College sports are fueled by love for your university and hatred toward your rivals. And in no other sport is hatred toward opposing coaches as strong as it is in college hoops, where the coach is the unquestioned face of each program. That's why there have been a number of opposing coaches despised by Texas Tech basketball fans over the years.
For years, Red Raider fans have had their targets set on opposing coaches. When those men brought their teams to Lubbock, they often got more heat from the crowd than anyone who actually stepped foot between the lines.
In previous eras, coaches such as West Virginia's Bob Huggins, Kansas State's Bruce Weber, Texas' Rick Barnes, Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton, and Kansas State's Frank Martin have all been reviled by Texas Tech fans. Some, such as Weber, Huggins, and Martin, had personalities and sideline demeanors that made it difficult for fans to stomach their antics. Others, such as Barnes and Sutton, were simply too successful for hated rivals for Tech fans to embrace.
Now, it is a new era in the sport and in the Big 12. But that doesn't mean that there is a lack of vilians for Red Raiders to aim their hatred toward. So let's look at the three college basketball coaches that Texas Tech basketball fans love to hate.
Texas Tech fans hate TCU's Jamie Dixon despite the fact that he hasn't won big
One of the coaches who is reviled in West Texas because of his personality and cartoonish sideline persona is TCU's Jamie Dixon. In fact, he might be the most disliked head coach in the Big 12 among Texas Tech basketball fans.
First, we must address the elephant in the room with Dixon, He has made an awful choice with his hairstyle in what most believe is an attempt to conceal a bald spot. While there is nothing wrong with having a little less salad on top as you age, trying to conceal it in such an obvious way always draws the ridicule of fans.
But more than that, Dixon is insufferable during games. He is almost always screaming so passionately at the officials that his face turns shades of red and purple.
Even more, he is constantly roaming outside of the designated coach's box. He also tends to wander his way onto the court during play, something that drives Texas Tech fans mad.
Dixon hasn't won big at TCU. In nine years at Fort Worth, he's finished no higher than fifth in the conference. What's more, he's never taken his alma mater to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. His overall winning percentage with the Horned Frogs is just .583, yet he is still almost universally praised by college basketball pundits.
He won't get much love in West Texas, though. In fact, he is always one of the most reviled opposing coaches to come through Lubbock each season.
Texas Tech fans are tired of seeing Bill Self win big at Kansas
There is no more arrogant fan base in college basketball than those who support the Kansas Jayhawks. What's more, the KU head coach, Bill Self, is one of the most disliked coaches in the sport.
On one hand, Self is hated because of his success. That's just the nature of sports.
He has won two NCAA Championships (2008, 2022) and 16 Big 12 regular-season titles. Thus, fans all around the conference have grown tired of his success.
However, the hate is about more than just his extended dominance. Self is not a tremendously unlikeable coach in terms of his demeanor.
One of the most smug coaches in the game, he rubs fans around the nation the wrong way. What's more, he is often known to complain openly about officials and even berate them during games despite the fact that Kansas almost always gets the benefit of a favorable whistle, especially in critical moments of close games and when playing at home.
Texas Tech hasn't had much success against Self over the years. He has been at KU since the 2003-04 season and has lost to the Red Raiders only eight times. Therefore, Tech fans have come to despise him for many of the same reasons they despised Rick Barnes when he was at Texas.
Texas Tech fans will forever hate Chris Beard
Finally, there is no coach in the game that Tech fans love to hate more than Ole Miss' Chris Beard. That situation is personal, of course.
Beard took Texas Tech to never-before-seen heights in his short time in Lubbock. The former Red Raider assistant under Bob Knight was in charge of the Red Raiders from just 2016-17 to 2020-21 yet he got the team to its first Elite Eight and its only National Championship Game appearance to date.
Beard was beloved by Red Raiders from the moment he left UNLV for the South Plains after just a month on the job in Vegas. In his introductory press conference, he even referred to Texas Tech as "momma", who was calling him home.
However, at the first opportunity he had, he jumped ship to his alma mater, Texas. That instantly put him in the same category as former Texas Tech football head coach David McWilliams, who left Tech for UT after just one season in the 1980s.
Thus far, Beard has never picked up a win over the Red Raiders as he went 0-2 against Tech while at UT. Now at Ole Miss, he won't cross paths with Tech unless it is in the NCAA Tournament, but until the day he stops coaching, he will be one of the biggest villains in the sport for Red Raider fans.