LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – The Texas Tech Alumni Association has named Carey Hobbs, a 1958 alumnus and former Texas Tech University System regent, as the 2026 recipient of the Lauro F. Cavazos Award.
The award recognizes Hobbs’ decades of service to and support of Texas Tech University, the Texas Tech Alumni Association and higher education in the state of Texas.
About the award
The Texas Tech Alumni Association established the Lauro F. Cavazos Award in 1987. It is named in honor of the former president of Texas Tech University. The award recognizes and honors individuals or couples who have made significant contributions to Texas Tech and the Alumni Association through individual efforts, public recognition and financial support.
Alumni, friends of Texas Tech, and current and former university employees are eligible to receive the award or submit a nomination. The Texas Tech Alumni Association presents the award each year at the Matador Evening celebration on Homecoming weekend.
Hobbs’ background
Hobbs is a former regent of the Texas Tech University System and a former member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. He most recently established an endowed scholarship for students attending Texas Tech University at Waco. Through the scholarship, Hobbs said he hopes to expand educational opportunities and bridge the financial gap for students who might not otherwise be able to attend college.
Hobbs was born in Abilene, seven minutes before his twin brother, Terry. The brothers grew up in the oil fields of New Mexico and West Texas, where their father worked, and they roughnecked every summer throughout high school and college. They graduated from Abilene High School before attending Texas Tech, where Hobbs jokes he majored in “intramural sports.”
Hobbs left Texas Tech after five years without a degree and served as a fighter pilot in the United States Marine Corps, earning his commission as a second lieutenant. He spent a year stationed in Japan and served on six aircraft carriers.
Career and family
After his military service, Hobbs became a leader in the nonwoven industry as president of Hobbs Bonded Fibers before selling the company to a private equity firm in 2015. This year, he was recognized with the Lifetime Technical Achievement Award by INDA, the international nonwovens association.
Hobbs married Brenda Kay Keeton, a Texas Tech student, and the two were married for more than 50 years before her death in 2010. Brenda Hobbs co-founded Texas Tech’s Center for Collegiate Recovery Communities, formerly known as the Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery, a program that has been replicated at hundreds of universities. The couple had five children and 11 grandchildren.
Following his military service, Hobbs continued flying as a private pilot for more than 60 years. His other interests have included snow skiing, tennis and conservative politics.
In celebration of his 90th birthday last year, Hobbs published a memoir titled “Piloting Life: One Man’s Reflections on Life and the Lessons He Learned.”
Decades of service to Texas Tech
Hobbs has opened his home for Texas Tech athletes, alumni gatherings and other events for decades. He has also hosted Red Raider Rally, an annual send-off event for Texas Tech students from the Lubbock and Waco campuses, for many years.
Hobbs and his family have supported Texas Tech Athletics, the College of Human Sciences, the Texas Tech Alumni Association, the Chancellor’s Council, Texas Tech University at Waco and the National Ranching Heritage Center. His son, Larry Hobbs, is a former National Ranching Heritage Center president and continues to serve on the museum’s executive committee.
The Texas Tech Alumni Association honored Hobbs with a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005. In 2016, Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec presented Hobbs with an honorary doctoral degree in the humanities in recognition of his service and generosity to the university.
Hobbs’ service to Texas Tech through the decades has included:
The Flying Red Raider Club, a group of pilots who flew coaches to recruit athletesTexas Tech Health Sciences Center Board of Regents, governor appointmentTexas Tech University Board of Regents, governor appointmentState of Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, governor appointmentTexas Tech Alumni Association past presidentTexas Tech Athletic Council memberTexas Tech Political Action Committee founderDistinguished Alumni Award recipientHonorary doctoral degree in the humanities from Texas Tech
Previous recipients
Past recipients of the Lauro F. Cavazos Award include:
2025 — Jim Douglass2024 — George & Linda McMahan2023 — Barry Street2022 — Terry & Linda Fuller2021 — Robert Taylor2020 — No award presented2019 — Jim & Jere Lynn Burkhart2018 — No award presented; Dr. Bill Dean honored2017 — Randy & Dana Neugebauer2016 — John & Diane Scovell2015 — Jerry S. Rawls2014 — Kent & Susie Hance2013 — Bernhard T. Mittemeyer, M.D.2012 — Walter B. Huffman & Anne Robison Huffman2011 — Mickey & Barbara McKenzie2010 — No award presented2009 — Robert Duncan2008 — Peggy & Bill Dean, Ed.D.2007 — Nelda & Pete Laney2006 — Marsha Sharp2005 — C.R. “Choc” Hutcheson2004 — John T. Montford2003 — Georgia Mae Smith Ericson2002 — Spike Dykes2001 — Donald Haragan, Ph.D.2000 — James E. Sowell1999 — Alan White1998 — John Sims1997 — Ray J. & Lou Dunn Diekemper, Ph.D.1996 — Ed Whitacre1995 — Don Lambert1994 — Dan Law1993 — Gerald & Louise Merket1992 — W.B. “Dub” & Mozelle Rushing1991 — Iris & Malouf Abraham1990 — Joe Pevehouse1989 — Elizabeth G. “Bess” Haley, Ph.D.1988 — Don Maddox1987 — Lauro F. Cavazos, Ph.D.
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