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On Saturday, #8 BYU will face off against #9 Texas Tech for a showdown that lured College GameDay to Lubbock. There’s no telling how things will pan out, but Cougars fans have been responsible for a win off the field after rallying to support the team barber for the Red Raiders after his wife was injured by a drunk driver.
There isn’t a bigger game on the college football slate this weekend than the matchup between BYU and Texas Tech, which will have some major implications for the two teams that landed in the Top 12 (seventh and eighth, respectively) when the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season dropped on Tuesday.
8-1 Texas Tech is in the midst of its best season since peaking at #2 under Mike Leach in 2008, and this marks the first year players were able to take advantage of the many amenities at the Dustin R. Womble Center, the $242 million facility that officially opened in the spring.
The complex features a barbershop that is run by Tito Ortiz, and fans in Lubbock and well beyond have rallied behind him after he was forced to stop working to care for his wife after a tragic accident.
BYU fans have rallied around the team barber for Texas Tech by donating to support him after his wife was injured by a drunk driver
On October 22nd, Ortiz revealed his wife was in the ICU after being struck by a drunk driver the previous week. He was forced to stop working to care for her and their three-year-old son, and he launched a GoFundMe to raise funds to cover ” medical expenses, travel costs, and basic living expenses.”
Red Raider Nation quickly rallied around Ortiz, and his plight came to the attention of BYU fans who also stepped up ahead of the showdown between the two teams on Saturday.
BYU fans, we play Texas Tech this week, and one of their fans is in need of help. She was hit by a drunk driver and is in the ICU. Her husband is the team barber.
Let’s show them our love and support by Jimmering this go fund me! ❤️ https://t.co/8u17LRD4bT
— Sporty (@SportyMcSports) November 4, 2025
As of this writing, the GoFundMe has raised over $67,000 courtesy of the more than 1,300 people who have chipped in, and the comments are filled with messages from Texas Tech and BYU fans. Kirk Herbstreit has also contributed, as he donated $5,000 to the cause.
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