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Kliff Kingsbury: Being honored with Mike Leach makes night special

Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
·4 min read

Ever since he stepped on the Texas Tech campus 25 years ago, Kliff Kingsbury was usually under pressure to perform, first as a Red Raiders quarterback and later as their head coach.

On Friday, the Texas Tech football great made a quick trip back to be celebrated.

"A lot less stress this time around," he said.

Kingsbury was one of nine honorees Friday night during Texas Tech Athletics' annual Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor induction ceremonies. He was on the front end of the Red Raiders' prolific passing era and at 44 remains second to Graham Harrell in many of the Red Raiders' career passing categories, including passing yards (12,429) and passing touchdowns (95).

"Kliff never took days off," said B.J. Symons, who followed Kingsbury and set Tech single-season passing records. "He was always the first one in, always the last one out. He led by example and he really made everybody else around him want to follow him in that regard as well."

Kingsbury, who was head coach at Tech from 2013-18 and head coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2019-22, is now senior offensive analyst at Southern California. No. 8 USC has a game at 11 a.m. CDT Saturday at Colorado, so Kingsbury made a day trip to Lubbock for his induction, flying back out late Friday night.

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Texas Tech enshrines Mike Leach in Hall of Honor

He was one of seven enshrined in the Tech Hall of Fame, reserved for former athletes. Mike Leach, the Red Raiders' coach from 2000-09, was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Honor, which is for non-athletes who made an impact on Tech athletics.

Leach went 84-43 in his 10 seasons with the Red Raiders, the first three seasons with Kingsbury at quarterback. Leach's career victories total is a Tech record and his winning percentage is second to Pete Cawthon's.

"Really, that's what makes this night special for me," Kingsbury told emcee Robert Giovannetti, "is that coach Leach is going in. A guy who, as B.J. knows and a lot of other guys in this room, believed in us when we didn't believe in ourselves, helped us reach levels that we never thought we could reach."

Leach's tenure at Tech ended in bitter dispute after he was fired in December 2009 over mistreatment of a player. He went on to coach at Washington State and Mississippi State, amassing a career record of 158-107.

"He will be more and more honored and revered as time goes by and people see exactly what he meant to the game," Kingsbury said.

Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury, right, celebrates with head coach Mike Leach after the Red Raiders beat Clemson 55-15 in the 2002 Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Florida. On Friday, Kingsbury was inducted into the Tech Athletics Hall of Fame, and Leach was posthumously inducted into the Tech Athletics Hall of Honor. They were among nine honorees in ceremonies at the Overton Hotel & Conference Center.

Last December, Leach died unexpectedly while still head coach at Mississippi State. His wife Sharon, his children and his brother were in attendance Friday for the ceremony at the Overton Hotel & Conference Center.

Leach's family members, his former players and coaching colleagues spoke in a 10-minute video tribute. In it, Sharon Leach said, "I just want to say thanks again for this honor and recognition for Mike. Our family is truly appreciative, so thank you."

"To be honest, I think it's about time," said Antonio Huffman, who played for Leach and served on his staffs at Tech and Washington State. "I think it was coming. I'm just sad that he's not here to be able to walk out of the field and hear all the Red Raiders cheering him on."

Texas Tech hosts Houston at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, and the inductees will be given another recognition during the game.

Athletes from five sports inducted into Texas Tech Hall of Fame

Also inducted into the Hall of Fame were:

Cathy Carlson (1984-88), who set the Tech women's tennis career victories record;

Gonzalo Escobar (2008-12), who set the Tech men's tennis career victories record;

Kim Kaufman (2009-13), a four-time all-America selection and the first Tech women's golfer to be ranked No. 1 in the NCAA;

Greg Lowery (1970-72), a basketball player who averaged 19.7 points per game over three seasons and still holds the Tech single-season record for scoring average at 24.5 points per game;

Matt Wingo (1987-91), a two-time all-Southwest Conference linebacker in football;

Jason Young (1999-2004), a two-time track and field all-American and an NCAA runner-up in the discus. He made the 2012 U.S. Olympic team.

In a surprise announcement that was not on the event program or known in advance to the recipient, Rodney Allison was presented with the Heritage Award. That honor goes to a former letterwinner "who has been exemplary in their chosen field while displaying qualities of sportsmanship, character and integrity."

Allison, a star quarterback on Tech's 10-win team of 1976, has been head of the Double T Varsity Club, the Tech letterwinners' association, since 2013. He is recently retired and planning to move to Hawaii in the next few weeks.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Kliff Kingsbury: Being honored with Mike Leach makes night special