Pitmasters will soon fire up the grills at the Raider Red Meats Barbecue & Ribeye Championship, set for Friday and Saturday (Aug. 16-17) on the Texas Tech University campus. Thes annual event, launched more than 15 years ago, features more than 70 teams competing for $15,000 in prizes across five categories: brisket, ribs, pork and ribeye steaks.
“We’re thrilled to be hosting the 2024 Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship,” said Tate Corliss, senior director of Raider Red Meats. “This is a great opportunity for our students to network and learn from leaders within the industry.”
Sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society, the competition serves as the Texas State Championship and is open to competitors around the nation. A collegiate division will be included for the eighth year. The competition will take place in the Animal & Food Sciences Building parking lot (Commuter West) on the Tech campus.
Festivities kick-off Friday evening (Aug. 16) with a sponsor dinner and the Raider Rumble and entertainment including a cook-off between five teams with six celebrity judges. These include Chris Chadwick, host of the show, Let the Smoke Roll; The Complete BBQ Cookbook author Sterling Smith; S&S Pit Crew founder Robert Sierra; nationally known Pitmaster Mike Johnson; former World Steak Champion Peter Armendariz; and Robert Wood Homes owner Robert Wood.
Saturday (Aug. 17) features a Backyard BBQ Boss workshop conducted by Texas Tech's Cargill Endowed Professorship in Meat Science Sustainability Dale Woerner, along with teams manning their smokers to produce their entries for judging.
Raider Red Meats, a part of Tech’s Meat Science & Muscle Biology program, has funded scholarships for Tech students since 1982. All proceeds from the event go into the Raider Red Meats Endowment Fund to sponsor scholarships for students in Tech’s Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources. The event is consistently among the largest contributors to scholarship funding.
“It's a great thing for the students to be involved with the Barbecue & Ribeye Championship,” Corliss said. “The student-sponsor interaction for this event is so critical, giving students the opportunity to meet those who are lessening their financial burden and the sponsors an opportunity to meet the next generation of meat-science experts.”
Texas Tech meat science and muscle biology instruction began in 1933, eight years after the university opened. The first laboratory was a modified Army barrack with minimal equipment. In 1961, a modern, federally inspected meat laboratory was constructed on campus. In 1988, a 14,000-square foot meat laboratory was constructed, known today as the Gordon W. Davis Meat Science Laboratory. In 2005, the building which houses the Department of Animal & Food Sciences, was completed and a store was opened for retail meat sales.
CONTACT: Chance Brooks, Chair & Professor, Department of Animal & Food Sciences, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or chance.brooks@ttu.edu
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