Founded in 1923 as Texas Technological College, Texas Tech University is the beating heart of Lubbock — tens of thousands of students, a medical school, museums and a vast campus designed in a Spanish Renaissance style inspired by the university of Alcalá de Henares. The twin-towered Administration Building and Memorial Circle are the classic views.
For visitors, Tech is three things: an unexpectedly beautiful campus to wander, home to two of the region’s best museums, and — on autumn Saturdays — the Red Raiders football team at Jones AT&T Stadium, when the whole city turns scarlet and black.
Top things to do: Texas Tech University
Walk the historic core
Start at Memorial Circle and the Administration Building, then wander the quadrangles with their red-tile roofs, arcades and carved stone. The architecture is some of the finest Spanish Revival in Texas.
Find “Riding into the Sunset”
The 1950 bronze of humorist Will Rogers on his horse Soapsuds is a campus landmark. Local legend says the horse was turned so its rear faces College Station — home of arch-rival Texas A&M.
Hunt for public art
The Texas Tech University System has built one of the most admired public-art collections of any US university, with well over a hundred works across its campuses. Many pieces are on the main Lubbock campus — pick up a map or use the online guide.
Go to a Red Raiders game
Football at Jones AT&T Stadium (capacity around 60,000) is the region’s great social event: tailgating from the morning, the Masked Rider galloping onto the field, “Guns Up” hand signs and — despite the rules — tortillas flying at kickoff. Buy tickets from the official athletics site or reputable resale platforms.
Carol of Lights
In early December, a campus tradition since 1959 lights the buildings around Memorial Circle with tens of thousands of red, white and orange lights, with carols and a procession. Free and very popular.
How to get there
- Location: the campus lies just west of downtown Lubbock, bounded roughly by 4th Street, University Avenue, 19th Street and Indiana Avenue.
- Parking: visitor parking is available in marked visitor lots and garages (a fee usually applies); on game days, follow official parking guidance — lots fill early.
- Getting around: the campus is walkable; Citibus serves the university area.
Insider tips
- Game days change everything: hotels sell out and prices rise sharply. If you are not coming for football, avoid home-game weekends — or book months ahead if you are.
- The Museum of Texas Tech and the National Ranching Heritage Center are on the campus’s northern edge — see our pages on the museum and the ranching center.
- Stop at the campus bookstore or United Supermarkets Arena gift shops for Red Raider souvenirs.
- Flying through Dallas? Football fans can add an AT&T Stadium tour of the Dallas Cowboys’ home in Arlington.
Pair it with a tour
GetYourGuide has no bookable tours in Lubbock itself yet, so these are the best-rated experiences that fit naturally into a trip that includes Texas Tech University:
Stadium tour from $97 Dallas: Cowboys Stadium or The Star in Frisco Tour with Transport
Coming to Texas for Texas Tech football? Double down on the state’s great obsession with a tour of the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington or their headquarters at The Star in Frisco. Transport from Dallas is included, which makes it an easy add-on before or after your flight to Lubbock.
- Choose AT&T Stadium or The Star in Frisco
- Behind-the-scenes areas of an NFL giant
- Round-trip transport from Dallas
Small-group tour from $36 Fort Worth: Guided Tour from Dallas or Fort Worth
The best-reviewed way to see “Cowtown” without driving in DFW traffic. The tour takes you to the Fort Worth Stockyards and the Cattle Drive visitor centre, with a guide explaining how the cattle trade built the city — a good warm-up before the long drive west to Lubbock and the ranching country of the Llano Estacado.
- The historic Stockyards and the longhorn cattle drive
- Cowboy history of “Hell’s Half Acre”
- Transport from Dallas or Fort Worth included
History tour from $72 Dallas: JFK Assassination and Sixth Floor Museum Tour
One of the most popular history tours in Dallas, with more than 500 reviews. A guide walks you through the events of November 1963 at Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum, then takes you to other sites connected with the assassination — an absorbing half day if you overnight in Dallas on the way to or from Lubbock.
- Dealey Plaza and the grassy knoll
- The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
- Other key sites of 22 November 1963
