The Matador Song

"The Matador Song", which dates from 1930, is the school song of the Texas Tech University Red Raiders.

History

The song was created as part of a contest sponsored by the school newspaper, then known as The Toreador. R.C. Marshall, the editor of the 1931 La Ventana was chosen as the winner and given a $25 prize.^[1] In the next year, Goin' Band Director Harry LeMaire rewrote the music to the song.^[2] Aside from that, it has remained unchanged since its creation.^[3] Despite Texas Tech adopting the Red Raider as its mascot in 1936, the song continues to refer to the original Matador mascot.

Lyrics

Fight, Matadors, for Tech,
Songs of love we’ll sing to thee,
Bear our banners far and wide,
Ever to be our pride,
Fearless champions ever be,
Stand on heights of victory,
Strive for honor evermore,
Long live the Matadors!

References

^ "Council Adopts Song for Tech". The Toreador. May 1, 1930. p. 5. hdl:20.500.12255/128665.
^ "New Music Is Adopted For Matador Song". The Toreador. March 5, 1931. p. 1. hdl:20.500.12255/127638.
^ "Spirits and Traditions". Texas Tech University. Archived from the original on July 15, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-13.

Texas Tech University

Located in: Lubbock, Texas

Academics

Athletics

Teams	Baseball Red Raider basketball Lady Raider basketball Cross Country Football Golf Soccer Softball Track and Field
Facilities	Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park Fuller Track John Walker Soccer Complex Jones AT&T Stadium Lubbock Municipal Coliseum The Rawls Course United Supermarkets Arena

Campus

Branches
- Abilene
- Amarillo
- Fredericksburg
- Highland Lakes
- Junction
- Costa Rica
Buildings
- Administration Building
- Agricultural Pavilion
- City Bank Auditorium
- Dairy Barn
Landmarks

Media

Public Media
- KNCH-FM 90.1
- KTTZ-FM 89.1
- PBS El Paso
- PBS Texas Tech Public Media
Student Media
- The Daily Toreador
- KTXT-FM 88.1
- La Ventana
Texas Tech Administrative Law Journal
Texas Tech Sports Network
Texas Tech University Press

People

Research

Student life

CitiBus
"Fight, Raiders, Fight"
Goin' Band from Raiderland
"The Matador Song"

Traditions

Established: 1923
Endowment: $1.78 billion (2023)
Students: 40,944 (Fall 2023)

v t e Texas Tech Red Raiders football
Venues	South Plains Fairgrounds (1925–1926) Tech Field (1926–1947) Jones AT&T Stadium (1947–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Arkansas Baylor Houston TCU Texas Texas A&M
Culture & lore	History Raider Red The Masked Rider "Fight, Raiders, Fight" "The Matador Song" Goin' Band from Raiderland Guns Up 1939 Centenary game 2008 Texas game 2008 Big 12 South 3-way tie controversy 2016 Oklahoma game
People	Head coaches Captains Honorees NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball
Venues	Livestock Judging Pavilion (1925–1927) Tech Gymnasium (1927–1956) City Bank Coliseum (1956–1999) United Supermarkets Arena (1999–present)
Culture & lore	Raider Red The Masked Rider "Fight, Raiders, Fight" "The Matador Song" Guns Up Knight School
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics