Texas Tech's annual "Celebrate Cotton" game has been scheduled for Saturday (Sept. 15) against the University of New Mexico Lobos at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock. Game time is currently scheduled for 6 p.m. Officials note that cotton will be everywhere throughout the game, from displays at Raider Alley and around the stadium to promotion, special graphics and fun cotton facts during the game.

"This game represents the tremendous relationship between cotton and Texas Tech," said Plains Cotton Growers President and Slaton cotton grower Craig Heinrich. "Both are vital to our economy and depend on each other in many ways." Here on the South Plains, the connections run deep to Texas Tech. Cotton is represented in the university seal and is studied intensely in research labs across campus.

Led by Tech's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the university's cotton research and education program is known worldwide for advancements in production efficiency and sustainability, water resource conservation, genetics, fiber quality, and economic and policy issues.

Among the highlights are:

• Centered in the heart of the world's most concentrated cotton production region, Texas Tech's International Cotton Research Center (ICRC) coordinates comprehensive research and education programs addressing all aspects of cotton improvement, production and processing.
• World-class research and education require a global view. Texas Tech's Cotton Economics Research Institute (CERI) has developed the Global Fibers Model, which forecasts cotton supply, demand and price for all major cotton producers and consumers around the world. Governments in the United States and around the world use results from this model to help understand issues within the global cotton market.
• Texas Tech's Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute (FBRI) does collaborative research and provides education in all dimensions that impact cotton fiber quality, and then uses this information to improve performance and profitability in textile manufacturing and end products.

Special game day T-shirts will be distributed and cotton bales will line each entrance to the stadium, each with signage talking about what the cotton in that bale can make or how it impacts state and national economy, said Mary Jane Buerkle, director of communications and public affairs with Plains Cotton Growers.

PCG, a Lubbock-based growers association, is one of the lead sponsors for the game, which highlights the South Plains most important agricultural commodity. The group has announced that it is offering a special ticket pricing for the game. Sponsors include Plains Cotton Cooperative Association; United Cotton Growers; FiberMax; Texas Ag Coop Trust; NexGen; AgTexas Farm Credit Services; City Bank; Lubbock Avalanche-Journal; Deltapine; and All-Tex.

"The cotton industry in West Texas is a world-leading producer and Texas Tech is honored to celebrate the accomplishments of our region on a national stage," said Texas Tech Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt. "Cotton and Texas Tech are synonymous."

Written by Norman Martin

CONTACT: Michael Galyean, Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or michael.galyean@ttu.edu

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