Starbucks Texas Tech University mug: Discovery Series
Campus Collection mug for Texas Tech in Lubbock: Raider Red in a TEXAS TECH 00 jersey, the Will Rogers statue wrapped in red crepe paper, a caped rider with a Double T on the cape, a trumpeter, the university seal and a building outlined in lights.
- Series
- Discovery Series
- Place
- Texas Tech University (Lubbock, Texas, USA)
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- 14 fl ozStarbucks's Discovery Series launch story calls it the 14-ounce ceramic mug
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The statue that turned its horse's back on Texas A&M
On February 16, 1950, Amon G. Carter dedicated a bronze of his longtime friend Will Rogers, riding his horse Soapsuds, on the Texas Tech campus [11]. It stands 9 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 3,200 pounds [11]. The inscription on its base has Rogers "riding into the Western sunset" [11]. That was the idea. According to campus legend, a rider facing due west would have left Soapsuds' rear pointed at downtown Lubbock, so the statue was turned 23 degrees to the east, and now the horse's hindquarters face College Station and Texas A&M [12]. The Saddle Tramps, a booster club that a student named Arch Lamb formed in 1936, "paint the campus red" with crepe paper before big home games [13]. Before every home football game they wrap Old Will in red [11]. When the nation mourns, the paper has been black [11]. The horse and rider trailing red streamers on the back of the mug (13) are Old Will in his game-day wrapping.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
The words TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY are printed in two lines of gold capitals across a large dark green circle in the middle of the Front view.
- 2Texas Tech University seal
A grey-silver round seal stands on a grey pedestal in front of a red band, with small white fountain jets on both sides. The words TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY run around the top of the rim, and a shield with a bird at its top fills the middle. This is the Texas Tech University seal, which shows an American eagle perched above a book, with a star, a key and a lamp; on the mug the symbols on the shield are too small to check.[10]
- 3Red tulips
Tall red tulips with dark red, black and grey leaves grow up the left side of the green circle, with one more bud low down near the seal. They are drawn as plain flowers; we found nothing that ties tulips to one Texas Tech landmark.
- 4Graduation cap and diploma
A red mortarboard with a gold tassel flies above the green circle, with a rolled grey diploma tied with a ribbon just below it.
- 5Trumpeter, looks like a Goin' Band from Raiderland member
A musician in a black flat-brimmed hat, white shirt, black trousers and a red cape plays a silver trumpet, with music notes floating around it. The cape and flat-brimmed hat look similar to the matador-style uniform of the Goin' Band from Raiderland, the Texas Tech marching band. The mug doesn't name it.[8]
- 6Stadium bowl
The trumpeter stands on the rim of a curved stadium drawn in red, grey and black seat blocks around a gold field. The drawing has no Double T scoreboard or other feature that singles out one stadium, so we do not name it. Texas Tech's own football stadium was renamed Galaxy Stadium on 17 July 2026.[9]
- 7Raider Red Side view
A cartoon cowboy with a big grey cowboy hat, red curly mustache, red jersey printed TEXAS TECH 00, a belt buckle marked with a Double T, and black chaps and boots, one finger raised. He is Raider Red, the Texas Tech mascot drawn as a Wild West character with an oversized cowboy hat. He is cut off at the left edge of the Front view and seen whole in the Side view.[1][2]
- 8Caped rider in black hat and mask, looks like the Masked Rider Side view
A standing figure in a black flat-brimmed hat and a black eye mask raises one hand and wears a long red cape marked with a large black Double T outlined in grey, Texas Tech's logo; the fold of the cape makes it read at first like an F. The same Double T is on Raider Red's belt buckle. The hat, mask and scarlet cape may be meant as the costume of the Masked Rider, Texas Tech's mascot, though no horse is drawn with this figure. The same figure is cut off at the right edge of the Back view. The mug doesn't name it.[4][10]
- 9Basketball hoop Side view
A grey backboard and a gold net with a red basketball dropping through the hoop, above the caped figure's raised hand.
- 10RAIDER POWER! Side view
The words RAIDER POWER! are hand-lettered in black inside a burst of red and gold lines under the basketball hoop.
- 11Campus buildings along a path Side view
A long low row of tan and grey buildings with red roofs and gold-lit windows, a grey centre block with an arched doorway and one small tower at the right end, seen down a path with two people walking between red and grey trees. The drawing does not single out one building, so we do not name it.
- 12Building lit up at night, looks like the Carol of Lights Back view
A red building with an arched entrance is outlined in rows of small white lights against a black night sky with stars, rays and a gold crescent moon. The lights may stand for Carol of Lights, when lights are put on the buildings around Memorial Circle; which building is drawn is not clear. The mug doesn't name it.[5]
- 13Will Rogers and Soapsuds statue wrapped in red crepe paper Back view
A dark horse and rider are drawn wrapped in red stripes, with long red strands hanging from the horse's head and legs. This is the Will Rogers and Soapsuds statue, which the Saddle Tramps wrap in red crepe paper before each home football game. The mug doesn't name it.[3]
- 14Bell in a black frame, possibly Bangin' Bertha or a Victory Bell Back view
A gold bell with a red mouth hangs tipped on its side in a black curly frame, and a small white Starbucks cup with a green dot is tucked into the frame beside the bell. The bell could be Bangin' Bertha, the bell on a trailer the Saddle Tramps bring to home games, or one of the Victory Bells in the Administration Building tower; the drawing does not settle which. The mug doesn't name it.[6][7]
- 15Baseball glove, ball and bat Back view
A red baseball glove catches a grey ball with motion lines beside it, next to a gold and grey bat.
The photos do not show the inside or the bottom of the mug. The handle is on the right in the Front photo and on the left in the Back photo, and the Side photo shows the half opposite the handle; the narrow strip of the drawing under the handle is only seen at an angle.
Collector notes
- Texas A&M has its own mug in the same Discovery Series campus line (discovery-series-texas-am-university); this one says TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY in gold on a green circle and its drawings are red, black and grey.
- The state mugs of Texas (discovery-series-texas, been-there-texas, been-there-texas-2, been-there-texas-3, you-are-here-texas) cover the whole state; none of them is a Texas Tech mug, and this one shows campus traditions rather than state landmarks.
- The vertical STARBUCKS wordmark sits next to the handle on the Back view; it is printed text, not part of the campus drawing, and the photos do not show a base stamp.
- Other Campus Collection mugs in the Discovery Series with pages here are discovery-series-auburn-university and discovery-series-boston-university. Virginia Tech has a Been There mug (been-there-virginia-tech) in a different series; we do not have a page for it yet.
Before you buy
The photos show the front, the side opposite the handle and the back, but not the inside or the base, so the inside color and any base stamp are not confirmed here. Texas A&M has its own Campus Collection mug in the same Discovery Series; this one says TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY in gold on a green circle, and its drawings are red, black and grey.
About the Discovery Series
Sources
- Raider Red (Wikipedia)
- Raider Red, History & Traditions (Texas Tech University)
- Texas Tech University traditions (Wikipedia)
- Texas Tech University traditions (Wikipedia)
- Texas Tech University traditions (Wikipedia)
- Texas Tech University traditions (Wikipedia)
- Victory Bells, History & Traditions (Texas Tech University)
- Goin' Band from Raiderland (Wikipedia)
- Galaxy Stadium (Wikipedia)
- Texas Tech University (Wikipedia)
- Will Rogers & Soapsuds, History & Traditions (Texas Tech University)
- Riding into the Sunset, Public Art Collection (Texas Tech University System)
- Saddle Tramps, History & Traditions (Texas Tech University)
