Texas Tech Red Raiders News: New video board construction, McCasland bed-ridden, Mahomes' promise, more

Here is your Friday update of all Texas Tech news and notes from around the athletic department.

Construction continues at Jones AT&T Stadium but the attention this week turned from the south endzone to the north where a new video board began to be installed. Texas Tech football head coach Joey McGuire tweeted out a picture of the old board's panels coming down.

As part of the $242 million renovation project at the stadium, the width of the video board will be increased to use the entire with of the current structure including the advertising boards on each side.

According to TexasTech.com, "These features allow for multiple zones of content, showcasing instant replays, graphics, animations, statistics, and game information as well as sponsorship messages."

The video board portion of the project is expected to be completed by late spring. Meanwhile, the entire project is on track to be finished by late summer when Texas Tech kicks off the season against Abilene Christian on August 31.

Mahomes makes a promise to his teammates

Patrick Mahomes II has given his teammates extra incentive to win the Super Bowl. In fact, he has promised to bring the Kansas City Chiefs back to Las Vegas to celebrate should the defending champs become the first team to repeat as champions in twenty years.

Mahomes is trying to convince his teammates to use this week as a business trip and avoid the temptations and distractions of Super Bowl week in Sin City.

"This is a business trip. I told the guys that if we win I'll bring everyone back to Vegas to celebrate," Mahomes said earlier this week.

People in Kansas City recognize Lubbock's Chiefs fever

Lubbock is Kansas City South and anyone who has spent any time in the Hub City since Mahomes' rise to superstardom knows it. This week, the Kansas City Star took notice of that as well. In fact, the staff members who wrote this story even stopped by legendary Lubbock restaurant Spanky's (which Mahomes said was his favorite spot in town) to try the famous fried cheese.

Grant McCasland was bed-ridden before the Texas Tech basketball game at Baylor

Texas Tech A.D. Kirby Hocutt shared following the Texas Tech basketball team's loss to Baylor on Tuesday that head coach Grant McCasland had been bedridden for multiple days prior to the trip to Waco. The flu bug has been going through the team and forced center Warren Washington to miss the game against the Bears. It also kept the head coach away from his team as it prepared for the game at Baylor. That's less than ideal when trying to spring an upset on the road but it does show just how improbable it was that Texas Tech was able to keep Tuesday's game close throughout.

Texas Tech Lady Raiders prepare for UCF as well

Saturday is an unusual day in Lubbock with both the men's and women's basketball teams hosting the UCF Knights. While we will have plenty of coverage on the Red Raiders' attempt to end their three-game losing streak, let's focus on the Lady Raiders for a moment.

At 16-8 overall and 5-6 in the Big 12, this is a great opportunity for the Lady Raiders to get to .500 in conference play. UCF is just 11-11 overall and 2-9 in league games. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. at United Supermarkets Arena.

Texas Tech baseball ranked to start the season

The Texas Tech baseball is ranked in USA Today poll. Checking in at No. 22 to open the year, Tim Tadlock's team returns five position players who started at least 50 games last season: outfielders Austin Green and Gage Harrelson, catcher Kevin Bazzell, first baseman Gavin Kash and middle infielder Tracer Lopez.

Wake Forest is No. 1 in the poll followed by LSU, Florida, Arkansas and TCU. The other Big 12 team in the top 25 is Texas (No. 13). The Red Raiders open the 2024 season at the Shriner's College Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas on Friday, February 16. There, they will face Tennessee, Nebraska, and Oregon.

More NCAA News

Iowa star women's basketball player Caitlin Clark is on the verge of breaking the NCAA women's scoring record. With 39 points at Nebraska on Sunday, Clark would pass the record of 3,527 points currently held by Kelsey Plum.

This week, U.S. District Judge Clifton Corker kept in place an NCAA rule prohibiting name, image, and likeness compensation from being used as a recruiting inducement. Currently, the states of Tennessee and Virginia have filed a temporary restraining order trying to strike down the rule but it remains in place for now. How this case shakes out will dramatically impact the landscape of college recruiting making this case worth following.

The Big 10 and SEC have formed a strategic partnership. However, SEC boss Greg Sankey says that the two leagues won't circumvent the NCAA. Supposedly, this partnership is just a "joint advisory group" designed to look for solutions in the ever-chaning NCAA landscape. However, many believe it is the first step toward the two conferences trying to break away from the NCAA to form their own entity. Only time will tell.