Friday Speaker: Chris Snead

G. Christopher Snead is the vice president of operations for the Texas Tech Alumni Association where he has been employed for over 20 years. He is a 1995 graduate of Texas Tech University with a bachelor's degree in technical communications. He also serves as the Vice Chairman of the College Baseball Foundation and on the boards of Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Snead has been publicly recognized for his dedicated service to Texas Tech. In 2017, he received the “Pursuit of Excellence” award from the Office of Transition and Engagement, and in 2016, he was tabbed with the “Inclusive Excellence” award from the Office of Diversity and Community Engagement. He is recognized at Texas Tech as an honorary varsity letter winner in baseball, an honorary Saddle Tramp and a member of the Matador Society.

Most notably, Mr. Snead is a football official in the Southeastern Conference where he has been selected to work multiple post season assignments including the SEC Championship games in 2016 and 2018, the Rose Bowl and College Football Playoff Semifinal in 2015, and the Orange Bowl in 2017. In 2016, the National Football Foundation named him the Outstanding Official of the year.

Snead is a distinguished alumnus of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity as well as J.M. Hanks High School in El Paso, Texas. He has been recognized by the Young Professions of Greater Lubbock, Inc. as one of Lubbock's Top 20 Professionals Under 40 and was also tabbed a National Education Alumni Trust Scholar. He was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International and he is the author of the critically acclaimed book “The Bleacher Bible.”

Saturday Speaker: Tom Stone  

On May 25, 2007, Tom Stone was named the fourth head coach in Texas Tech soccer history. Prior to his arrival at Texas Tech, the team had a record of 6–63–1 in Big 12 play and had gone 0-10-0 in conference four of the previous six seasons. In Stone's first year and half as coach, the team quickly matched that win total, going 6–5–1 in conference play. In 2010 – Stone's fourth year with the team – the Red Raiders went 11-8-1, marking the program's third-ever winning record and first in 15 seasons. Two years later, the Red Raiders made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history and beat North Texas, 2-0, in the program's debut in postseason play. They would lose to Florida State, 2-3, in double overtime in the second round.

In 2013, the Red Raiders made another appearance in the second round after recording a program-record 18 wins. In 2014, Stone's squad won 16 games and climbed as high as sixth in the national coaches' polls before advancing to the program's first-ever Sweet Sixteen. For the breakout campaign, he was named the NSCAA Central Region Coach of the Year. In 2015, the Red Raiders won their first-ever Big 12 Championship, defeating Kansas, 1-0. The year also saw Stone pick up his 100th win at the helm of the Red Raider program when the team beat South Florida, 2-1.

The Red Raiders went .500 the following two seasons – and missed the tournament altogether in 2017 – but came back to go 14-5-3 in 2018, beating a program-record four ranked opponents and leading the nation in shutouts with 14 in the process. As of 2018, Stone has led Texas Tech to the NCAA Tournament in six of the last seven seasons.

Prior to Texas Tech, Stone's first coaching job was as a part-time assistant at the University of Denver in 1996 and as a volunteer assistant at Duke in 1997. Then, from 1997–2000, Stone coached girls' soccer for the Colorado Rush youth soccer club. Under his leadership, the team won 35 state cups, 12 regional championships and eight national championships. He left the Rush to coach professionally in the Women's United Soccer Association. He led the Atlanta Beat to the league's inaugural championship game, losing in overtime on penalty kicks to the Bay Area CyberRays. He also provided soccer commentary for Fox Sports, ESPN and CBS College Sports Network. Stone returned to college coaching in 2006 when he was hired as an assistant for the Clemson Tigers. He spent one year there, helping the Tigers to an 11-8-4 record and an appearance in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

As a Player after being named an All-American in high school, Stone played for Duke from 1984-1987. He was a three-time First Team All-ACC selection, picking up the honors his freshman, junior and senior seasons. Stone's breakout year came in 1986 as a junior when he tallied 16 goals – the second-most in a season in program history. He also assisted on four goals to bring his points total to 36, the ninth-most in program history.