Red Raider Club History and Timeline

Originally known as the Matador Club, the Red Raider Club was founded to encourage athletic excellence at Tech. This excerpt from the January 31, 1926 Lubbock Avalanche Journal describes the beginnings of the Red Raider Club:

"The Matador Club ... was organized at the opening of the college term to support college athletics and to develop close contact between the people of the plains and the college students and faculty members, in order that all athletic programs may be given the whole-hearted support of everyone."

The article refers to the first fund-raising drive and its $3,700 goal. The Matador Club called on the people of Lubbock and the surrounding areas to meet specific expenses.

Over time, our name has changed and our base of support has stretched nationwide. Scholarships have become our primary focus; today’s Red Raider Club directly supports more than 280 scholarship student-athletes in 17 sports. Clearly, with today’s cost of a single in-state athletic scholarship now topping $16,000, $3,700 does not go as far as it used to. However, the original spirit of active support for Texas Tech Athletics lives on at the Red Raider Club.