The best is yet to come: Texas Tech gears up for final events of Centennial Celebration
With the fall semester at Texas Tech around the corner, the university is gearing up for the final stretch centennial celebration.
And thus far — the sold-out events have "exceeded expectation."
Blayne Beal, the centennial coordinator for Tech, said when they started planning the events, the team wanted to focus on highlighting the brand of the university to faculty, staff, students, alumni and prospective students.
An aspect of the brand is volunteerism.
With a high ambition of having students, alumni, faculty and staff log in 1 million hours of service, the university is over halfway to completing that goal.
"We were at almost 570,000," Beal said. "We still have a few more months left to go and we're working on some initiatives for this fall, both in Lubbock and across the state to really kind of help us push that to get there."
In total, almost 30,000 people have logged in hours.
On the calendar, the university has one last volunteer day on Sept. 4 for Labor Day. More information will be announced at a later date. The university will also host a Holiday Food Drive sometime in November.
With the deadline fast approaching, Beal said the community is highly engaged, and he is confident the university will reach its goal.
In line with Beal's goal to increase the visibility of the university, the next major event will be held over a few weeks, with the audience size ranging from 2 million to 2.5 million people — the state fair.
The Centennial Exhibit at the Texas State Fair will run in Dallas from Oct. 1-22, and will look very similar to the exhibit at the Texas Tech Museum in Lubbock.
"One of the oldest, grandest, most Texan things you can think of is the State Fair, and it has had a long history in agriculture," he said. "The Davis College has had a long history at the state fair. So it's kind of those things to where it was a perfect tie-in."
Hoping to showcase Texas Tech to the nearly 400,000 high school students that will visit the fair, the university hopes to use this as a recruiting opportunity — which will be the first time a university will be doing so in the fair's 136-year history.
The next event will take center stage at a Texas Tech football game. The Centennial Game will see the Red Raiders battling it out against the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs on Nov. 2.
Being a Thursday night game, Beal said the athletics department thought it would be a great opportunity to draw in the audience to the Jones AT&T Stadium, while also showcasing the university's celebration during a nationally broadcasted game.
The details about what will take place during the game are still being discussed, Beal said.
Just coming back from a trip to NYC, Beal said the Broadway to Broadway: A Texas Tech Centennial Celebration event is still being finalized, but will see a pep rally featuring the cheerleaders and pom squad perform in Time Square.
The university is working with a tour company to get the Red Raiders to NYC. So far, 943 people have signed up through the company — more than the University of Alabama and the University of Missouri had when they traveled to NYC.
Finally, as the school year ends, so will the year-long celebration for Texas Tech.
The beloved tradition of the Carol of Lights will be the closing ceremonies. Beal said it will be bigger than ever this year, with one major change.
Traditionally taking place on a Friday, the 65th Annual Carol of Lights will take place on a Saturday — Dec. 2.
"It's the first time that's ever been on a Saturday," he said. "We hope that allows for more of our alum that are out of town to be able to make it in for the event."
Beal said he hopes to announce the entertainment lineup in the coming months.
Somewhere on the calendar in October will be the Presidential Lecture & Performance Series with a centennial theme, as well as a "notable celebrity." There is also the possibility of another event being added to the calendar in the future, Beal said.
As the university sets its eyes on the horizon, Beal said he hopes elements for the celebration will continue on through the next century of the university's history.
"We like to ideate some ways of how students can be recognized and rewarded at Commencement for volunteerism," he said. "We want to make sure that we're sowing the seeds of volunteerism early, so that when students leave Texas Tech, that just kind of becomes something that's natural and part of them."
From traveling all over Texas, Beal said the Red Raiders and fans alike were thrilled to have a bit of Texas Tech visit their home.
Through these events, the university stumbled upon a realization.
"There's room for more than just athletics," Beal said. "Typically we think about the benefits of a sporting event, but there's room for more. So I think that'll be something that will kind of continue to live on from this centennial."
For a complete list of centennial events and to log volunteer hours, visit 100.ttu.edu.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech gears up for final events of centennial, looks to future
