Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt Begs Fans To End Tortilla-Throwing Tradition

Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt is hoping to bury a team tradition once and for all ... begging fans to stop throwing tortillas on the field on gamedays.

The TTU official implored his school's backers to do away with the craze on Monday ... just after the Big 12 promised hefty repercussions -- including fines and 15-yard flags -- if it continued.

"We need to help, not risk, penalizing our team for throwing tortillas," Hocutt said. "Simply, let's not do it."

He added it's gotten to the point where "the stakes are too high."

Hocutt took responsibility for allowing the situation to escalate. In August, the Big 12 ADs voted 15-1 to enforce a 15-yard penalty after two warnings for throwing objects on the field, with the Red Raiders being the only "nay" of the bunch.

At the time, Hocutt said tortillas were here to stay -- telling the fanbase, "the rules can change, but our tradition will not."

The most recent fine came following the school's 42-17 win over the Kansas Jayhawks, where the school was hit for a $25,000 check after throwing items on the field.

Kansas actually accused the Red Raiders of throwing something even more harmful -- a pocket knife -- but video submitted by Texas Tech debunked those claims.

It'll be a significant change for the 14th-ranked Red Raiders. The tradition of throwing the flatbreads dates back to the 1990s, with spectators chucking them out at kickoff.