Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football
| Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1911 | ||
| Athletic director | Chris Massaro | ||
| Head coach |
Rick Stockstill 10th year, 57–55 (.509) | ||
| Stadium | Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium | ||
| Seating capacity | 31,000 | ||
| Field surface | Sportexe PowerBlade turf | ||
| Location | Murfreesboro, Tennessee | ||
| NCAA division | NCAA Division I (FBS) | ||
| Conference | C-USA | ||
| Division | East | ||
| All-time record | 551–410–28 (.571) | ||
| Bowl record | 2–4 (.333) | ||
| 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 are members of Conference USA and play their home games at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Rick Stockstill is the head coach of the team.
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 MT 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".[1]
Colors and mascot
MT is represented by the colors white and royal blue, described as PMS 301 by the university.[2]
Lightning is the mascot of both the Middle Tennessee men and women's sports teams.[1]
Bowl games
MT 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 MT 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. MT played Central Michigan University in the game and were defeated 31-14.
MT 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 MT's second bowl game since joining the FBS. Quarterback Dwight Dasher was named as the game's MVP after rushing and passing for two touchdowns each.[3]
MT 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 |
| 2013 | December 30, 2013 | Armed Forces Bowl | L | Navy | 6 | 24 | Rick Stockstill | notes |
| 2015 | December 24, 2015 | Bahamas Bowl | L | Western Michigan | 31 | 45 | Rick Stockstill | notes |
| Total | 7 bowl games | 2–5 | 149 | 200 |
Division I-AA Playoffs results
The Blue Raiders have appeared in the I-AA playoffs seven times with a record of 6–7.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1984 | First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Eastern Kentucky Indiana State Louisiana Tech | W 27–10 W 42–41 3OT L 13–21 |
| 1985 | Quarterfinals | Georgia Southern | L 21–28 |
| 1989 | First Round Quarterfinals | Appalachian State Georgia Southern | W 24–21 L 3–45 |
| 1990 | First Round Quarterfinals | Jackson State Boise State | W 24–21 L 13–28 |
| 1991 | First Round Quarterfinals | Sam Houston State Eastern Kentucky | W 20–19OT L 13–23 |
| 1992 | First Round Quarterfinals | Appalachian State Marshall | W 35–10 L 21–35 |
| 1994 | First Round | Marshall | L 14–49 |
All-time record vs. CUSA teams
Official record (including any NCAA imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current CUSA opponents:
|
Future non-conference opponents
Announced schedules as of August 26, 2015
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| at Missouri | vs Vanderbilt | at Vanderbilt | vs Duke | at Duke | vs Missouri | at Missouri | |
| at Vanderbilt | at Minnesota | at Bowling Green | |||||
| at Bowling Green | vs Bowling Green | ||||||
| vs Alabama A&M |
References
- 1 2 Stone, India (June 20, 2003). "The Heritage of Champions". GoBlueRaiders.com. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- ↑ Staff (August 1, 2008). "Blue Raider Logos". GoBlueRaiders.com. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- ↑ Staff (December 20, 2009). "Blue Raiders power past Southern Miss to win New Orleans Bowl Championship, 42-32". GoBlueRaiders.com. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- ↑ "Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Football Schedules and Future Schedules". fbschedules.com. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
External links
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