American Football Database
American Football Database
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Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
AmericanFootball current event.svg Current season
File:MTSU Raiders logo.png
First season 1911
Athletic director Chris Massaro
Head coach Rick Stockstill
Home stadium Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium
Stadium capacity 31,000
Stadium surface Sportexe PowerBlade turf
Location Murfreesboro, Tennessee
League NCAA Division I (FBS)
Conference C-USA (2013)
All-time record 500–358–28
Postseason bowl record 1–2


Colors Royal Blue and White            
Fight song MTSU Fight Song
Mascot Lightning
Marching band Band of Blue
Rivals Troy
Western Kentucky
North Texas
Website GoBlueRaiders.com

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team represents Middle Tennessee State University in NCAA Division I FBS football competition. The Blue Raiders completed a 12-season tenure in Sun Belt Conference football in 2012,[1] and will move to Conference USA for the 2013 season. They play their home games at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Rick Stockstill has finished his 5th year as head coach of the Blue Raiders.

Nickname[]

The nickname of the Middle Tennessee athletic teams is the Blue Raiders. Female teams were long known as the Lady Raiders, but adopted the Blue Raiders name in 2007. The nickname's origin goes back to a 1934 newspaper contest. An MTSU football player, Charles Sarver, won $5 from Murfreesboro's The Daily News Journal with his winning entry "Blue Raiders", which he later admitted borrowing from Colgate University, whose teams were known as "Raiders" at the time. No official nickname existed prior to 1934, when teams were called "Normalites", "Teachers", and "Pedagogues".[2]

Colors and mascot[]

MTSU is represented by the colors white and royal blue, described as PMS 301 by the university.[3]

Lightning is the mascot of both the Middle Tennessee men and women's sports teams.[2]

Bowl games[]

MTSU appeared twice in the Tangerine Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl). The first game, played January 1, 1960, against Presbyterian College, resulted in a 21-12 win. The second game, against Lamar University on December 29, 1961, was a 21-14 loss.

The Blue Raiders were invited to the Motor City Bowl in 2006 after a shared conference title with Troy University. Troy had won the conference with a tie-breaker, but MTSU was invited due to the Big Ten having two teams in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and thus being unable to fulfill their bowl contract for the Motor City Bowl. MTSU played Central Michigan University in the game and were defeated 31-14.

MTSU finished the 2009 regular season with a 9-3 record and was invited to play in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on December 20, 2009. The team played against the University of Southern Mississippi, defeating them 42-32. This was MTSU's second bowl game and first bowl win since joining the Division I FBS. Quarterback Dwight Dasher was named as the game's MVP after rushing and passing for two touchdowns each.[4]

MTSU was defeated in the 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Alabama by the Miami University RedHawks.

Season Date Bowl W/L Opponent PF PA Coach Notes
1959 January 1, 1960 Tangerine Bowl W Presbyterian 21 12 Charles M. Murphy notes
1961 December 29, 1961 Tangerine Bowl L Lamar 14 21 Charles M. Murphy notes
2006 December 26, 2006 Motor City Bowl L Central Michigan 14 31 Rick Stockstill notes
2009 December 20, 2009 New Orleans Bowl W Southern Miss 42 32 Rick Stockstill notes
2010 January 6, 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl L Miami (OH) 21 35 Rick Stockstill notes
Total 5 bowl games 2–3 112 131

Future non-conference opponents[]

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
vs Western Carolina at Minnesota vs Vanderbilt vs Ball State vs Vanderbilt at Vanderbilt
at BYU vs BYU at Ball State at Vanderbilt at Minnesota at Bowling Green
vs Memphis at Memphis at Bowling Green vs Bowling Green

[5]

References[]

  1. Although Middle Tennessee joined the Sun Belt in 2000, its first Sun Belt football season was in 2001.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Stone, India (June 20, 2003). "The Heritage of Champions". GoBlueRaiders.com. http://www.goblueraiders.com/content.cfm/id/2079. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  3. Staff (August 1, 2008). "Blue Raider Logos". GoBlueRaiders.com. http://www.goblueraiders.com/content.cfm/id/143. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  4. Staff (December 20, 2009). "Blue Raiders power past Southern Miss to win New Orleans Bowl Championship, 42-32". GoBlueRaiders.com. http://www.goblueraiders.com/content.cfm/id/42984. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  5. "Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Football Schedules and Future Schedules". fbschedules.com. http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa/sun-belt/middle-tennessee-blue-raiders.php. Retrieved 2012-02-20.

External links[]

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