Texas Tech’s enrollment keeps climbing, and the school’s football moment is part of the reason.
The university announced this week a school-record enrollment of 45,812, up 3,859 from last year’s class. In a summer that featured plenty of chatter about Texas Tech’s “behaviors,” the numbers suggest the program’s approach landed just fine with incoming students and applicants.
That matters in a sport where winning sells better than almost anything else. Until colleges find a stronger way to market themselves to high school kids, a major football program that keeps stacking wins still carries enormous pull - second only to the word “Ivy,” as the piece puts it.
And right now, Texas Tech is using that pull as well as anyone.
The Red Raiders are one of five Texas teams in the Associated Press Top 25, joining No. 5 Texas, No.
8 Texas A&M, No. 19 SMU and No.
23 Houston. Texas Tech sits at No. 12, and that presence says plenty about where the program stands nationally.
SMU is there too, and its rise has been fueled by hundreds of millions of dollars from boosters. The Mustangs have effectively bought their way into Power Four football through the ACC, and the move has paid off. A private school that spent more than two decades trailing TCU - especially in football - is now at least on the same level as most of its old Southwest Conference peers.
Texas Tech hasn’t had to buy its way into the Power Four, but no program in the country has made better use of the current NCAA landscape. The willingness to spend aggressively on players has given the Red Raiders something they haven’t had since the Mike Leach era: real national relevance and a defined identity.
It may not be a brand everyone likes. That hasn’t stopped it from working.
The article also points out that Texas Tech’s image is part of the appeal. The program has leaned into being a kind of rebel winner, and that sort of profile has long drawn people to teams like Miami in the 1980s and Jerry Tarkanian’s UNLV basketball teams.
There’s a broader Texas backdrop to all of this, too. TCU and Houston have each had moments of success in recent seasons.
TCU finished last season ranked No. 25 in the final AP poll, its first finish in the rankings since 2022. Houston ended Willie Fritz’s second season at 10-3 and in the Top 25.
Baylor, meanwhile, is the outlier. The Bears have slipped into the background among the state’s major programs, and Dave Aranda is coaching with his job on the line. The administration wants him to succeed, in part because they like him and in part because they’d rather not pay his buyout.
The real divide in Texas football, though, came into sharper focus after Texas joined the SEC in 2024. The distance between UT and Texas A&M and everyone else in the state grew even wider, especially as the SEC and Big Ten continued consolidating wealth and power.
That leaves the Big 12 trying to stay relevant in a sport increasingly controlled by those two leagues. Commissioner Brett Yormark keeps selling the conference as a “monster,” but the piece makes clear that not everyone is buying it.
The numbers tell the story anyway. In the playoff era, Texas teams are 3-6 in playoff games.
Texas has two playoff wins, and TCU has one, which is also the Big 12’s only playoff victory. The last national title for a Texas school in major college football came in 2005, when Vince Young beat USC.
TCU did reach the title game in the 2022 season, but lost to Georgia by a field goal... plus another 20 or so field goals.
For now, the center of gravity remains the Big Ten and SEC. And in Texas, Texas Tech is the program closest to that orbit - even after getting blanked in its playoff loss to Oregon last season.
In Other News...
Texas A&M Just Backed Off A Fight With Major SEC Stakes
Texas A&M has chosen not to push back against the SECs new stance on former professional athletes, clearing the path for the Aggies to move on from Bryson Warren. Warren, who spent time in the G-League and never played college basketball, has entered the transfer portal after the conference ruled that players with a pro background like his are not eligible to compete in SEC basketball.
The bigger issue for Texas A&M was never just one roster spot, but the risk attached to standing its ground. The SECs penalties for schools that sign ineligible former pros are severe enough that the Aggies decided against challenging the conference, leaving Warren out of the picture and ending one potential test case before it could become a much larger fight. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M May Be Getting Back A Familiar Guard After All
Texas A&M may be in line to welcome back a familiar guard after all, with Rylan Griffen reportedly granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA and SEC that could open the door to an extra year of eligibility. Griffen has enrolled in classes at Texas A&M and, according to reports, intends to rejoin the basketball team for the 2026-27 season, giving the Aggies a possible boost from a player who already knows the program.
The timing is notable for a roster that just saw guard Bryson Warren depart, leaving a spot to be filled in the backcourt. Nothing is official yet, but Griffens situation adds another layer of intrigue to Texas A&Ms offseason planning, especially with the team trying to sort out its guard rotation and keep some continuity heading into the next chapter. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&Ms New College Football 27 Ratings Send An Early Message
EA Sports College Football 27 has started rolling out its latest wave of player ratings, and Texas A&M is already giving fans a fresh talking point. The Aggies check in at 86 overall as a team, with wide receiver Mario Craver leading the way at 91 overall, a sign that the game sees him as one of the rosters clear headliners heading into the new cycle.
The updated player pool also brought in several newcomers for Texas A&M, including freshmen and sophomores Evan Jacobson and Caleb Tafua. Their initial ratings fall in the 74-to-77 range, which gives the Aggies a fairly solid baseline but also leaves room for a few younger pieces to make a bigger impression once the real season gets moving. [Read more 🡒]