Updated October 26, 2026, 9:57 p.m. ET
It doesn’t matter if it takes place in a world of frustration, it’s all about intention and meaning.
Billionaire Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell called the quiet part out loud Saturday afternoon, a brief two-sentence, 17-word red line about X after an irritating 37-24 loss to Cincinnati as a double-digit favorite.
It’s not good enough.
And if you didn’t think college football teams had owners before, they certainly do now.
There is no excuse or reason to lose a match like this. We have to be better. @TexasTechFB.
Now, a harsher reality: Campbell isn’t backing down. In fact, he’s doubling down.
He said it, he means it – and he wants results.
“It’s the whole team, which these days includes all of us. Players, coaches, administrators, boosters,” Campbell told USA TODAY Sports on Monday. “In today’s landscape, we’re all part of what’s going on out there. I’m not pointing the finger at anyone.”
But he says very clearly and concisely that things need to change.
It’s not just about Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire, who is 41-19 in five seasons and has won 18 of his last 21 games. Although it might be at some point.
It’s not just the most expensive team in the Big 12 and one of the most expensive in all of college football. A list that includes edge rushers Adam Trick and Trey White, who have a combined four sacks in seven games.
This is a question of accountability and responsibility. And before we all get twisted by the idea of a booster running (and ruining) a college football program, or young men beholden to adult billionaires, let’s not blur the lines, my friends.
It’s a business now. Players are paid to perform, just like NFL players are paid to perform.
It’s the financial side of the game that they all wanted, there’s no reason to move away from the business side now. Or as Florida coach Jon Sumrall told me this spring: “You make money. You get paid. Put in the work and the effort. Be accountable to yourself and your teammates.”
Campbell and the other contributors to the Matador Club, the school’s NIL collective, have identified an investment and want a corresponding rate of return. The players and coaches are the investment, and a shutout loss in last year’s College Football Playoff quarterfinals isn’t enough.
And until whoever runs college football realizes that a collective bargaining agreement — or something close to it — is the only way to solve myriad problems, players are at-will employees without a union. They can be fired at any time and for any reason.
Look, the players wanted this free movement system, which was very volatile and based on leverage. And now they have it.
And everything that goes with it.
So when the guy who throws tens of millions at a list every year triggers an accountability check on a social media site, you might want to listen and not get into your feelings. Because if you don’t play with your cap, the next guy in line waiting for his millions will.
Supply and demand, baby.
They named Campbell’s name for the playing surface at Texas Tech’s Galaxy Stadium in 2021, after donating $25 million to renovate the south end zone. He and his partners at Double Eagle Energy donated hundreds of millions, funding Texas Tech’s ability to compete in player acquisition with the sport’s biggest players.
Why wouldn’t they want results? Why wouldn’t they to wait for results?
You cannot open the barn doors to the players’ name, image, likeness and freedom of movement and then label the players as amateurs. You can’t ask for a new and radical paradigm shift in the way sports operate and expect to be treated with old-school kid gloves.
Coaches can’t expect to make more than $10 million a year, players can’t sign multi-year contracts worth more than $10 million – and not be held accountable for poor play. It’s a results-based business and failure is not an option.
So yes, Campbell said the quiet part out loud. He let everyone know – without question – who was running the Texas Tech football program.
This is neither surprising nor harmful. This is the world players are looking for. These are the boom or bust lifestyle coaches they signed up for.
Don’t be shocked when someone calls you and tells you it’s not good enough. Because that’s not the case.
And someone must be held accountable.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on @MattHayesCFB. Listen daily, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., on 1010XL-Jacksonville.
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