Raider Red is one of the mascots of

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

. The university's primary mascot is

The Masked Rider The Masked Rider is the primary mascot of Texas Tech University. It is the oldest of the university's mascots still in existence today. Originally called "Ghost Rider", it was an unofficial mascot appearing in a few games in 1936 and then became ...

who rides a live horse. Raider Red is used at events where The Masked Rider is not allowed or would not be appropriate.

History

Raider Red is a

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

character with an oversized cowboy hat. He carries two guns which he fires into the air after Texas Tech scores. Jim Gaspard, a member of the Texas Tech

Saddle Tramps Texas Tech University traditions are an important part of the culture of Texas Tech University. Music The Goin' Band from Raiderland is the 450-member marching band of Texas Tech University. The Goin' Band's repertoire of performance music v ...

student spirit organization, created the original design for the Raider Red costume based on a character created by

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

, cartoonist and former mayor

Dirk West Gerald Glynn "Dirk" West (October 23, 1928 – July 26, 1996) was an editorial cartoonist, journalist, and mayor from Lubbock, Texas, most famous for his caricatures of collegiate mascots. He was born in Littlefield, Texas, but his family mov ...

. Gaspard used papier-mache and chicken wire to mold the first Raider Red head and it took him three to four weeks to complete. Raider Red was first seen publicly on September 10, 1971. The student serving as Raider Red is a member of the Saddle Tramps or High Riders. Although The Masked Rider's identity is public knowledge, Raider Red's identity is normally kept secret until the end of his or her tenure as mascot. The first Saddle Tramp to become Red Raider after Jim Gaspard was Stan Alcott from 1971 to 1973. The identity of Red Raider was known and Stan would wear the costume to the game. Around the 1971 football season, the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

created a rule forbidding the bringing of live animal mascots to away games unless the host school permitted it. Since the Masked Rider's horse might have been prohibited from attending some games under this rule, Raider Red was created as an alternate mascot. Texas Tech now plays in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

, but the tradition of having both mascots continues. On March 15, 2007, it was revealed that, for the first time, two different people (one man and one woman) served as Raider Red during the same period of time. In 2012, Raider Red won the Capital One Mascot Challenge, beating the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

's Cocky in the final. He is known to his loyal fans as Jeffrey, thanks to the popular podcaster Dan "Big Cat" Katz. In 2021 Raider Red took the National Cheerleading Associations Mascot Championships stage in Daytona, Florida for the first time in his 50 year lifespan. Raider Red won his first NCA Mascot National Championship that year with a score of 94.28. Competing again in 2022, Raider Red went back to back winning his second NCA Mascot National Championship with a score of 93.28.

Notes and references

External links

Raider Red at Texas Tech TraditionsRaider Red at Texas Tech
{{Mascots of the Big 12 Conference Texas Tech Red Raiders Big 12 Conference mascots Cartoon mascots 1971 establishments in Texas Fictional cowboys and cowgirls Mascots introduced in 1971