Very few boosters are spending as much and publicly exercising as much influence as Cody Campbell. The Texas Tech Red Raiders booster has been pouring money into the program, but Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark wanted to make one thing clear, he doesn’t run the conference.
This comes after Campbell recently complained to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal about a football game for Texas Tech against Houston being moved to Friday night. That is, of course, the traditional night for high school football, but it should help to give the Big 12 a platform when it’s not directly competing with the likes of the SEC and Big Ten.
“Cody Campbell does not run the Big 12,” Yormark told the Avalanche-Journal. “Our Board and our ADs approved playing 12 games a year off of Saturdays in an effort to raise the profile, narrative, and viewership of Big 12 Football. Texas Tech hosting a primetime game on Friday night delivers that.”
The Houston game is currently scheduled for Week 3 and is coming off a road trip to Oregon State. That short week is a major concern for someone like Campbell. At the same time, Texas Tech is far from the only school dealing with that type of concern.
“Friday night Big 12 football games outperformed the Conference’s average rating by 64% in 2025,” Yormark added. “All of our schools are treated equally during the TV scheduling process and this game fits within our scheduling parameters. I am thankful that our TV partners provide us with these opportunities.”
Who is Cody Campbell?
GettyTexas Tech Red Raiders
For a few years now, Cody Campbell has been one of the most public boosters in the country. That has, not coincidentally, coincided with the rise of NIL and revenue sharing in college sports. The Houston Chronicle reported spending between $20 and $28 million on football, and a total athletic department spending of $55 million in the 2025-2026 academic year.
For his part, Campbell is a Texas Tech graduate. A native of Lubbock, Texas, he is a fourth generation alumnus of Texas Tech and he would go on to play for Mike Leach in the early 21st century.
After a brief stint in the NFL, Campbell went into his business career. That began, first, in real estate. Later, in 2008, he would enter the oil industry. In 2021, he was named to the Texas Tech Board of Regents. There, he has done well enough for himself to begin pouring money into the Texas Tech program, looking to make them a contender.
To an extent, that money has worked across sports at Texas Tech. In 2025, the football team won the Big 12 and went to the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, the men’s and women’s basketball teams went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and the softball team was the national runner up a season ago.
On top of that, Campbell has been influential in efforts to pass the Score Act through Congress. That would deny employee status to student-athletes while trying to add guardrails around NIL. To this point, it hasn’t been passed and is hotly debated.
Cody Campbell Responds to Brett Yormark
GettyBig 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark
Cody Campbell wasn’t one to take the comments from Brett Yormark lying down. He took to Twitter/X in the wake of Yormark’s comments, posting the article they were in along with a little response.
“Apparently Brett didn’t get the memo: EVERYTHING RUNS THROUGH LUBBOCK!! Maybe we should bring the tortillas back??” Campbell wrote.
The tortilla reference goes back to last season. A long standing Texas Tech tradition to throw tortillas on the field during games, the Big 12 put an end to it after a string of incidents. Certainly, Yormark wouldn’t welcome the return of those tortillas either.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark Calls out Texas Tech Booster Cody Campbell