Texas Tech is now 6-1 on the year. The Red Raiders just lost their first game of the year, falling to the Sun Devils of Arizona State. Now, the team has taken a loss for the fans, as Texas Tech asked fans to stop throwing tortillas onto the field.
“As a result of this policy change, Texas Tech Athletics is directing fans to no longer participate in the tortilla toss tradition at any point in the game, including the opening kickoffs,” Nicole Auerbach of NBCSports quoted the Texas Tech adminstration directing.
The policy change includes an fine for the tortilla toss for the school. According to the new rule, the team will be given one warning, followed by a 15-yard pentalty, plus $100,000 fine for the program.
“We know that as Red Raiders, no one tells us what to do. We make our own decisions. This situation is on me. I leaned into throwing tortillas at the beginning of the football season. Now I must ask everyone to stop,” said the school's athletic director Kirby Hocutt.
There are multiple theories around when the tradition started. One is it started in 1989 when the fans began throwing the lids off 44 ounce drinks onto the field, but switch to tortillas when the concession stands stopped giving out lids. Another is from 1992, when an ESPN broadcast stated that Lubbock, Texas, home to Texas Tech, only had football and tortillas.
While the source of the the tradition is unknown, it has become a tradition nonetheless.
“The stakes are too high. We need to help, not risk, penalizing our team again for throwing tortillas,” noted Hocutt in a press conference.
That may not stop fans from continuing the tradition differently. A fine has been introduced for storming the field. Regardless, Virginia just recieved a $50,000 fine because fans did so anyways. Meanwhile, the SEC fines for removing goal posts, but that tradition continues. The Texas Tech fans may not be able to throw tortillas to start the game now. It does not mean the tortillas will never fly again.
