Guns Up

Guns Up is the famous slogan and hand signal of Texas Tech University. The slogan and hand signal are used by students and alumni as a school-spirited greeting. It is also used as a celebratory sign during athletic events.

The gesture

The gesture is made from a closed hand by extending the index finger forward and the thumb up. It is meant to resemble the shape of a gun, like those carried by the university's mascots, The Masked Rider and Raider Red.^[1] The idea is that the Red Raiders will figuratively shoot down their opponents.^[2]

History

Hand signals were an important part of the traditions of the schools in the Southwest Conference. Invention of "Guns Up" is attributed to 1961 Texas Tech alumnus, L. Glenn Dippel. Living in Austin with his wife Roxie, Dippel created "Guns Up" as a way to counter the "Hook 'em Horns" handsign he saw each day from fans of the Texas Longhorns.^[3]

Dippel experimented some before looking to the Raider Red mascot for inspiration. In 1971, he and some other Tech fans made decals with the phrase "Gun 'em Down". Shortly thereafter, Dippel shared the idea with the Saddle Tramps spirit organization who began using the hand signal immediately.^[3]

According to Southeastern Louisiana University Athletic Director Jay Artigues, the "Guns Up" cheer and gesture are the inspiration for the "Lion Up" cheer and gesture adopted in 2014 by the Southeastern Louisiana Lions.^[4]

References

^ Texas Tech University :: Campus Information :: History & Traditions :: Guns Up
^ Texas Tech University: History
^ ^a ^b Burka, Paul. "Football Hand Signals". Texas Monthly. Archived from the original on 2001-07-16.
^ Artigues, Jay (2014-08-29). "Luncheon address". Hammond Chamber of Commerce. Hammond, Louisiana.

Texas Tech Red Raiders athletics

Sports

Facilities

Current coaches

Tim Tadlock (baseball)
Mark Adams (men's basketball)
Krista Gerlich (women's basketball)
Don Flora (volleyball)
Jon Murray (cross country)
Eric Morris (football assistant)
Matt Wells (football)
Greg Sands (men's golf)
JoJo Robertson (women's golf)
Tom Stone (soccer)
Adrian Gregory (softball)
Tim Siegel (men's tennis)
Todd Petty (women's tennis)
Wes Kittley (track and field)

Football seasons
& bowl games

Traditions & miscellany

v t e Texas Tech Red Raiders football
Venues	South Plains Fairgrounds (1925–1926) Tech Field (1926–1947) Jones AT&T Stadium (1947–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Arkansas Baylor Houston TCU Texas Texas A&M
Culture & lore	History Raider Red The Masked Rider "Fight, Raiders, Fight" "The Matador Song" Goin' Band from Raiderland Guns Up 1939 Centenary game 2008 Texas game 2008 Big 12 South 3-way tie controversy 2016 Oklahoma game
People	Head coaches Captains Honorees NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball
Venues	Livestock Judging Pavilion (1925–1927) Tech Gymnasium (1927–1956) City Bank Coliseum (1956–1999) United Supermarkets Arena (1999–present)
Culture & lore	Raider Red The Masked Rider "Fight, Raiders, Fight" "The Matador Song" Guns Up Knight School
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Texas Tech University

Located in: Lubbock, Texas

Academics

Athletics

Teams	Baseball Red Raider basketball Lady Raider basketball Cross Country Football Golf Soccer Softball Track and Field
Facilities	Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park Fuller Track John Walker Soccer Complex Jones AT&T Stadium Lubbock Municipal Coliseum The Rawls Course United Supermarkets Arena