Cody Campbell’s Friday Night Lights plea deemed a ‘self-serving’ act for Texas Tech football in disguise
Cody Campbell was accused of not caring as much about high school football in Texas as much as his Red Raiders' competitive advantage with his recent plea to the Big 12.
Cody Campbell’s Friday Night Lights plea deemed a ‘self-serving’ act for Texas Tech football in disguise originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Chairman of the Board of Regents for the Texas Tech University System, Cody Campbell, has been vocal about many national issues in college football over the past year.
Recently, he became a spokesperson for the sanctity of Friday Night Lights in the Lone Star State after the Texas Tech Red Raiders ’ Big 12 opener against the Houston Cougars in Lubbock was announced for Friday, September 18 . On that scheduling decision, Campbell claimed that “our conference should protect us more than they did,” because “they were chasing ratings. ” The Houston Chronicle’s Michael Shapiro believes Campbell used Texas high school football as a cover for his own “self-serving” interests.
“Friday Night Lights is sacred in Texas, a time each week when high school football is rightly king in the Lone Star State. But Campbell isn't exactly levying a protest to protect a sacred time on the sports calendar. Instead, he hoped to protect his program from a short week, a self-serving goal disguised as an act on behalf of the public good,” Shapiro said.
“Campbell is well within his right to protest. But the Big 12 is also well within its right to deny that protest, reasserting its standing as the real power player in town. Texas Tech has 12 regular-season games on its 2026 schedule.