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April 17, 2007
Raider Red Revealed!
The students behind Texas Tech's costumed mascot reveal their secret identities, receive recognition at the first annual Passing of the Guns Ceremony.
Written by Gretchen Pressley
Tyler Bridge and Kari Rodgers pass their guns to a new Raider Red whose identity will be kept secret for two years. Photo by Joey Hernandez.
He grins at fans from under his white cowboy hat as he signals them to “get their guns up” – the mustachioed mascot who personifies Red Raider spirit.
Traditionally, Red's student persona is a closely guarded secret, never revealed to the university community. Now Raider Red is bringing a new tradition to Texas Tech.
Each spring, two retiring students will reveal their secret identity as they pass their guns on to new generations of Raider Reds at a special ceremony.
Unmasked
Kari Rodgers from the High Riders and Tyler Bridge from the Saddle Tramps, were honored at the first Passing of the Guns ceremony on April 15. They ritualistically gave their guns to one of the two newest mascots whose identity will remain a secret until their own Passing of the Guns ceremony in two years.
“When I walked onto the campus of Texas Tech in fall 2003, I had a goal: to make a difference here,” says Bridge, a vocal performance major from Denton. “The three amazing years I have spent portraying Raider Red have allowed me to do just that. Raider Red allowed me to grow not only as a better mascot but as a better person, and for that I will be forever indebted.”
Four students currently take turns inside the Raider Red costume. Each performer serves a two-year term, and two new students are taken on every year. Rodgers and Bridge, who are finishing their terms, passed their guns to the students who were selected to fill their shoes – or boots, rather.
In the past, the students behind the mascot would step down without revealing their true identities. The new ceremony, loosely based on the Masked Rider's Passing of the Reigns ceremony, will serve to commend the Raider Reds on their performance and highlight their importance to school spirit at Texas Tech.
“It has been a privilege to serve as one of the first females to be Raider Red,” says Rodgers, a finance major from Hamlin. “History is in the making with this program and to be a part of one of the greatest traditions of Texas Tech will forever be a part of my life and memories.”
Raider Red Through the Ages
The cartoonish Raider Red, oft compared to Looney Tunes’ Yosemite Sam, has been a crowd favorite since his appearance in the early 1970s (left). Historically, Red was a Saddle Tramp, but the modern day Raider Red (right) can be a female High Rider.
Though Raider Red is now a universal symbol of Texas Tech spirit, his stint as a mascot began only a few years ago.
Before football season started in 1971, the Southwest Conference passed a rule that no live animals could travel to away games. Since the Masked Rider was the university’s only mascot at the time, spirit organizations had to think of another way to pump up their fans.
Raider Red was born, created by the Saddle Tramps, from drawings done by Dirk West, a cartoonist from Lubbock. West attended Texas Tech, where he drew cartoons for the student newspaper.
“They made the first costume with a papier-mâché head, I think,” says Stephanie Rhode, assistant director of the Center for Campus Life. “I’ve never actually seen it, but I hear it was pretty rudimentary.”
Each year, Saddle Tramps would don the costume for different games, events and pictures. But they were never to officially reveal their identities to the Texas Tech campus or community.
In 2005, a new partnership between the Saddle Tramps, High Riders and the Center for Campus Life expanded the role of Raider Red. While the Saddle Tramps remain an integral part of the tradition, the High Riders provide students to serve as mascots under the collaborative partnership, which also increased the number of students serving as Raider Red from one to four. Only members of those organizations are allowed to perform the role of the famous costumed cowboy.
“I have literally watched the Raider Red program grow from one guy getting cell phone calls for appearances at 8 a.m. every morning, to a strong support structure of people that I have come to love and care about very dearly,” says Bridge. “I have had the honor of not growing into the character, but growing with the character. As I am at the twilight of my Raider Red career I will always look back on this experience as the hardest and most rewarding endeavor I have yet to come by.”
Story produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing, 806-742-2136.
Web layout by Gretchen Pressley