The classic moment: tortillas launch as the opening kick goes up, turning the first play into a snowstorm.
The Red Raider bible
The
tortilla
toss.
Texas Tech's most famous unofficial tradition — where it came from, how fans actually did it, and why it'll get you ejected today.
Banned as of Oct 20, 2025Before you pack a tortilla — don't.
As of October 20, 2025, throwing a tortilla (or anything) onto the field at Jones AT&T Stadium is prohibited. Get caught and you're ejected and lose your tickets for the rest of the season — and the team eats a 15-yard penalty and a reported $100,000 fine. New stadium cameras are watching. What follows is the history, and how to keep the spirit alive without the flag.
The ritual
A blizzard at kickoff.
For roughly three decades, the opening kick of a Texas Tech home game came with a sky full of flour tortillas — thousands of them sailing out of the stands and drifting down onto the turf. No other program in the country had anything quite like it. Broadcasters loved it, opponents got a kick out of it, and Red Raiders treated it as gospel.
How it started
Two legends, one blizzard.
Nobody can pin the exact origin — but two stories have followed the tradition for decades, and Red Raiders happily tell both.
- Late 1980sIt starts with Coke lids
Red Raiders skip the lids off their 44-ounce fountain sodas onto the field like frisbees. When concessions pull the big cups, fans reach for the cheapest, flattest, most aerodynamic thing in Lubbock — a flour tortilla.
- 1992“Nothing but a tortilla factory”
The rival origin legend: ahead of a road trip to face No. 5 Texas A&M, a broadcaster reportedly cracks that Lubbock has nothing going for it but Texas Tech football and a tortilla factory. Fans embrace the insult — and answer with a sky full of tortillas.
- The 1990sCemented in lore
The toss peaks and becomes one of college football's most recognizable unofficial traditions — a white blizzard at kickoff that even follows the team to road stadiums.
- 2019It travels
A tortilla turns up at the NCAA men's basketball national championship in Minneapolis. By now the ritual is bigger than any one field.
Fan lore
How it was done.
Flour tortillas fly farther, sail softer, and don't shatter. Corn was for eating.
Old-school fans swore a hole in the center made a tortilla spiral like a frisbee for real distance.
Flat, light, and easy to tuck away — a tortilla was the easiest thing in the world to walk through the turnstile.
Filed under history — see the rule at the top before you try any of it.
What changed
The 2025 ban, explained.
- Aug 2025
Big 12 athletic directors vote 15–1 to penalize teams 15 yards (after two warnings) for objects thrown onto the field. Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt casts the lone dissenting vote.
- Oct 11, 2025
Texas Tech draws two of those penalties for fan-thrown tortillas during a 42–17 home win over Kansas. The enforcement becomes a national talking point.
- Oct 20, 2025
Texas Tech officially asks fans to stop throwing tortillas at any point in the game. A three-decade tradition is, on paper, over.
“This situation is on me.”
Kirby Hocutt, Texas Tech Athletic Director
FansEjected + tickets pulledfor the rest of the season
The team15-yard penaltyafter two warnings, mid-drive
The program$100,000 fineper violation (reported)
The stadiumNew camerasinstalled to identify violators
Keep the tradition
Throw all the tortillas you want. Just not on the field.
The toss isn't dead — it moved. Here's how to keep the spirit alive without a 15-yarder or a lost season ticket.
Launch virtual tortillas at Hub City sponsors inside the app. No flag, no fine.
Warm one up and sail it around the lot. That part was never against the rules.
Hold a tortilla up at kickoff. Same energy over the stadium, zero ejection.
Quick answers
Tortilla FAQ.
Can I still throw a tortilla at a game?+
No. As of October 20, 2025, throwing a tortilla — or any object — onto the field at Jones AT&T Stadium is banned. Do it and you'll be ejected and lose your tickets for the rest of the season.
Why did they ban it?+
In August 2025 the Big 12 voted 15-1 to flag teams 15 yards (after two warnings) for objects thrown onto the field. After Texas Tech drew two of those penalties in an October 11 win over Kansas, the school asked fans to stop for good to protect the team.
Flour or corn?+
Flour, always. It flies farther and lands softer. This is history now — but if you're asking, you get it.
So how do I keep the tradition alive?+
Fire virtual tortillas in the app's Tortilla Cannon, sail one around the tailgate lot, or just hold one up at kickoff. Same energy, zero ejection.