Texas Tech football: Matt Wells needs to follow Chris Beard’s blueprint

Do everything possible to engage the student body

College athletics is special because of the student body.  In no other aspect of sports do we take thousands of people with poor decision-making skills, negligible restraint, over-the-top enthusiasm for raising hell and virtually no oversight and group them together as one huge army tasked with making life unbearable on the opposition.

And one of the most disappointing aspects of the Kingsbury era was that the youngest and most hip coach in the game did not resonate more with the Texas Tech students.  But that is something that Chris Beard has mastered.

From his first moment on campus, Beard has been intentional in reaching out to the student body, almost to the point of groveling.  His weekly “fireside chats” have become a social media sensation and are nothing but public service announcements for the students.  (The phrase “Tech students” has become his unofficial catch phrase because he seemingly uses it in every-other sentence.)

https://twitter.com/TexasTechMBB/status/1103822647526252544

Beard has also begun the tradition of inviting the students onto the floor to sing the “Matador Song” with the team after each victory and in every press conference, he makes certain to thank the students for their support.  What’s more earlier this year, he even held a special meet-and-greet with the students at Chimy’s.

Additionally, the students have received free hot dogs and other concessions at some home games and a student lounge area was added the the U.S.A. where alcoholic beverages were available even before they were made available area-wide.

But for some reason, the football program has alienated the student body.  For example, the Greek organizations had their traditional tailgating spots next to the stadium taken away for the sake of big-money parking areas.  And as the students were relocated blocks away from Jones Stadium, fewer and fewer actually made it to the games.  So is it any wonder that the students that do bother to show up to football games rarely stay past halftime?

Kingsbury had the looks, the style and the presence to become a cult-like figure with the students but that never seemed to be his priority.  Matt Wells has none of those traits.  But neither does Chris Beard.  So there’s proof that Wells can win over the most important fans in the stadium by reaching out and making them feel like they are as vital to the football program as they have become to Beard’s basketball program.