A Very SAD: Kliff Kingsbury Stuns the Football World with a Game-Changing $15 Million Donation to the Texas Tech Red Raiders Football Program, Honoring the Coaches and Teammates Who Paved His Path to College Football Stardom
In a move that sent shockwaves through the college football community, Kliff Kingsbury—former Texas Tech quarterback and head coach—has made a deeply emotional, $15 million donation to the Red Raiders football program. The announcement came not with pomp and celebration, but with tears and remembrance, as Kingsbury used the moment to pay tribute to those who helped shape his journey—many of whom are no longer here to witness his powerful gesture.
Kingsbury, standing before a crowd at Jones AT&T Stadium, struggled to hold back emotion as he reflected on his playing days and the people who molded him into the player, coach, and man he is today. “This isn’t just a donation,” he said, voice cracking. “This is a thank you to every coach who believed in a skinny kid from New Braunfels. It’s for every teammate who battled beside me when no one else believed we could win. Some of them aren’t with us anymore. This is for them.”
The $15 million will go toward renovating the program’s facilities, expanding player wellness resources, and creating the “Legends Fund”—a scholarship program in honor of late Red Raiders players and coaches, whose names will be immortalized in a newly-constructed Hall of Legacy. Kingsbury made it clear: the money isn’t for headlines—it’s for heart.
The decision came after what sources close to Kingsbury described as a “year of reflection” following a tumultuous stretch in his coaching career, including his controversial stint with the Arizona Cardinals and a brief period overseas. Returning to Lubbock, he walked through the quiet halls of the locker room, remembering the late Coach Spike Dykes and former teammate Brandon Williams, who passed away unexpectedly in 2023. That walk, he said, “broke me in the best way.”
“This place made me. Every film session, every freezing practice, every crushing loss that taught us how to stand back up—it’s sacred. And it deserves to be protected.”
Current head coach Joey McGuire called Kingsbury’s gift “the most powerful act of love this program has ever seen,” adding that the funds would allow Texas Tech to continue competing at the highest level, while preserving its rich tradition and honoring the lives that have been lost along the way.
As the sun set over the West Texas sky, Kingsbury stood alone on the 50-ya
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