Texas Tech AD Asks Students to Give Up Tortilla Throwing Tradition for Fear of Fines

Texas Tech is dealing with two tough losses from over the weekend.

First, the No. 7 Red Raiders fell to an unranked Arizona State side on the road, resulting in a field-storming as the Sun Devils celebrated their first win over a top-10 opponent in nearly six years.

Then on Monday, athletic director Kirby Hocutt and coach Joey McGuire had to somberly request that their fans end the school’s tradition of tossing tortillas onto the field.

"The stakes are too high,” Hocutt said. “We need to help, not risk, penalizing our team again for throwing tortillas."

Texas Tech bans the throwing of tortillas:

"The stakes are too high. We need to help, not risk, penalizing our team again for throwing tortillas." pic.twitter.com/YLpKYh41os
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 20, 2025

Allie LaForce of TNT Sports explained the origins of the tradition earlier this year.

The backstory behind @TexasTechFB's tortilla toss 😅🙌 pic.twitter.com/L68sHd4Tyt
— Bleacher Report CFB (@BR_CFB) September 6, 2025

The tradition was so engrained in the football culture of Texas Tech that it was featured in this year’s College Football 25 video game.

Tortillas: They're in the game. 🎮#CFB26 | @EASPORTSCollege pic.twitter.com/VjV9EA9Oyn
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) July 7, 2025

But given Hocutt’s statement, it appears that the tortilla tossing will not be continuing. There were signs the tortillas might be growing stale in the offseason, when the Big 12 established new rules penalizing teams for objects thrown onto the field. That vote was 15-1, with the Red Raiders the only school voting against.

Hocutt had initially projected confidence, assuring fans after the vote that the tortilla toss would continue, but when the Big 12 added a $100,000 fine to the penalty, the Red Raiders had to think about what’s best for the health of the program in the NIL era.

For over 30 years, Texas Tech fans have thrown tortillas on the field.

Now, the Red Raiders are asking them to stop after the Big 12 upped potential fines for repeat incidents of tortillas being thrown to $100,000.

"The stakes are too high," AD Kirby Hocutt stressed to fans. pic.twitter.com/r9gdp9ADNY
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) October 20, 2025

"We know that as Red Raiders, no one tells us what to do. We make our own decisions," Hocutt said. "This situation is on me. I leaned into throwing tortillas at the beginning of the football season. Now I must ask everyone to stop."