By Shala Gean
Communications Specialist
This weekend, Texas Tech University will hold its sixth annual Celebrate Cotton football game in the Cotton Capital of the United States—Lubbock.
Plains Cotton Growers partnered with Texas Tech Athletics to establish this event that puts High Plains cotton on a national stage and promotes cotton during the game.
Texas is the number one cotton growing state, and the High Plains region produces two-thirds of all Texas cotton and cottonseed.
“The community here in Lubbock and West Texas is all about cotton and also about Texas Tech University,” Ronnie Cherry, Red Raider Sports Properties associate general manager, told the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Radio Network.
Cotton farmers on the High Plains produce, on average, four million bales per year, which is four percent of the world’s cotton crop.
“A lot of the growers and farmers are fans, so it’s just a natural relationship,” Cherry said.
Cherry noted they highlight cotton early in the football season, because harvest could prevent farmers from attending games later in the season.
“They are working in the fields during harvesting season and they are listening to the games,” Cherry said. “They have told us year after year how much they appreciate being able to come to the game and being recognized.”
Cherry said fans attending the Texas Tech vs. Arizona State game will see white all around the stadium. The Red Raiders will wear white uniforms as Texas Tech is calling for a “White Out.” Fans are encouraged to wear white to celebrate the cotton industry.
Cotton will be displayed and promoted throughout the game. Cherry said cotton bales will line each entrance to the stadium with facts about cotton and its impact on the economy.
“If you are a fan, you’re going to see cotton outside the stadium. And when you get inside the stadium, you’re going to see cotton and white wherever you go,” Cherry said.
Farm equipment will also be displayed around the stadium.
“We work with the Plains Cotton Growers,” Cherry said. “They’re the experts in the cotton industry, so we partner with them to really put cotton on the platform that it deserves.”
Cherry said fans always have a great response to the Celebrate Cotton game.
“The Celebrate Cotton game specifically has been one that fans have reacted the best to,” Cherry said. “They just get it, and they appreciate that Tech uses a football game to put it on that platform.”
Kickoff is slated for Saturday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. inside Jones AT&T Stadium.
Sponsors for Celebrate Cotton include AgTexas Farm Credit Services, BASF, Bayer CropScience, Cavender’s, City Bank, Crop Production Services, Deltapine, Netafim, NexGen, Hurst Farm Supply and Wylie Implement and Spray Centers.
To hear more comments from Cherry, listen to the interview on the TFB Radio Network.
For more information on cotton, visit the Plains Cotton Growers’ website.