Raider Red

Raider Red is one of the mascots of Texas Tech University. The main mascot is The Masked Rider who rides a live horse. Raider Red is used at events where The Masked Rider is not allowed or would not be appropriate. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Texas Tech University is a nationally recognized doctoral/research university located in Lubbock, Texas (USA). ... The Masked Rider gives the finger-gun salute. ...

Around the 1971 football season, the Southwest Conference created a rule forbidding the bringing of live animal mascots to away games unless the host school permitted it. Since the Masked Rider's horse might be prohibited from attending some games under this rule, Raider Red was created as an alternate mascot. Texas Tech now plays in the Big 12 Conference, but the tradition of having both mascots continues. 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ... The Southwest Conference (SWC) was a college athletic conference in the United States, now defunct. ... The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of twelve schools located in the central United States. ...

Jim Gaspard, a member of the Texas Tech Saddle Tramps student spirit organization, created the original design for the Raider Red costume based on a character created by Lubbock cartoonist and former mayor Dirk West. Raider Red is a Wild West character with an over-sized cowboy hat. He carries two guns which he fires into the air after Texas Tech scores. The introduction of this article does not provide enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject. ... Lubbock is a city located in Lubbock County, in the north west of the state of Texas, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 199,564. ... Gerald Glynn Dirk West (??, 1930 - 26 July 1996) was an editorial cartoonist and journalist from Lubbock, Texas most famous for his caricatures of collegiate mascots. ... Great Basin region, typical American West The Western United States has played a significant role in history and fiction. ...

The student serving as Raider Red is a member of the Saddle Tramps or High Riders. Although The Masked Rider's identity is public knowledge, Raider Red's identity is kept secret until the end of his tenure as mascot. On March 15, 2007, it was revealed that, for the first time, two different people served as Raider Red during the same period of time.^[1] High Riders is a spirit organization at Texas Tech University. ...

Notes and references

External links

• Raider Red at Texas Tech Traditions