The traditional flat Double T will soon return to Texas Tech football helmets. Also, to midfield at Jones AT&T Stadium, to midcourt at United Supermarkets Arena, and anywhere else the Red Raiders have a home sporting event.
Tech announced on Tuesday, Oct. 7, the imminent return of the flat Double T as the primary mark for the university’s athletics. Beginning with Tech sports teams and facilities in 2026, it will replace the beveled, 3D-style Double T used since 1999.
Here are five things to know about the decision:
Texas Tech responded to feedback gleaned from focus groups.
The focus groups surveyed by a Dallas-based marketing agency included stakeholders such as athletes, current Tech students, alumni, donors, and regents, according to senior associate athletics director Robert Giovannetti.
“The overall message was that everyone liked the flat Double T,” Giovannetti said. “A lot of people also liked the beveled Double T, but overwhelmingly, people liked the flat Double T.”
Asked to put a percentage on the results, Giovannetti said, “I would say it would be a minimum of 90% in favor of a change.
“It really wasn’t even presented as ‘Should we change it?’ It was more presented as, ‘What do you think?'”
Participants were asked to rank various Texas Tech emblems.
“Every Double T’s a great Double T for various reasons,” Giovannetti said, “and so there wasn’t a preponderance of negative feedback about that (beveled) Double T. It was just, there was a preponderance of positivity towards the flat one. “
The beveled Double T isn’t going away.
The 3D Double T will continue to serve as the primary branding for the main campus. Its predecessor is returning only in the sports sphere.
“I think it was just something the university really liked remaining with the (beveled) Double T,” Giovannetti said, “and you see a lot of campuses do that. There’s an athletics mark, and then there’s a campus mark. We have a great partnership with media and communications on campus. President (Lawrence) Schovanec has been involved in this from the beginning.”
Giovannetti noted numerous variations in the Double T around Tech’s sports facilities and said it would be impractical to change out some of them.
“A certain class might have donated a Double T, and we’ll keep that up there,” Giovannetti said. “Some of the stonework, it would just not be cost effective to change, but it will be changed in the areas where it makes the most visual impact.”
The Double T coming in 2026 isn’t exactly the same as the original.
“It’s just a little more modernized,” Giovannetti said. “If you look at the difference in the middle of the Double T and some of the base and some of those other things, you put them side by side, you’ll see the differences.”
Why is Texas Tech making the change starting next year?
The Double T’s been a staple of Red Raiders football helmets since the mid-1960s.
Anecdotally, many Red Raiders have clamored for the flat Double T’s reinstatement as the primary mark. That’s been going on for years. There was even a phrase for it on social media: Level the bevel. The flat Double T, though, made only intermittent appearances, such as one-offs with the occasional throwback uniform.
Giovannetti said that Tech athletics leaders now think it makes sense, based in part on its new partnership with adidas, which started in 2024.
The flat Double T is not the only emblem in the design updates.
Tech athletics is also reintroducing the rearing Masked Rider and the rearing Masked Rider paired with the flat Double T, marks used in the past.
Referring to the focus-group feedback, Giovannetti said, “People loved the Masked Rider on the horse, and so seeing that, we knew that had to be a part of whatever we did.”
There’s also a revised Texas state logo with the modernized Double T overlayed in various color options. Plus, designers are working on Raider Red logos customized for each sport.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech’s switch back to the flat Double T: 5 things to know about the decision
Reporting by Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
