The Weirdest College Football Tradition Just Cost a Team $25K
Texas Tech University’s football team was fined $25,000 after fans threw tortillas during a home game against Kansas. The Red Raiders won 42–17, but the celebration got out of hand when hundreds of tortillas landed on the field, which forced officials to stop play twice. The Big 12 Conference issued the fine for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The tortilla toss has been part of Texas Tech tradition since the early 1990s, when students began flinging them at kickoff as a lighthearted gesture. Over time, the practice has grown into a safety concern, and the recent fine may finally push the school to put an end to it.
Cracking Down On A Costly Habit
Athletic director Kirby Hocutt announced a full ban on the practice. Starting with the next home game, anyone caught throwing tortillas will lose ticket privileges for the rest of the school year across every sport. Fans entering the stadium will be asked to discard tortillas at the gate, and reminders will play before kickoff. Hocutt said the fines and penalties had reached a point where they directly impacted the team’s goals.
He also took personal responsibility for allowing the behavior to continue. Earlier in the season, Hocutt publicly encouraged fans to keep the tradition alive, unaware of how serious the consequences might become. “The situation is on me,” he said during a press conference. “Now I have to ask everyone to stop, and our staff has to enforce it.” Coach Joey McGuire, who had previously told fans it was acceptable to throw tortillas only on the opening kickoff, took a new stance, saying the habit now hurt the team’s performance.
The Big 12’s Hard Line
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Staff Sgt. Matthew Plew
This situation followed a new Big 12 rule introduced before the season. The policy requires referees to issue a warning after the first incident of fans throwing objects onto the field and apply automatic 15-yard penalties for later offenses. Hocutt opposed the rule when it passed, arguing that it unfairly punished schools with long-standing traditions.
Still, when tortillas hit the field twice during the Kansas game, the Big 12 applied both penalties and the $25,000 fine. Kansas also received the same fine because coach Lance Leipold falsely claimed a pocketknife was thrown from the stands. After the game, tensions ran high between the two coaching staffs, but the Big 12 made clear the fines were final.
The Future Without The Tortillas
The focus now shifts to keeping the same spirit without breaking league rules. Hocutt suggested fans wave towels instead, comparing it to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “Terrible Towel.” Coach McGuire added that the roaring crowd energy in Lubbock had nothing to do with tortillas and everything to do with passionate support.
Texas Tech still holds strong playoff hopes, sitting near the top of the Big 12 standings and chasing its first trip to the conference championship game. With that kind of pressure, the team can’t afford any more penalties or fines.