The lead-up to the Texas Tech–Colorado game quickly took an unusual turn — and it all started with a T-shirt.
For each Red Raiders home game, Texas Tech celebrates with a unique theme and gameday shirt, sold exclusively by Red Raider Outfitter. The “Celebrate America” shirt was meant to feature patriotic imagery and both schools’ logos, but Colorado declined to license its logo for the shirt, leading to some surprising backlash.
According to Red Raider Outfitter owner Stephen Spiegelberg, the design process began months in advance, and Texas Tech’s athletic department approved it without hesitation. But when they reached out to Colorado, the Buffs had a different response.
“We were told they won’t be licensing a product that had an American flag on it,” he said via KCBD News Channel 11 Lubbock.
The decision led him to pull Colorado-branded merchandise from his store altogether, saying, “We refuse to do that because Colorado would receive financial benefit from those shirts. And we don’t think that anybody has the right to limit the use of the American flag in this great nation.”