Texas Tech basketball coach Grant McCasland did something you don’t see every day. He showed up at a football game to deliver a preemptive warning to his own fans about how to behave. McCasland took time out of his Saturday’s match program to address the Texas Tech faithful before the Red Raiders hosted No. 7 BYU in a massive Big 12 showdown that could decide the conference championship race.

McCasland wanted to ensure that Texas Tech didn’t become the next school to write a $50,000 check and face public humiliation, just like Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes.

Standing in front of a packed house at Jones AT&T Stadium, McCasland didn’t mince words about what he was asking from the Tech faithful. “I love the energy in this place. So, let’s not lose the energy. But let’s do this in a way that helps our team win. Everybody with me?” McCasland said. The basketball coach knows what hostile crowds look like. And this was about making sure the wrong kind of passion didn’t cost his school money and embarrassment.​

McCasland got straight to the point about what everyone in the building was thinking. “I know that everybody has some chants against BYU that are pretty popular. Let’s stay away from derogatory, negative things about them and make it about the Red Raiders. Everybody hear me?” he continued. “So, let’s cheer on the Red Raiders, don’t do anything that would give us a penalty, and let’s win this football game.” 

It was a message that shouldn’t need to be said. Don’t shout religious slurs at your opponent. But the fact that a basketball coach felt compelled to address a football crowd about it speaks volumes about how real the concern was. 

The reason for McCasland’s impromptu intervention? Colorado learned that lesson the hard way just weeks ago when Buffaloes fans turned a late September home game against BYU into a $50,000 mistake. During BYU’s 24-21 victory at Folsom Field on September 27th, Colorado’s student section repeatedly chanted “F— the Mormons,” loud enough that it was audible on the broadcast and impossible for the Big 12 to ignore. 

The expletives and religious slurs directed at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which BYU represents as its flagship university, prompted immediate condemnation from Colorado chancellor Justin Schwartz and athletic director Rick George, who called the behavior “deeply disappointing” and inconsistent with the school’s values.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark didn’t wait long to drop the hammer. He announced a $50,000 fine and public reprimand. He also declared that “hateful and discriminatory language has no home in the Big 12 Conference” and the league maintains “zero tolerance for such behavior.”

Deion Sanders, clearly blindsided by the whole situation, apologized on behalf of Colorado during his weekly press conference. Deion Sanders blamed “a group of young kids that probably was intoxicated and high simultaneously” for the chants. Deion Sanders tried to walk a fine line, saying the behavior wasn’t “indicative of who we are” while also throwing the offending fans under the bus for their substance-fueled poor judgment.

The whole incident was particularly embarrassing because it wasn’t the first time BYU had dealt with this. Arizona apologized in February after similar chants during a basketball game, and Oregon fans and USC fans had pulled the same act in prior years. But Colorado’s version came with a hefty price tag and a reminder that the Big 12 isn’t playing around when it comes to religious discrimination.​

That’s the context McCasland was working with when he stepped in front of Texas Tech fans. He knows his school has worked too hard to build a program that’s ranked No. 10 in basketball and has its football team in legitimate Big 12 title contention to let a few stupid chants derail everything. Texas Tech has spent millions building a football monster through aggressive recruiting, and they’re not about to throw away $50,000 or damage their reputation because some fans couldn’t keep it classy.

Beyond just keeping their fans in line, Joey McGuire and Texas Tech had plenty of football reasons to be laser-focused on Saturday’s clash with BYU.

A Top-10 collision with championship stakes

The stakes couldn’t be higher. No. 9 Texas Tech (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) hosting No. 8 BYU (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) in a game that would essentially determine who controls their destiny in the Big 12 Championship race and potentially lock up a College Football Playoff spot. McGuire embraced every bit of the hype, telling reporters earlier in the week, “I can’t wait for Saturday. They’ve earned the right to play in this game. Now they’ve got to go earn the right to win it.”

The Red Raiders came in leading the conference in scoring at 43.6 points per game and total defense at 271.3 yards allowed, with linebacker Jacob Rodriguez leading the nation with seven forced fumbles.

BYU brought its own credentials to West Texas, riding an undefeated record behind true freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier. The Cougars were one of just four undefeated teams left in college football and hadn’t faced anyone as good as Texas Tech all season. “It’s a lot of fun to go see these places you’ve never played before,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “But it’s really just about getting ready to play.”

The matchup was the first time since 2021 that two top-10 Big 12 teams faced each other, and it marked the first meeting between the programs in Lubbock since 1940. With McCasland’s reminder about keeping the atmosphere intense but respectful still ringing in their ears, Tech fans showed up ready to create chaos, just the legal kind. The Red Raiders needed every bit of that energy in what would determine whether they’d be playing for a conference championship in December or watching from home.​