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Joey McGuire fulfills promise to climb crane at Jones AT&T Stadium

On3 imageby:Andrew Graham06/21/23

AndrewEdGraham

Oklahoma v Texas Tech
(Photo by Josh Hedges/Getty Images)

Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire must not be afraid of heights. Making good on a promise, the Red Raiders coach hauled himself up the tower crane setup at the south end of Jones AT&T Stadium.

The gauntlet was thrown down in April, when McGuire was apparently asked how many retweets the Texas Tech Twitter account needed on a specific tweet for him to make the climb, and he chose 3000. Some 3566 retweets later, McGuire made his ascent this week.

“A man of the people,” Texas Tech’s twitter account said, posting photos of McGuire climbing the crane.

The Red Raiders also shared a short video of McGuire atop the crane. Probably the best view of the football stadium and campus he’s going to get any time soon.

The crane, which stands several hundred feet above the ground in Lubbock, might not have caused any pause in McGuire, but that wasn’t necessarily the case for everyone else.

His daughter, Raegan, posted a reply to Texas Tech’s original pictures remarking the tension of the experience.

“I was stressed,” she said.

And Texas Tech took a chance to thank the crew that helped take the head football coach to the top of the crane and back safely.

“Special s/o to the crew for making sure every safety precaution was taken. Please do not attempt something like this on your own,” Texas Tech football said on Twitter.

The crane McGuire climbed is part of construction on stadium renovations at Texas Tech

Texas Tech is overhauling parts of Jones AT&T Stadium and the Womble Football Center to the tune of $220 million, with drastic improvements planned for amenities used by both athletes and fans.

The project was begun some months ago and will result with “what is considered the largest contiguous football facility in the country,” according to Texas Tech.

“With a total estimated cost of $220 million, Texas Tech continues to fundraise for the project with a goal of $100 million, of which $87 million is already committed,” the website outlining the upgrades reads.

The new facilities will feature upwards of 300,000 square feet for the football program to use for a number of things, ranging from 300,000 combined square feet of spaces like the locker room, an expanded strength and conditioning weight room and a “multi-purpose walkthrough room.”

“Our intent is to be the top athletics department in the country. As we look into the long-term future of college athletics, this project will set the stage for what we anticipate as decades of success on the gridiron for our Red Raiders. This will take all of us,” Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said in the original announcement of the facilities upgrade.