Texas Tech Bans Tortilla Toss After Big 12 Fines

Texas Tech announced it will no longer permit or encourage fans to throw tortillas at the opening kickoff of home football games; athletic director Kirby Hocutt and coach Joey McGuire urged fans to stop and staff to enforce the change. The move follows tortillas being thrown onto the field during Texas Tech’s Oct. 11 win over Kansas and a Big 12 rule amendment that allows one warning before a 15-yard personal-foul penalty and imposes a $100,000 fine for repeat offenses. The conference fined Texas Tech $25,000 for not doing enough to deter the behavior and found unsubstantiated a claim that a Kansas staffer had been struck by a pocketknife during the tossing; the Big 12 also fined Kansas’ coach for disparaging comments about the episode. Hocutt, who initially voted against the conference rule and had earlier defended the tradition, said the decision is his responsibility and accepted the ban to avoid jeopardizing the Red Raiders’ Big 12 title pursuit and College Football Playoff hopes. The school will ask fans to discard tortillas at gates or hand them to stadium staff, monitor the stands, and suspend ticket privileges for anyone caught throwing items for the remainder of the academic year.