The Texas Tech athletic department announced its inductees for its Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor Classes of 2023 on Wednesday.
Among the inductees are former quarterback Kliff Kingsbury and former head coach Mike Leach.
Kingsbury was a record-setting quarterback for the Red Raiders from 1998 to 2002 and was the first starting quarterback of Leach’s tenure. He was a three-time All-Big 12 selection, the 2002 AP National Offensive Player of the Year, and just the third college quarterback to amass 10,000 passing yards.
He was drafted by the New England Patriots and bounced around the NFL, NFL Europe, and the Canadian Football League (CFL) before getting into coaching.
Kingsbury started his coaching career at the University of Houston and eventually became the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M before taking the reins of his alma mater in 2013. The head coach spent six years in Lubbock before being fired and taking over the Arizona Cardinals.
He would spend four seasons in Arizona with one playoff appearance and is now a senior offensive analyst at USC, which is scheduled to play at Colorado on the day of enshrinement.
He is one of seven athletes selected for enshrinement in the Texas Tech Hall of Fame alongside Gonzalo Escobar (men’s tennis), Cathy Carlson (women’s tennis), Kim Kaufman (women’s golf), Greg Lowery (basketball), Matt Wingo (football), and Jason Young (track and field).
The late coach Leach is the only Hall of Honor induction class member.
Leach coached Texas Tech from 2000 through 2009 and had an 84-43 record during his tenure. Throughout his career, he was known as one of the innovators of the “Air Raid” offense, and his teams could score at will.
Leach was fired for alleged “mistreatment” of a player in 2009 and wound up at Washington State after a brief stint as an analyst. He led the Cougars for eight years before taking over the Mississippi State program for three.
Coach Leach passed away from a massive heart attack in December.
The induction ceremonies will take place on September 29, and the new members will be honored on the field during the school’s football game against the University of Houston on September 30.
Extra Points
— The SEC released the official conference opponents for the 2024 football season, the first year Texas and Oklahoma will officially be members of the conference. Each team will play eight conference games.
— Texas will host Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and Mississippi State and travel to Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt. Oklahoma plays Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas at home and Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, and Missouri on the road.
–The USA Today released its NCAA Financial Report earlier this week. Texas ($239,290,648) ranked second in total revenue, just behind Ohio State and ahead of Alabama. Texas A&M ($193,139,619) was seventh, and Oklahoma ($177,320,217) came in 10th. Arkansas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State were also among the top 50.
— The Big 12 Conference has introduced Big 12 Mexico, an extension of its conference operations that will host men’s and women’s basketball games, women’s soccer games, and baseball games in different areas of Mexico beginning in December 2024. The conference is also trying to create a bowl game to be played in Monterrey starting in 2026.
“Mexico is a natural extension to the Big 12 footprint, and I’m thrilled to introduce Big 12 Mexico as the Conference’s first-ever international presence,” Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said in a press release on the conference website. “Through Big 12 Mexico, our student-athletes will have the opportunity to compete in an international setting, and our Conference will have the chance to showcase our brand across Mexico.”