Texas Tech is officially ending its longtime tradition of fans throwing tortillas onto the football field at home games, athletic director Kirby Hocutt said this week. “We are no longer going to encourage or permit the throwing of tortillas at the opening kickoff for our home football games,” Hocutt told reporters.
He added, “We control our own fate in every situation on the football field, as well as with our event operations. We cannot risk letting our actions penalize our team. The stakes are too high, and we need to help, not risk penalizing our team again for throwing tortillas.”
The move comes after the Big 12 Conference changed its rules to punish teams when fans throw objects onto the playing surface, a decision driven in part by repeated tortilla tosses at Texas Tech games. Under the new policy, a first offense draws a warning, and multiple violations can result in a 15‑yard penalty for the home team.
Hocutt acknowledged the challenge of changing a game‑day custom that has been part of the Red Raider experience for decades. The tradition originated in the late 1990s, when students began tossing tortillas in response to a quip about Lubbock being home to “nothing but Tech football and a tortilla factory.”
Although the AD made it clear that the throwing of tortillas at kickoff is no longer permitted, he also emphasized the broader goal of protecting the team. Hocutt said the primary concern is avoiding penalties that could affect on‑field performance and avoiding situations that “could penalize our football team.”
Some fans and alumni view the decision as the end of a quirky, unifying ritual. Others see it as a necessary change given increased scrutiny from the conference and concerns about safety and game‑management standards. The updated policy applies to any object thrown onto the field, but Texas Tech’s tortilla‑toss tradition made it a focal point of conference attention.
Moving forward, event staff and stadium security will be tasked with enforcing the new rule. Fans will still be permitted to hold and wave tortillas in the stands, but once one lands on the field, a warning system will be triggered. Subsequent incidents may lead to section clearances or penalties assessed to the team.
