Texas Tech Basketball To Host Throwback Game At Coliseum
The Texas Tech basketball team has released its 2017-18 non-conference schedule which features a unique throwback game.
Though the nation is preparing for the start of the college football season, the Texas Tech basketball team made news Saturday with the announcement of its upcoming non-conference schedule. The most intriguing aspect of that non-con slate is not an opponent but rather a unique event.
Texas Tech basketball will host a throwback game against former Southwest Conference foe Rice on December 16. The game will be played in the former home of Texas Tech basketball, the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum.
Tech called the Coliseum home until the United Supermarkets Arena opened for the 1999-2000 season. Now, after almost two decades, the Red Raiders will return to the building that saw the program claim six Southwest Conference regular season titles in the 47 years of action inside.
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The throwback concept has been a hit for the Texas Tech football and baseball programs in recent years. The football program sported 1990’s style uniforms in a home-and-home series against Arkansas in 2014 and 2015. Meanwhile, the Texas Tech baseball program hosted a throwback game last season and the uniforms were so popular that the team continued to wear the retro look on home Sunday games throughout the season.
Now, the Texas Tech basketball team is set to take the concept to the next level. Unlike the other programs on campus, the basketball program will have the luxury of playing in its previous arena. With that, fans should expect there to be a throwback look to not only the uniforms but to the court and the game presentation.
The move is a creative way to draw fans during a time of year when attendance drops as the students are away for winter break. Last season, Texas Tech drew 10,008 fans when the Rice Owls came to Lubbock on December 3rd.
Non-conference games during winter break averaged 8,038 in attendance which is just over 50% of the United Supermarkets Arena’s 15,000 person capacity. Conversely, the Coliseum has a capacity of 6,904 so a sellout crowd is likely to be on hand for this unique experience.
Other notes from the non-conference schedule include the season opener at home against South Alabama on November 10th and a November 18th meeting with Boston College in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Tournament in Connecticut.
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Additionally, the Red Raiders will face 2017 Final Four member South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina as part of the Big 12 / SEC Challenge. That game falls on January 27th which is in the middle of the Big 12 portion of the schedule.