Dozens suffer heat, lack of water at Tech-SMU game

Dozens of sports fans suffered badly from too much heat and too little water to drink at Texas Tech’s football game with SMU on Sunday. Some are complaining that the university should have been better prepared to cope with the problem.  As temperatures down on the field hit a reported 150 degrees, Lubbock emergency medical services personnel were called upon to help 88 people in the stadium, many of them ill from the heat. Eleven went to hospitals. Dozens more may have sought help at first aid stations around the stadium.  Those who didn’t want to wait in long lines at water fountains paid five dollars for water in a cup of ice. An official for Tech’s stadium vendor, Florida-based Ovations Food Services, reported selling a record 29,000 bottles of water before running out. Tech officials said they were aware of service issues that developed at the game and would work to be sure they don’t happen again.