LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Texas Tech University System Chancellor Brandon Creighton says he’s looking to the future as new partnerships bring new opportunity and boost enrollment.
Texas Tech University has entered a 15-year, $75 million naming rights agreement with Galaxy Digital, rebranding its football stadium as Galaxy Stadium beginning with the 2026 season.
Galaxy is a global technology and financial services company focused on data center infrastructure and digital assets. The company’s Helios Data Center campus is located in Dickens County, roughly 60 miles from Lubbock, where Galaxy has invested approximately $1 billion and has an additional $7 billion in planned investment for West Texas.
The deal replaces a previous naming agreement with AT&T, which was valued in the $30 million range.
Creighton says the new agreement is the largest of its kind at the collegiate level.
“My understanding is it’s the number one stadium naming agreement in America right now at the collegiate level,” Creighton said. “It’s a very strong sentiment from Galaxy as a company that they believe in the Red Raiders and they want to place their name with ours, just as we are choosing to place our name with theirs.”
The agreement drew criticism for removing the Jones name from the stadium. For nearly 80 years, the facility honored Clifford B. Jones, Texas Tech’s third president.
Creighton said the university intends to find other ways to honor the Jones family.
“I believe that we’ll find very respectful ways to honor the Jones family name,” Creighton said.
On the decision to drop the Jones name from the new agreement, Creighton cited branding clarity.
“I think with today’s expectations on marketing and branding that it’s important to make sure that the company that does invest in the Red Raiders and in our university and our athletics program, that it’s very clear to the public their exact brand and their exact company name and that it’s not confused in any way,” he said.
The agreement includes name, image and likeness money for Texas Tech athletes. Creighton said a sizable portion of the revenue will be invested into athletics, with sharing across programs beyond football and basketball.
Beyond athletics, Creighton said the partnership — alongside an existing agreement with NVIDIA — is intended to position Texas Tech at the forefront of artificial intelligence research and workforce development.
He said Texas Tech will soon have NVIDIA’s GB300 chips at its innovation hub, which he described as the most advanced computation opportunity available to any university in the nation.
“We have to be at the forefront because otherwise it’s going to be done for us,” Creighton said. “We know [it’s] much better West Texas has input and be the tip of the spear in crafting the future than it being done for us by some other place in the country that wouldn’t have our best interests in mind.”
Creighton said it’s opportunities like that driving enrollment. Texas Tech boasted record enrollment in 2025, and he said the university is on track to do the same this fall.
“We have so much momentum at Texas Tech University, it’s incredible to see in all categories – academics, athletics, special projects and opportunities and greater exposure for our students to have these different experiences they’ll carry forward into the private sector,” Creighton said.
Creighton also addressed ongoing controversy and legal action related to curriculum changes at the university, saying enrollment has not been deterred.
“It’s not the first time that a university and a university system has reviewed its curriculum for how that curriculum will lead to a greater degree of value and how the private sector will view those degrees,” Creighton said. “It’s my goal for Texas Tech not just to compete, but to be number one.”
Copyright 2026 KCBD. All rights reserved.