What Message Is Texas Tech Football Sending With 2017 Marketing Campaign?

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

The Texas Tech football team will be featuring former legends on this year’s season tickets causing some to wonder whether the program is sending a message to the players or the fans.

One of the most exciting days of summer is the day when Texas Tech season ticket holders receive their football tickets in the mail.  It marks the first sign that the season is nearing.  Receiving the ticket booklet is like getting an early Christmas present in August.

But this year’s season tickets will look quite different than any before.  The 2017 season tickets do not feature any members of the current team.  Rather, they honor former Texas Tech football greats, Spike Dykes, Donny Anderson, E.J. Holub, Dave Parks, Gabe Rivera and Zach Thomas.

Each of those men are cornerstones upon which the Texas Tech football program is built.  All but Dykes are in the college football hall of fame and he retired as the winningest coach in Red Raider history.  So while there should be no qualms about these six men being the focus of this season’s football marketing campaign, one must also wonder if there are other factors playing into this decision.

This is the first time since at least 2007 (the year I became a season ticket holder) that the marketing campaign and season tickets feature no current players.  Even in 2014, when the campaign featured different fans on the booklet cover and the game tickets, players were also included in the campaign.

The message to be derived from this year’s campaign depends on one’s outlook.  The optimist will see this as a way that the staff is reinforcing a message to the team while the cynic will perceive it as an attempt to take attention away from the program’s recent struggles.

In February, the Texas Tech coaches made it known that the current players were being stripped of the privilege of wearing the Double-T.  This move was announced ahead of spring practice and was an attempt by Kliff Kingsbury to motivate the players while teaching them how special it is to represent Texas Tech.

This tactic is nothing new in the world of sports.  When coaches perceive there to be a lack of discipline or an air of privilege within their team, they often take such measures.

By choosing not to feature any current players in the season marketing plan, the coaching staff could once again be reminding players that they are yet to earn any notoriety or accolades.  Kingsbury has proven to be rather old-fashioned in his approach to matters of player discipline and treatment and he could be continuing to try to instill humility in his young team.

In fact, he’s even applied a similar standard to himself.  After initially trying to capitalize on the publicity he garnered because of his looks and “GQ” style, he decided that he no longer wanted his name or likeness featured on merchandise .

Since then, he has make it clear that the school and the program should be the focus.  Now, there will be no players featured to promote the 2017 team (at least in the initial print campaign) furthering the head coach’s program-first mantra.

However, many see this campaign in a different light.  To them the athletic department is trying to distract the fanbase from what may see as a dire situation.

It is no secret that the program has struggled under the current coaching staff.  Kingsbury is the first coach since the late 1990’s to fail to take Texas Tech to a bowl game more than twice in his tenure.  Plus, with the departure of Patrick Mahomes to the NFL, the team is devoid of star players.

In fact, two of the most recognizable names from last year, Breiden Fehoko and Jonathan Giles, both left the program in the offseason to transfer to LSU.  For the first time in years, it is likely that the average Texas Tech fan would struggle to name more than one or two players on the current roster.

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The pessimist will look at the new marketing campaign as an attempt by the athletic department to harken upon brighter days when the team featured legitimate stars.  In times of turmoil or uncertainty, invoking euphoric recall among fans is a tried and true strategy to illicit some good will.  After all, every Red Raider looks upon the image of Zach Thomas or Gabe Rivera wearing the Double-T and smiles.

But the reality of the current situation at 4th and University is not likely to invoke many positive feelings.  The program’s favorite son turned head coach is on the verge of losing his job.  The team has taken a hit in perception due to numerous transfers and most preseason prognostications will have Tech finishing near the bottom of the league.

What about the current team could possibly be featured in a marketing campaign?  The head coach is on the hot seat, the starting quarterback is yet to make his first career start, the defense has ranked last or second-to-last in the nation the past two seasons and the only two all-conference selections from last year (Mahomes and Giles) are gone.

But, regardless of whether one is an optimist or a pessimist, all can agree that 2017 will be a pivotal year for Texas Tech football.  No one knows whether Kingsbury’s message and methodology is about to take root and pay dividends or whether he is doomed to become just another disappointing footnote in program history.

Next: Texas Tech Football To Open 2018 vs. Ole Miss

So while we wait to find out where Texas Tech football is headed, maybe it is the perfect time to honor those that made all of us Red Raider fans in the first place.  Ultimately, our love for those legends may be one of the few aspects of Texas Tech football that brings a smile to every fan regardless of his or her outlook.