Leading Off
Gonna Be a Busy Day. Real busy. So hold on. Lots of content on its way.
Texas Tech Tennis
They’re In. Both the women’s and men’s teams made the NCAA Tournament, the ladies are in Los Angeles and will play the UNLV Rebels, while the men are in Palo Alto and will play the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.
We’re IN!
Lady Raiders are headed to Los Angeles, Calif., for the first and second rounds. Texas Tech will face UNLV in the first round. #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/hdpMIICe5e
— Texas Tech Women’s Tennis (@TexasTechWTEN) April 29, 2019
We’re heading to Cali! 😎
The first and second rounds are set.
🔴#WreckEm⚫️ | #NCAATennis pic.twitter.com/vO2ljAVtih
— Texas Tech Men’s Tennis (@TexasTechMTEN) April 29, 2019
Texas Tech Softball
UP NEXT: New Mexico State
🔴#WreckEm⚫️https://t.co/xwVzyprmeg
— Texas Tech Softball (@TexasTechSB) April 30, 2019
Lady Raider Basketball
Laying the foundation for the fall. #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/gc02DpaBZa
— Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) April 28, 2019
Texas Tech Baseball
UTRGV vs. Texas Tech. The Red Raiders will host the Vaqueros for two games, tonight at 6:30 p.m. and tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. LHP Mason Montgomery (3-0, 4.50) will step up on that hill tonight and LHP Erikson Lanning (0-1, 4.63) will do so tomorrow.
Let’s keep it rolling.
Preview ➡️ https://t.co/UgSRkQyhre
🔴#WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/UF5HWg1dOS
— Texas Tech Baseball (@TTU_Baseball) April 30, 2019
Jung Named Player of the Week.
Jung is hitting .365 for the month of April with 5 HR and 22 RBI.
🔴#WreckEm⚫️https://t.co/8WVUTtlZzt
— Texas Tech Baseball (@TTU_Baseball) April 29, 2019
Texas Tech Basketball
Chris Beard Contract Details. Via David Collier, there are some contract details, in particular the buyout provisions:
Big 12 or Texas Schools:
2019-20: $6M
2020-21: $5M
2021-22: $4M
2022-23: $3M
2023-24: $2M
2024-25: $0NBA or other NCAA schools not in Texas or Big 12:
2019-20: $3M
2020-21: $2.5M
2021-22: $2M
2022-23: $1.5M
2023-24: $1M
2024-25: $0
Some of you were thinking that these buyout figures were too low and the buyout, in my opinion, is not intended to be a deterrent to other teams, but is intended to pay for a new coach. The decrease over the terms of years is likely irrelevant because most coaches don’t coach into their 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th year. Most of the time, coaches are signed to new deals.
The other note is that Beard’s damages, which I’m not sure what that is, are reduced by 50% should athletic director Kirby Hocutt no longer be employed by Texas Tech:
“All liquidated damages in this section shall be reduced by 50%, should Kirby Hocutt no longer be employed as the Director of Athletics for Texas Tech on the date Coach terminates this Agreement.”
I think that the fact that the language is in there speaks to Hocutt’s commitment to Texas Tech long-term and it also speaks to how important it is to Beard to work for Hocutt. That last part isn’t surprising.
Beard on Scooters. What do you do when you sign a $4 million contract? Ride scooters.
Celebrate. 🛴
🔴#WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/64g7IPjeNY— ŦexasŦechHoopsFans (@TTUHoopsFans) April 30, 2019
@CoachBeardTTU must be celebrating his big contract! @TexasTechMBB @limebike pic.twitter.com/l3DwgBbW3F
— Nick Huff (@Nickhuff12) April 29, 2019
Parish on Beard’s Contract. CBS Sports’ Gary Parish writes about Beard’s new deal and thinks this is a pretty good fit. Pretty good fit.
Bottom line, what Texas Tech has in Chris Beard is a homegrown miracle-worker who has turned its men’s basketball program into a nationally relevant entity that’s far exceeding all normal historical standards. He takes rosters that seem uninspiring and turns them into great teams. He takes high school prospects literally nobody projects as NBA players and turns them into NBA players.
What more could Texas Tech want?