Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are the men's and women's athletic teams at Middle Tennessee State University, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. MT athletic teams participate in NCAA Division I in Conference USA. MT competed in the Ohio Valley Conference until 2000, and the Sun Belt Conference until 2013.
Nickname
The nickname 'Blue Raiders' was coined by an MTSU football player, Charles Sarver, in 1934 Daily News Journal contest. No official nickname existed prior to 1934, when teams were called "Normalites," "Teachers," and "Pedagogues".The university's athletic teams simply refer to the school as "Middle Tennessee" or "MT", abandoning the words "State University".
Sports sponsored
A member of Conference USA, Middle Tennessee sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports.Baseball
The baseball team has won 16 conference titles and for the last 37 seasons they had been coached by two men. The last 23 of those years Steve Peterson has been at the helm. Middle Tennessee has made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances. Their best turnout was in 1982 when the Blue Raiders fell one game short of making the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. In 2009, Rawley Bishop, Nathan Hines, and Bryce Brentz all broke several team and league records to lead the Blue Raiders to the 2009 Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament titles. They also set a school record with 44 wins, going 44–18 on the season. The Blue Raiders were chosen for the Louisville Regional.They won their first game against in-state rival Vanderbilt 5–4, but lost to host Louisville in their second game 3–2 and were eliminated by Vanderbilt 6–0 in game three. In 2010, outfielder Bryce Brentz was selected in the supplemental first round with the 36th overall pick by the Boston Red Sox, becoming the second highest Blue Raider picked in the MLB First-Year Player Draft. The highest was pitcher Dewon Brazelton who was selected third overall by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2001 MLB First-Year Player Draft. In the summer of 2012, Steve Peterson decided to retire. Peterson and John Stanford, the previous coach before him, had been the only two coaches in the past 38 years. Peterson retires with an all-time career record of 791–637–3. Peterson did a lot more for the program than just win ballgames. He helped carry on annual events such as the yearly Fish Fry that is held every October and was started by Coach John Stanford. Also, he carried on the tradition of the Groundhog Day Luncheon that takes place every February. Peterson also was the prime leader in fundraising for the renovations that took place to Reese Smith Jr. Field. In addition to fundraising enough money for increased seating at Reese Smith Jr. Field, Peterson raised enough money for a clubhouse. The Stephen B. Smith clubhouse was built in 1998 and has served as the team's locker room for the past 14 seasons.
Men's basketball
The men's basketball program has had staggered history. 1975 saw Middle Tennessee and head coach Jimmy Earle make their first NCAA Tournament. The team was selected for the Mideast Regional, but fell in the first round to Oregon State 78–67. After one more first round bow out, the Raiders, then coached by Stan Simpson, won their first NCAA Tournament game as an 11-seed, the highest seeding the school has received in the tournament. In the historic Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn., Middle Tennessee beat Kentucky 50–44 in the Mideast Regional. The Raiders would lose to Louisville in the second round, who won the regional title that year and advanced to the Final Four.Then 1985 saw Middle Tennessee embark on a string of five consecutive seasons with a post-season berth, either in the NCAA Tournament or the National Invitation Tournament. Their best post-season run was in the 1988 NIT. In the first round coach Bruce Stewart's Raiders hosted in-state rival Tennessee and beat the Volunteers 85–80 in front of a full-house in the Murphy Center. Four nights later Middle Tennessee hosted another Southeastern Conference foe Georgia. Ty Baynham and Randy Henry led Middle Tennessee to another victory, this time 69–59. After beating the Bulldogs, the Blue Raiders hosted Boston College for the right to go to Madison Square Garden and the NIT Semifinals. However Murphy's Magic ran out, and the Eagles defeated Middle Tennessee 78–69. The following season the Blue Raiders once again made the NCAA Tournament. Earning a 13-seed, the Raiders defeated the Florida State Seminoles 97–83. Middle Tennessee was down by 17 with 16 minutes left in the game. Freshman Mike Buck put the team on his shoulders at that point, and with a career high 26 points, led the Raiders on a 47–16 run to end the game and advance the team to the round of 32. Middle Tennessee's dream season would end in the second round at the hands of the Virginia Cavaliers with a 104–88 loss. After Stewart was let go amid NCAA rules violations after the 1990–91 season, the Blue Raiders enjoyed only modest success until the 2011–12 season.
Coach Kermit Davis broke the all-time coaching wins record, previously held by Earle, with a 68–56 win over Ole Miss on December 21. The win was especially sweet for Davis. Not only is he now the winningest coach in Blue Raiders history, but he also graduated from the Rebels' biggest rival, Mississippi State. On January 26, Middle Tennessee beat Troy 71–58 to earn their 20th win of the season, the first time the school had reached that mark since the 1990–91 season. And on February 18 the Blue Raiders defeated Florida Atlantic to earn their 24th win and break the school's single season wins record. The team finished the regular season 25–5 overall and 14–2 in the Sun Belt Conference, earning them their first ever outright championship of the league.
On March 18, 2016, the 15th seeded Blue Raiders defeated 2nd seeded Michigan State in the opening round of the Midwest Region of the 2016 NCAA men's tournament, becoming the eighth #15 seed to win a game in the history of the tournament. The Blue Raiders lost in the second round to 10th seed Syracuse on March 20.
Women's basketball
The women's basketball team, currently coached by Rick Insell, has appeared several times in the NCAA and WNIT basketball tournaments, dating back to the 1970s. The Blue Raiders won the Sun Belt Conference championships in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012, then with Conference USA in 2013, 2014, 2023, and 2024, all receiving the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA women's tournament. The MTSU Women's team has been home to the NCAA's leading scorer for two recent consecutive seasons: Amber Holt in 2008, and Alysha Clark in 2009. In Rick Insell's tenure, he has had two 30+ win seasons, each going undefeated in conference play and winning an NCAA Tournament game. The Lady Raiders also had one of the longest home winning streaks in the NCAA, spanning 30 games between March 2021 to November 2023. In recent years, the 2023-2024 season was arguably the greatest in the Lady Raider's history. There were multiple school and Conference USA records broken with the addition to multiple players hitting career accolades, such as 2000 and multiple 1000 point scorers, as well as rebounding and other shooting records broken as well. Also, the Lady Raiders held a 20-game winning streak, sweeping Conference USA in the regular and post seasons by an average winning margin over 21 points. The Lady Raiders defeated #5 seed Louisville in a comeback win of the first round of the 2024 NCAA Women's Tournament. The 18-point comeback was tied for the 3rd largest in NCAA Women's Tournament history. Their long winning streak was ended by defending national champions LSU in the second round.On January 23rd, 2026, Rick Insell became the 6th active head coach to reach 500 wins. He also became the first head coach in basketball history to win 500 games both at the NCAA D1 and high school levels each.
Football
Middle Tennessee has had 15 head coaches including Johnny "Red" Floyd, the man who the football stadium is named after. The football team has won 12 conference titles, the most recent being in 2006. That year, the Blue Raiders won their second Sun Belt Conference championship and received a bid to play in the Motor City Bowl in Detroit, Mich., the program's first major FBS bowl game. In 2009 the team became the first Sun Belt Conference team to reach 10 wins in a single season. The Raiders finished the season 10–3 with their first bowl win over Southern Mississippi in the New Orleans Bowl. In recent years, Rick Stockstill served as the head coach for MTSU football from 2006 to 2023, compiling a record of 113-111. During his tenure, he led the Blue Raiders to 10 bowl games, with a 4-6 record in those appearances. In addition to the New Orleans Bowl, he won the Camellia Bowl, and Bahamas Bowl and Hawaii Bowl. His leadership brought consistency to MTSU, with eight seasons finishing in the top two of their conference standings. Stockstill was fired in 2023 after a 4-8 season. The Blue Raiders are currently led by Derek Mason.Men's golf
The men's golf team has won 19 conference championships:- Ohio Valley Conference : 1956, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1974, 1978, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000
- Sun Belt Conference : 2009
- Conference USA : 2018, 2019
The 2008 team advanced to the NCAA tournament final round and finished ranked 15th in the nation.
Track
The track program has a storied history including 43 conference titles, 18 NCAA top-25 finishes and 80 All-American awards. The program has been led since 1965 by legendary coach Dean Hayes.Volleyball
The women's volleyball program - which plays its games in Alumni Memorial Gym - has developed into a national power with Sun Belt Conference championships in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010; and NCAA tournament bids in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. In 2006 the Blue Raiders advanced to the NCAA tournament second round and followed that up in 2007 with a "sweet 16" appearance to conclude the best season in team history.The Blue Raiders hosted the 2013 Conference USA Volleyball Championship at Alumni Memorial Gym, winning the bid to host in Middle Tennessee's first year in C-USA.