The Texas Tech University System is suing a Texas Tech student, alleging trademark infringement over a viral song that emerged from a moment of chaos at a Red Raider football game.
The trademark opposition, filed in April, stems from a song created by Texas Tech student Cade Brunson about his roommates running onto the Cody Campbell field at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas, during the university’s nonconference game against Oregon State in 2025.
Video posted on social media shows people running onto the field during a weather delay and being escorted off by law enforcement.
This inspired Brunson and his friend Slade Stone to write a song and post it on social media on Sept. 14, 2025, titled “Rush the Jones,” which garnered more than 1.4 million views, more than 266,000 likes and more than 50,000 shares.
According to the lawsuit filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Brunson filed to trademark “Rush the Jones” on Sept. 15, 2025 — a day after releasing the song on TikTok — and created the rushthejones.tech.
The website listed “Rush the Jones”- branded merchandise, with Brunson saying on social media that some of the sales would help pay for the roommates’ legal fees.
Texas Tech initially appeared to embrace the song, as the university posted a Spotify Wrapped-inspired list featuring “Rush the Jones” among its Top 5 Songs of the Year on Dec. 3, 2025.
However, in April 2026, the Texas Tech System, the university’s overseeing institution, filed a lawsuit alleging that Burson’s trademark request would cause public confusion and dilute one of the university’s official brands and trademarks.
The lawsuit also alleged that the Rush the Jones trademark “was created based on illegal activities” and that it “may inspire others to repeat the illegal activity, and profit or gain publicity from such illegal activity.”
The lawsuit also contended that the “.tech” in the website domain is a direct reference to the university.
The Texas Tech System did not immediately respond to a request to comment for this story.
Brunson told KCBD in Lubbock that he originally intended to buy RushTheJones.com, but it was taken.
“We randomly generated a website and by luck, it was RushTheJones.tech. The website being ‘.tech’ was completely by chance,” Brunson told KCBD.
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: How ‘Rush the Jones’ went from viral song to Texas Tech lawsuit
Reporting by Mateo Rosiles, USA TODAY NETWORK / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mateo Rosiles, USA TODAY NETWORK | USA TODAY Network
