Texas Tech Football: Houston uniform pettiness disappointing for Red Raiders

The University of Houston’s refusal to allow the Texas Tech football team to wear white jerseys at home this week is a bit petty, but won’t stop the Red Raiders.

This weekend’s home game against Houston is the 7th-annual Celebrate Cotton game in which Texas Tech honors the West Texas cotton industry.  However, in a break from tradition, the Red Raiders will not be donning their all-white uniforms because of pettiness from the University of Houston.

NCAA rules stipulate that the home team is to wear dark jerseys in all football games while the visitors wear white.  But that standard can be reversed if both schools agree to change their assigned color scheme.

That is where Houston is throwing a bit of a wrench in Texas Tech’s plans for the weekend.  Despite several requests from Texas Tech officials, Houston remains adamant that they be the team to wear white Saturday.

"“It’s unfortunate,” Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt said Wednesday on his weekly radio show.  “I think it’s symbolic that your team wear white jerseys and it’s disappointing that Houston has taken the stance that they’ve taken and not cooperating with us.“We have made multiple requests of the University of Houston and they have denied it every time…We even asked coach Kingsbury to call [Houston head coach Major] Applewhite and that call took place and they still, at the end of the day, decided not to accommodate our request.”More from Wreck'Em RedTexas Tech football: Red Raider fans need to know about these MountaineersTexas Tech football: Red Raiders land first commit for class of 2025Texas Tech football: Why have the Red Raiders struggled on the road under McGuire?Texas Tech football: Why the Red Raiders can compete for a Big 12 titleTexas Tech football: Plenty of questions remain as conference play arrives"

Houston is apparently hiding behind the stance that they want to wear the lighter color because it will be cooler for their players.  That reasoning would hold water were it not for the fact that Saturday’s forecast in Lubbock calls for a high of just 83 degrees, a temperature the Cougars should find far more agreeable than the weather they practice in on a daily basis.

This decision on Houston’s part reeks of pettiness from a school that seems to have an inferiority complex.  Perhaps it is because the Cougars were passed over by the Big 12 in 2016 when the league decided not to expand.

Houston was one of the most serious candidates for inclusion into the Big 12 had the decision been made to go back to a twelve-team league.  And it was no secret at the time that Texas Tech was not in favor of adding Houston to the mix because it would have meant adding a new Big 12 competitor that happens to call the most fertile recruiting area in the state home.

No, wearing red jerseys Saturday instead of white will not be the end of the world for the Texas Tech football program as the uniforms will not have an impact on the outcome of the game.

Texas Tech University is trying to honor the hard-working people of West Texas’ cotton industry, people who have fought through an unprecedented year of drought in 2018 and who are the backbone of the region. Houston just wants to be “cool”.