The Wild West Of NIL: How Texas Tech Became A Destination Spot In Lubbock

The season's success provides wins not just this year but for every player who will call Lubbock home in the future.

(Left) Texas Tech University President Lawrence Schovanec talks to the TTU System Board of Regents Chairman Cody Campbell at the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Cotton Classification Complex on April 16, 2025 in Lubbock, TX. | Mateo Rosiles/ Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For a few months last fall, the Texas Tech Red Raiders were like kids in a candy store. They wanted everything, threw everything in their basket at check-out, and prayed they would be able to go home with it.

That was the position they found themselves in last winter when the transfer portal opened. Head Coach Joey McGuire had a vision for the Red Raiders, and super booster Cody Campbell had the funds after his recent company sale to make it a reality.

With only a few months to live large before a cap would be imposed on NIL around the country, general manager James Blanchard got to live out that childhood dream we have all had—racking up a roster total that blew even Ohio State out of the water.

Believing In A Vision

Dec 27, 2024; Memphis, TN, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire looks on during warm ups prior to the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Joey McGuire arrived on campus in Lubbock expecting to turn around the Texas Tech Red Raiders, a program that hadn't seen success since Mike Leach was there with his prolific air raid offense.

During his first season in Lubbock, McGuire had already done something no coach before him managed to do: beat the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners in the same season en route to an 8-5 finish. They would take a step back in 2023, going 7-6, and reach 8-5 again last season, but now, they hope to win the Big 12. How can they take such a significant step?

With a 25-million-dollar roster, McGuire hopes to bring the Red Raiders their first conference championship in their 29 seasons in the Big 12. The money isn't all spent on transfers, though. He didn't abandon what he holds near and true to his heart just because he has the money to spend, bringing in 18 recruits to lay a baseline for the foreseeable future.

Using a ranking system that allows them to navigate the vast amount of players in the transfer portal keeps them focused only on the ones that will help them succeed on their mission, rather than throwing an empty checkbook at players that would make even Preston Waters jealous.

Sustaining Success With A Cap

Texas Tech general manager James Blanchard works the phone during spring football practice, Monday, March 10, 2025, at the Womble Football Center. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Now that colleges around the country have been capped, the Red Raiders won't be able to deliver a big transfer class again—or will they?

Part of the purpose of going all in on the portal and 'flexing' their abilities to get talent was to show that they can, and will, build a program that is not just a perennial Big 12 championship competitor, but a mainstay in the college football playoffs.

Finding success with the roster built is just the beginning. Faced with an uphill battle of hoping a brand new roster can gel by week one and a location tax in West Texas, success this year isn't just important for the players on the field now but for the next five rosters that come through Lubbock.

Texas Tech won't be afraid to spend money, not in the slightest. Instead, they want to focus on allocating the money to high school recruiting and creating a constant revolving door of four—and five-star recruits that will build the Red Raiders into a powerhouse.

They say money can't buy happiness, but if this season is a success, the way that people within the Texas Tech program expect it to be, they might give you a different answer.