MISD celebrates Principal Fellow graduates
The Principal Fellowship is a partnership between MISD and Texas Tech designed to increase the pipeline of qualified candidates into campus administration. The initiative gives teachers the opportunity to become certified campus principals by covering the costs of tuition, certification fees, and books. Throughout the year, fellows gain direct mentorship from experienced principals while maintaining limited classroom responsibilities, ensuring a seamless transition into leadership roles.
"It's been eye opening, you don't realize how many things are going on throughout an entire campus," said Iza, who completed her fellowship at Legacy Freshman High School. "Now as a principal fellow, I am able to effectively recognize and address the needs of both students and staff."
Lujan emphasized the collaboration involved in school leadership. "It's rewarding in the sense that you gain a lot of experience and you grow in ways that you didn't think you'd be able to grow," she said. "You grow as a leader, you grow as a person, and you grow as a coach."
For Vargas, the transition from focusing on her classroom to the entire school was a rewarding challenge. She encourages others to take advantage of the opportunity. "Texas Tech has set this program up to support you, and be there for you," she said. "It gives you a great opportunity to further your career in education."
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USA Today
07-08-2025
- USA Today
5-star EDGE LaDamion Guyton commits to Texas Tech football, Joey McGuire
Texas Tech football's recruiting momentum doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. The Red Raiders landed a commitment from 2027 five-star edge rusher LaDamion Guyton on Thursday, Aug. 7, venturing into Georgia and beating out the Bulldogs, along with Tennessee and Florida State, for his pledge. Guyton, the No. 2-ranked player nationally in 2027 and top-ranked edge rusher, was previously predicted to land with the Bulldogs. Texas Tech has all sorts of program momentum, recently finishing stadium and facilities renovations that cost $242 million. The Red Raiders are also a popular pick to win the Big 12 this season after landing the No. 2-ranked transfer portal class nationally. REQUIRED READING: Meet Cody Campbell, the billionaire Texas Tech booster with plan to save college sports Texas Tech is also reportedly spending over $25 million on its roster in 2025, according to a report from The Athletic. Former Red Raiders offensive lineman Cody Campbell, Texas Tech's biggest booster, is becoming one of the most important figures in college sports. The billionaire, who's also the chairman of Texas Tech's board of regents, made his fortune from oil and gas as the co-founder and CEO of Double Eagle Holdings. He was also recently appointed as chairman of President Donald Trump's council on sports, fitness and nutrition. Money isn't the only reason for Texas Tech's recent success, as the Red Raiders won eight games in 2024 for the second time in three seasons under coach Joey McGuire. Texas Tech is looking to reach double-digit wins for the first time since 2008, when it went 11-2 under Mike Leach. "We are changing (college football)," five-star offensive line commit Felix Ojo wrote on X after Guyton's commitment. "Jump on the train or get left behind." Ojo reportedly signed a three-year contract worth $5.1 million upon committing, according to ESPN. Guyton, who attends Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Georgia, is Texas Tech's highest-rated commit ever and only the program's third five-star player, per 247Sports. All three five-star recruits' pledges to Texas Tech came during or after the 2024 recruiting cycle.
New York Times
07-08-2025
- New York Times
Texas Tech beats SEC schools for Georgia native LaDamion Guyton, No. 2 player in '27 class
Five-star edge rusher LaDamion Guyton, a Georgia native and the No. 2 prospect in the 2027 recruiting class, announced on Thursday that he has committed to Texas Tech. It's a huge win for the Red Raiders, who have had a fruitful offseason by utilizing their vast financial resources to land top prospects in both the transfer portal and through high school recruiting. Texas Tech's 2025 football roster budget is roughly $25 million, according to general manager James Blanchard. The Red Raiders spent more than $12 million on 21 transfers in hopes of winning the Big 12 title this season. BREAKING: The No. 1 player in the class of 2027 LaDamion Guyton picks Texas Tech @DamionGuyton3 @TexasTechFB Large contingent of @TheBC400 Cadets in Red Raiders gear celebrating, including Texas Tech QB commit Stephen Cannon @SPCII_10 — Pat Timlin (@pat_timlin) August 7, 2025 Guyton is expected to receive a three-year deal worth up to $3.5 million, a source briefed on the contract told The Athletic. Guyton would make $900,000 in Year 1, $1.2 million in Year 2 and $1.4 million in Year 3. On3 was first to report the financial terms of the contract. High school recruits cannot receive an official revenue-sharing contract offer until Aug. 1 of their senior year, one of many terms of the House v. NCAA settlement that allows schools to directly compensate athletes. They cannot sign a revenue-sharing contract until the first day of the early signing period for their class, which would be in December 2026 for Guyton. Name, image and likeness contracts are handled differently depending on varying state laws. Advertisement Pulling Guyton out of Georgia is another example of Texas Tech's growing recruiting prowess. Guyton's other three finalists were all SEC schools: Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. Beating Kirby Smart's Bulldogs for a coveted in-state prospect is a difficult task, but the Red Raiders have bucked many trends lately thanks to their spending power. Texas Tech had not signed a five-star recruit out of high school in the modern recruiting era until landing 2024 receiver Micah Hudson. The Raiders will have three in four cycles if they sign both Ojo and Guyton. They're also trending positively in the race for 2027 five-star offensive tackle Cooper Hackett out of Oklahoma. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Guyton has been productive at Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Ga. Guyton tallied a combined 134 tackles, 16.5 sacks and 33 tackles for loss in his first two high school seasons, with two more to go. Both the 247Sports Composite and the Rivals Industry rankings list him as the second-best prospect and the No. 1 edge rusher in the 2027 class. (Photo of Joey McGuire: Josh Hedges / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
New York Times
05-08-2025
- New York Times
Inside Texas Tech's ‘open checkbook' and the school's quest to rule the Big 12
LUBBOCK, Texas — Last July, around a conference room table inside Jones AT&T Stadium, the Texas Tech football braintrust laid the foundation for a roster budget that would surpass that of the 2024 Ohio State Buckeyes, the eventual national champions. Inside athletic director Kirby Hocutt's suite, about a half dozen of the program's key stakeholders, including head coach Joey McGuire, general manager James Blanchard and mega booster Cody Campbell, discussed how they would attack the 2025 offseason. Advertisement Campbell, a Mike Leach-era offensive lineman at Tech, oil and gas magnate and co-founder of the school's name, image and likeness collective, made it clear that nothing should stand in the way of the Red Raiders acquiring who they needed to win a Big 12 championship. In the pay-for-play era of college sports, Texas Tech would position itself as a disruptor. 'Cody came in and said, in a professional way, that we had an open checkbook,' Blanchard recalls. 'Telling that to a personnel guy is like telling a 6-year-old, 'Here's my platinum credit card, go get whatever you want.'' Campbell identified that the transfer portal windows ahead of the 2025 season would be the last 'Wild West portal periods' for every sport and 'we needed to do everything we could to frontload those contracts so that we could recruit well during those transfer window periods.' Tech leadership concocted a plan. The donors lined up. Eventually, the players followed. When the winter transfer portal window opened in December, Blanchard, who runs Tech's personnel operation, channeled his inner Richie Rich, running up a colossal tab. When the dust settled, Texas Tech spent more than $12 million — or almost as much revenue as some Power 4 programs will share with their entire roster — on 21 transfers. The total roster budget for the 2025 Texas Tech football team? Roughly $25 million, Blanchard said, which surpasses the $20 million the Buckeyes spent en route to last season's national title. It was part of Texas Tech's athletic department-wide effort to capitalize on the final months of unlimited NIL spending before capped revenue sharing kicked in. And spend the Red Raiders did, raising $55 million to utilize on player compensation via NIL and revenue sharing across its 17 sports for the 2025-26 athletic season, according to Campbell. Of that, roughly $35 million was paid out before July 1, when the cap — roughly $20.5 million, a result of the House v. NCAA settlement — officially took effect. Advertisement Texas Tech's willingness to splash the pot has opposing schools griping and expectations skyrocketing. But the Red Raiders haven't even played for a Big 12 football championship in the league's 29-year existence. They haven't recorded a nine-win season since 2009, when Leach was their coach. The last conference title Tech won outright? The Border Conference championship in 1955 (their 1976 and 1994 Southwest Conference titles were co-championships). But that's what the money is for: for Texas Tech to break new ground and spend its way to success. It's Big 12 title — and College Football Playoff — or bust. And the Red Raiders are embracing those expectations. During a video tour for their new football facility guided by football administrator Antonio Huffman, he pointed to a spot left open in the trophy room 'for our Big 12 trophy.' 'If we win 10 games but we don't win the Big 12 championship, I think we've missed the mark,' McGuire said. Heading into the 2023-24 offseason, Texas Tech had only $1 million in NIL money to allocate to transfers, Blanchard said — roughly the amount it takes to get a Power 4 starting quarterback now. That meant Texas Tech couldn't get into bidding wars for top-tier talent. 'I needed to be really diligent and make sure I'm not wasting (Campbell's) money,' Blanchard said. The Red Raiders were competitive in 2024, going 8-5 and making a bowl for the third straight season under McGuire and fourth consecutive year overall — the longest such bowl stretch for the program since the Leach era — but they were lacking in a few areas, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines. They fell short of a Big 12 title game appearance as a result. And they vowed to learn their lesson after shopping in the bargain bin. After Tech lost to Colorado in early November and Campbell posted on X to complain about officiating, a Tech fan replied with an expletive directed at Campbell and ordered him to 'buy us an oline (sic).' Advertisement Campbell's reply: 'I will.' Blanchard believed Campbell when he said he had an 'open checkbook,' but he wasn't 100 percent sure until they started hosting visitors. When former UCF defensive tackle Lee Hunter visited and Blanchard called Campbell to find out if it was OK to go over the amount they projected it would cost to get him, Campbell told him, 'Yeah, I told you we're gonna do whatever it takes.' When Blanchard heard that, it was off to the races. As commitments rolled in, McGuire and Blanchard pivoted from their original plan of signing 10 to 12 transfers to taking as many as they could. They finished with 21, including six who were ranked at the top of their board at their respective positions. 'You had this perfect storm,' McGuire said. If the Red Raiders prioritized a player, the goal was to not let him leave campus without a commitment. McGuire credits the positive vibes that permeate the building. The new, sparkling $242 million football facility — which Blanchard has called 'a football resort' — didn't hurt. And then there's the money. Tech paid multiple transfers over $1 million, according to sources familiar with the negotiations, granted anonymity to discuss financial decisions schools are not compelled to publicly disclose. Many who didn't reach that threshold are getting compensated in the high six figures. Personnel staffers at schools who competed for some of Tech's transfers have remarked that the Red Raiders have gone well above 'market value' to obtain players. Campbell calls it sour grapes. 'Market value is what somebody's willing to pay for them,' he said. 'So that's just mostly from people that are upset because they get outbid. … I think other places just didn't have the resources or weren't organized enough.' Blanchard viewed it as a necessity, given Tech's historical place in the national football landscape and lack of blue-blood status. Advertisement 'We can't say, 'Someone offered this player $500,000, so we're going to match.' That's not gonna work,' Blanchard said. 'You've got to put your ego and pride to the side and say, 'If one of the top five schools in the country offered $500,000, for us to be equal, we have to offer $675,000. 'Some people may say that's over market value. No, I got the f—ing player.' McGuire, who is entering his fourth season and is 23-16 at the school, knows that if Texas Tech doesn't win the Big 12, everyone will point the finger at him. 'But isn't that what you want? Don't you want a roster that people expect you to win?' he said. 'You don't want to be in the conversation of, 'They're going to have a hard time winning because their roster isn't very good.'' Said Hocutt: 'The expectations are exactly what we want and what we expect. It now becomes time to deliver upon those expectations.' Blanchard feels a similar pressure. McGuire gave him the keys to the roster when they arrived in Lubbock on Campbell's jet in November 2021. This offseason Blanchard flirted with taking the GM job at Notre Dame but ultimately stayed after Tech gave him a raise. 'We have top-three-in-the-country resources. There is no reason for failure,' Blanchard said. 'If we don't get to the Big 12 Championship Game, I'm gonna feel like I failed.' Hocutt, who has been AD at the school since 2011, said a Big 12 title and a Playoff berth are the expectations, 'period.' While acknowledging possible mitigating circumstances like injuries or bad luck, Hocutt said, 'We will be extremely disappointed if we're not in Arlington playing for that Big 12 conference championship this season.' Football isn't the only place Tech boosters are spending. Tech spent more than $3 million to retain forward JT Toppin to the men's basketball team, which was agonizingly close to the Final Four. They spent more than $1 million in 2024 to sign former Stanford pitcher NiJaree Canady to the softball team. That paid off handsomely, as Canady took the Red Raiders to the championship series of the Women's College World Series before they fell to Texas. And the softball team had a recent portal run that resembles the football team's in December, plucking top players from across the country to load up for another run to Oklahoma City. Advertisement Campbell, who was recently appointed to the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition and has served as a White House advisor on college sports, may be the most visible of Tech's money men. But he's not the only one. John Sellers, who co-founded Double Eagle Energy Holdings with Campbell, also co-founded the Matador Club — Tech's NIL collective — and played a major role in it, especially in softball, where he spearheaded the effort to sign Canady. Dusty Womble, a wealthy businessman and Texas Tech regent, has his name on the school's pristine basketball practice facility and new football facility. Many of Tech's major donors, including Campbell, Womble, Sellers and Gary Petersen, have their names prominently displayed in the concourse of the south end zone of Jones AT&T Stadium. Campbell estimates that the Matador Club, which had 3,000 donors, had 'about a dozen or more' members who contributed seven figures. Tech's power brokers have put their money where their mouths are. It's not a one-time thing, either. As college sports evolve amid the House settlement and direct player compensation, Texas Tech intends to remain a major player in hopes of elevating itself into the elite tier of multiple sports, even if the Red Raiders haven't historically been there. Campbell scoffed at the idea of anything holding Tech back. 'Why shouldn't we be able to win? Just because we didn't win a national championship 100 years ago? That doesn't make any sense. … We have all the elements and ingredients you need to win.' Tech's recent high school recruiting signals the continued commitment to spend. The Red Raiders landed a commitment from five-star Felix Ojo, the No. 1 prospect in Texas and one of the top offensive tackles in the nation, with the help of a three-year $2.3 million revenue-sharing contract. That total could go up to $5.1 million if the regulation of player compensation reverts to the almost nonexistent manner that it did the last four years. As for its roughly $20.5 million revenue sharing pool, 74 percent, or roughly $15.1 million, will be allocated to football. Another 17-18 percent, or around $3.5 to $3.7 million, is to go to men's basketball, 2 percent to women's basketball, 1.9 percent to baseball and the rest to Tech's remaining sports. Campbell vows Texas Tech will pay up to the cap and work hard to get as much third-party NIL as possible but said it's unlikely to see those numbers skyrocket nationally. 'Except for a very few marquee national players, there isn't a whole lot there on the (true NIL) front,' he said. 'There is some. But it doesn't compare to the amount that is being paid out through revenue share.' Advertisement Whatever the situation is, Campbell said Tech will follow the rules with a plan to spend as much as is allowed. Is it enough to take Texas Tech football to unprecedented heights? The 2025 roster isn't without its questions. The one position Tech opted not to take a transfer, quarterback, is one of the biggest unknowns. Behren Morton, the highest-ranked high school QB recruit in program history and Tech's starter the last two years, is considered a solid but not elite Big 12 quarterback. He played the last year-and-a-half with an AC joint injury that was finally repaired in the winter. Can a healthy Morton take the Red Raiders to the next level? Tahj Brooks, Texas Tech's best offensive player in 2024, is now in the NFL. The Red Raiders are excited about his successor, USC transfer Quinten Joyner, but his production last season (478 yards, three touchdowns) pales in comparison to Brooks' (1,505 yards, 17 touchdowns). Hunter Zambrano, who was widely viewed as one of the top offensive linemen in the portal, has not played at the Power 4 level and is coming off a hip injury that kept him out most of last season at Illinois State. He missed spring while rehabbing, but Blanchard said Zambrano is viewed favorably by NFL scouts. Zambrano said, 'I'm moving better now than I have in a while.' Safety Cole Wisniewski, an FCS All-American at North Dakota State, missed most of last season with a foot injury. Edge rusher Romello Height is on his fourth team and has only one season as a starter under his belt, though it was a productive one last year for Georgia Tech (6 1/2 tackles for loss, 2 1/2 sacks, two forced fumbles). The Red Raiders are confident they've built a championship roster. 'We're, on paper, the most talented team in the conference,' Campbell said. 'It's not really even close.' Advertisement Blanchard has a vision that Tech could become the new Clemson. But for all the bluster, even he knows this is no sure thing. While the portal has become a catalyst for some quick turnarounds, no program has proven that you can sustainably build a program this way. 'I don't think it's anywhere near a do-or-die situation,' Blanchard said. 'But it is a proof-of-concept situation.' What if it doesn't work? What if Texas Tech wins eight games (or fewer) again? Will the money faucet shut off? Will McGuire and Blanchard be in trouble? Will the Red Raiders pivot to a different roster construction strategy? Neither Hocutt nor Campbell gives the impression that they are thinking that way. Both are full-throated in support of McGuire and Blanchard and the plan they've executed. 'I am confident that we've done everything we can possibly do to control the things that we control,' Campbell said. 'We've given ourselves the best probability of success, but you still have to go out and win the games. And there are a lot of things that are outside of our control that affect those outcomes.' Said Hocutt: 'I've never been more confident that we're positioned extremely well for success.' After Campbell fired off his 'I will' tweet after Tech's loss to Colorado last November — which essentially knocked Tech out of serious contention for the Big 12 Championship Game — it became a meme in Tech internet circles, especially as the Red Raiders stocked up on stars in the portal. Someone even turned it into a T-shirt, and Campbell has one. But it brought him back to why he thinks, in the NIL era, anyone has a chance to win: even Texas Tech. 'People can sit around and get mad about the state of affairs,' he said. 'They can criticize the coaches. They can criticize the leadership. They can be unhappy about the position we're in or they can go do something about it. I felt like I was in a position to do something about it. 'So I said that I would and I did.' (Top photo of Joey McGuire: Nathan Giese / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
