Five biggest Texas Tech athletics stories of 2018
No. 1: Kliff Kingsbury fired as Texas Tech football head coach
For all the success of the Texas Tech athletic program in 2018, the year’s defining moment was also one of the saddest days in school history. On November 25, Kliff Kingsbury was fired as head football coach just one day after a 35-24 loss to Baylor sealed a 5-7 season, his third-straight losing campaign.
In the weeks leading up to the former Texas Tech quarterback’s dismissal, a rift had grown within the fan base. Many still supported Kingsbury despite his overall losing record (which would eventually settle at 35-40) pointing to the fact that unprecedented injury problems derailed what was once a promising season.
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But others were desperate for a change. Failing to win a home Big 12 game against a team other than lowly Kansas since 2015 and dropping the final five games of 2018 was more than many could stomach.
And when Kingsbury’s team completely wet the bed against two teams in Kansas State and Baylor with losing records to end the season, Hocutt was forced to make a change. It was an outcome that few expected just six years ago when Lubbock’s favorite son returned to heal a program left broken by the turmoil of the Tommy Tuberville era.
Kingsbury’s tenure began in late December of 2012 when hundreds of fans flocked to Memorial Circle to celebrate his hiring as the bells above the administration building rang out. But it ended in a somber press conference during which Kirby Hocutt had to hold back his emotions when discussing his affection for the type of person Kingsbury is in what was one of the more conflicting press conferences to announce a firing in the history of sports.
Every Texas Tech alum and fan likes Kliff Kingsbury as a human being. Unfortunately, many of us grew to dislike him as a head football coach.
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Separating the two was difficult for all involved. But in 2018, Texas Tech parted ways with arguably the most beloved figure in the history of its athletic department in what was the school’s defining moment for not only the past twelve months but likely the past ten years.