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Texas Tech football: 5 unknowns that remain ahead of 2019 season

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 14: The Texas Tech Red Raiders take the field before the game against the Kansas State Wildcats on November 14, 2015 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 59-44. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 14: The Texas Tech Red Raiders take the field before the game against the Kansas State Wildcats on November 14, 2015 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 59-44. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images)
(Photo by Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images) /

Will changes to the game day experience lead to increased fan engagement?

It has been a decade since Texas Tech was relevant on the national scene.  And over that time, Jones Stadium has gone from one of the most intense home field advantages to one of the most docile as fan apathy has reached its highest levels since the end of the Spike Dykes era.

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Last year, virtually every home game finished in front of a stadium that was 60% or more empty.   And the excuses were plentiful.  The Lamar and Houston games were said to be too hot for fans to stay.   The Kansas game was a huge blow out that did not hold the average fan’s interest.

The Texas game was too cold and just like the West Virginia game, Tech was behind by multiple touchdowns at halftime.  As for the the OU game…well…it seemed like most people preferred the option of drinking beer in the parking lot to watching Tech take on the eventual Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray in a one-score game.

So in an attempt to bring fans back to the games and keep them there for the duration, the athletic department has made several changes to the game day experience.  Most notably, fans will be able to buy alcohol at Jones Stadium but they will no longer be able re-enter the stadium after leaving the game to drink in the parking lot.

Additionally, concession prices have been slashed (something that was a huge hit during basketball season) and more tailgating areas closer to the stadium are expected to be available.  But no one knows if that will be enough to bring back thousands of disenchanted fans.

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Working against the Red Raiders this season is an absolutely uninspiring home schedule that lacks OU, Texas, West Virginia, Baylor or a Power 5 non-conference team.  And by now, a generation of Red Raider football fans have grown up without knowing what it’s like to be nationally relevant.  If will be interesting to see if beer is all it takes to bring them back to the Jones and to get them to stay for all four quarters.  Of course, winning a home game against a Big 12 team other than Kansas might also help matters.

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