The Texas Tech System Board of Regents met in Lubbock on Thursday morning during a normally scheduled meeting, and several important items related to Texas Tech Athletics were presented to them.
All items presented to the board were unanimously approved with little discussion.
Of note was the board hearing and update about the south end zone at Jones AT&T Stadium and Dustin Womble Football Training Facility projects, naming several rooms within the facilities, which were unanimously approved.
Texas Tech football stadium projects ahead of schedule
The new doors to Jones AT&T Stadium are nearing completion, with the south end zone expected to be completed by Texas Tech's first home game of the 2024 season against Abilene Christian University on Aug. 31.
The Womble Football Center will open 20-30 days later, said Chris Huckabee, chairman of the RRFFI.
"On November 5, 2021, I filed the documents to create the Red Raider Facilities Foundation. To say that we were flying an airplane and building it at the same time during those early days — it would be very accurate," Huckabee said.
During that time, COVID-19 was at its peak, the construction supply chain saw delays and other issues popped up.
"However, we have had great fortune to surround this project with excellent team members top to bottom without exception," Huckabee said. "People that care deeply about Texas Tech and that share our vision of delivering excellence to Texas Tech and our friends."
With the south end zone demolition beginning in December 2022, Huckabee said over 500,000 man-hours have been spent to get the project — not to completion — but to what people see currently.
"This project, which we protected originally would take between 30 and 36 months to complete, will be completed in 21 months," Huckabee said. "That's success by any measure."
Dive Deeper: What's the latest with Texas Tech football, Jones AT&T Stadium construction?
According to previous A-J reporting, the total cost of both projects is around $242 million, with $103 million in gifts and pledges covering the cost — $50 million of which were brought to the board's attention to authorize TTU Athletics to name rooms in the donor's honor.
Nearly $40 million raised for TTU south end zone project, donors to be honored
Texas Tech Athletics received the following amount from donors, who are naming 16 rooms after them within the newly constructed south end zone complex at Jones AT&T Stadium.
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$ 125,000donated by Kurt & Jerry McKee will have the Associate Head Coach Office named after them.
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$ 250,000donated by Dreambuilt Homes, Inc. will have the Running Back Meeting Room named after them.
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$ 250,000donated by West Texas Land Guys will have the Defensive Staff Conference Room named after them.
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$ 450,000donated by Jimmy Earl will have the Defensive Coordinator Office named after them.
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$ 500,000donated by Frankie Barela will have the All Staff Confrence Room named after them.
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$ 800,000donated by Joe Dee Brooks will have the Recruiter/NFL Corridor named after them.
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$1 milliondonated by Tim Culp* will have the Grand Entry Lobby named after him.
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$1 milliondonated by Joyce Davis will have the Head Coach Office named after her.
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$1.05 milliondonated by multiple donors for Sailor Sharbutt Memorial will have the Gameday Tunnel named after them.
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$1.5 milliondonated by the Seiders Family will have the Recruiter Lounge named after them.
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$1.9 milliondonated by Butch's Rathole & Anchor South West Gated Entrance named after them.
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$2 milliondonated by Travis and Lexi Thompson will have the South East Gated Entrance named after them.
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$5 milliondonated by Mike Wallace will have the South East South Endzone Belltower named after him.
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$5 milliondonated by John Billingsley will have the South West South Endzone Belltower named after him.
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$10 milliondonated by Gary Peterson will have the Field Club named after him.
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$10 milliondonated by John and Tracy Sellers will have the South Endzone Concourse named after them.
*Tim Culp is a sitting member of the Board of Regents whose term expires on Jan. 31, 2029.
Honorary naming after donors raises over $10 million for TTU football facility
Texas Tech Athletics received the following amounts from donors and is naming 13 rooms after them within the newly constructed Dustin R. Womble Football Center.
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$125,000donated by Justin Fincher.
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$250,000donated by the Doyle Family.
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$250,000donated by Brad and Barb Bouma.
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$250,000donated by Terry and Kelly Crofoot.
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$250,000donated by Steve & Eileen Guthrie.
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$300,000donated by the Tommy McVay Memorial.
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$400,000donated by Brian Sikes.
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$700,000donated by the Dorris Family.
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$1 milliondonated by Steve Goree.
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$1 milliondonated by Lance Langford.
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$1 milliondonated by Steve & Elaine Nance.
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$1.83 milliondonated by Tim Winn & Rudy Renda.
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$1.83 milliondonated by the Scovell Family.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Regents hear updates on Texas Tech football, Jones AT&T Stadium projects

