November 20, 1999, is one of the most monumental days in Texas Tech football history. That’s because what transpired at Jones Stadium that day ultimately proved to be the birth of the modern-day “Air Raid” era of college football.
But at the time, the prevailing storyline was the imminent retirement of the Red Raiders’ all-time winningest head coach Spike Dykes. Despite not having a losing season since 1992, Tech fans had grown frustrated with the program’s lack of significant progress after going from 1996-99 without winning more than seven games in a season.
So as Tech struggled through a 5-5 campaign leading into the season finale with the Sooners, the pressure had mounted on AD Gerald Myers to bring about change and virtually everyone knew that Dykes retirement was soon to become public.