tadlock (6) and Mississippi Rebels head coach Mike Bianco (5) shake hands prior to game seven of the 2014 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports /

June 8, 2012 – Kirby Hocutt promotes Tim Tadlock to baseball head coach

A strong argument can be made that the most successful men’s athletic program in the history of Texas Tech is the baseball program. There is no argument that Hocutt’s hiring of current baseball head coach Tim Tadlock has been his best as Texas Tech AD.

In the summer of 2012, Kirby Hocutt had to fire head baseball coach Dan Spencer after four futile years at the helm of the program.

The former Oregon State pitching coach failed to get Texas Tech into the NCAA Tournament in his tenure and the program was trending downward faster than a kamikaze pilot. So Kirby Hocutt let Spencer go and promoted Texas Tech assistant coach and Red Raider alum Tadlock to head coach.

In just his second year in charge, Tadlock did the unthinkable and took Texas Tech to the College World Series. This was the first time the Red Raiders had advanced to Omaha and now it looks as if that season was the catalyst for what might be a great Texas Tech career for Tadlock.

After going 31-24 last season and finishing tied for 3rd in the Big 12, Tadlock’s 2016 team is having one of the best seasons in the program’s long history. Currently, Texas Tech sits atop the Big 12 standings at 11-1 and is ranked in the top 10 nationally with a 28-9 record.

With a no-nonsense attitude and an unwillingness to accept excuses, Tadlock is the perfect fit at Texas Tech. If there is a hire that Kirby Hocutt should be most proud of it is that of the current Texas Tech baseball coach who might just be the best baseball coach in the NCAA.

Next: Hocutt makes his most important hire

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