The Texas Tech football team will start spring practice on March 21 and play the annual spring game at noon on April 22.
Tech announced the scheduled Friday. The Red Raiders will mostly practice on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. They’ll go on March 21, 23, 25, 28 and 30 and April 1 the first two weeks. The remaining dates are April 4, 6, 7, 11, 13, 15, 18 and 20 before the spring game.
The spring game will not be played at Jones AT&T Stadium because of ongoing construction work on the south end zone facility project, a Tech athletics spokesman said. The location will be determined and announced at a future date.
Tech football
Former Texas Tech running back SaRodorick Thompson and linebacker Krishon Merriweather will play on separate teams Saturday in the 11th annual NFLPA Collegiate Bowl at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The kickoff time is 5 p.m. CST.
Merriweather will play for the National team, coached by former NFL running back Eddie George. Thompson is on the American team, led by former NFL head coach Jeff Fisher.
Thompson rushed for 2,664 yards and 40 touchdowns in his Tech career, including single-season rushing-yardage totals of 765, 610, 500 and 684 the past four years. Merriweather, in three seasons for the Red Raiders, posted single-season tackle totals of 75, 52 and 112.
Coverage of the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl can be found on NFL Network.
Tech tennis
Texas Tech tennis teams are both set to play in four-team ITA Kickoff Weekend events, the women in Norman, Oklahoma and the men in Fort Worth.
The Tech women (3-0) open at 11 a.m. Saturday against Tulsa (3-1), followed by host and fourth-ranked Oklahoma (3-2) taking on Minnesota (0-0) at 3 p.m. On Sunday, the two losers face each other at 10 a.m. and the two winners square off at 2 p.m.
The Tech men (2-2) start play at 11 a.m. Saturday against Utah (2-0), followed by host and third-ranked TCU (3-0) tangling with Gonzaga (2-1) at 2 p.m. On Sunday, the losers play at 11 a.m. and the winners at 2 p.m.
The Tech women opened the season last weekend with 7-0 sweeps of Incarnate Word and Texas-El Paso sandwiched around a 6-1 conquest of Abilene Christian.
The Red Raider men opened the season with a 7-0 loss at No. 6 Tennessee and a 4-3 loss against North Carolina-Charlotte, then beat Louisiana-Lafayette 6-1.
