| Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1911; 115 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Chris Massaro | ||
| Head coach | Derek Mason 2nd season, 6–18 (.250) | ||
| Stadium | Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium (capacity: 27,303) | ||
| Location | Murfreesboro, Tennessee | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FBS | ||
| Conference | Conference USA | ||
| All-time record | 613–481–28 (.559) | ||
| Bowl record | 6–8 (.429) | ||
| Conference championships | |||
| OVC:1956,1957,1958,1959,1962,1964,1965,1985,1989,1990,1992 SBC:2001,2006 | |||
| Conference division championships | |||
| C-USA East:2018 | |||
| Rivalries | Troy (rivalry) Western Kentucky (rivalry) | ||
| Colors | Royal blue and white[1] | ||
| Fight song | MTSU Fight Song[2] | ||
| Mascot | Lightning | ||
| Marching band | Band of Blue | ||
| Website | goblueraiders.com | ||
TheMiddle Tennessee Blue Raiders football is the intercollegiate football program representingMiddle Tennessee State University inMurfreesboro, Tennessee. The Blue Raiders compete in theFootball Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and are a member ofConference USA. They are coached byDerek Mason, who was hired as the 15th head coach in program history on December 6, 2023.[3]
Middle Tennessee has appeared in 14 bowl games and seven I-AA playoffs. The Blue Raiders play their home games at theJohnny "Red" Floyd Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 27,303.
Middle Tennessee State University first fielded a football team in 1911 under the direction of head coach L. T. "Mutt" Weber. They won their first game in 1912. From 1913 to 1923,Alfred B. Miles led the Blue Raiders football program. The 1914 football season led by Miles was its first undefeated season, with five straight victories after a tie withCumberland.[4][5]
Frank Faulkinberry was hired as MTSU's head coach after Miles' departure. During his tenure, the Blue Raiders compiled a record of 33–26–4. Faulkinberry was found shot to death in his garage on May 13, 1933, a suspected suicide being the cause.[6]
E. M. Waller led the Blue Raiders for two seasons and compiled a 3–14–1 record.[7] Waller resigned due to the team's struggles after two seasons.
Johnny Floyd started coaching MTSU in 1935 and led the Blue Raiders for four seasons.[8] Under his tutelage, the Blue Raiders compiled a record of 30–8–1. Floyd's 1935 team went a perfect 8–0.[9] However, a 2–6 campaign in 1938 ended his time in Murfreesboro.[8]
Ernest Alley was named the next head coach of MTSU football, and in his one-season, the Blue Raiders compiled a 1–6–1 record.[9]
Elwin W. Midgett led the Blue Raiders for four seasons (MTSU did not field a football team from 1943 to 1945 because of World War II. In 1940, Midgett led the Blue Raiders to a 4–4 mark.[10] In 1941, the Blue Raiders posted a 4–3–1 campaign,[10] followed by 4–2–1 in 1942,[10] and 6–2–1 in 1946.[11]
Charles Murphy is the longest-tenured and winningest head coach in MTSU, football history, with a 155–63–8 record in 22 seasons as MTSU's head coach. Under Murphy's tutelage, the Blue Raiders posted four undefeated seasons (1949, 1957, 1959 and 1965) along with 17 winning seasons and four bowl appearances.[12] Murphy was asked to resign at MTSU after a 2–8 campaign in 1968.[13]
Succeeding Murphy as the Blue Raiders head coach was Donald Fuoss, who only lasted for one season, a 1–9 campaign in 1969[14] that resulted in his firing.
Bill Peck took over as head coach in 1970 and instantly brought improvement to Murfreesboro. In his first season, the Blue Raiders posted a 6–3–1 record.[15] In 1971, MTSU posted a record of 7–4.[15] That was followed by a 7–3–1 mark in 1972,[15] a 4–7 mark in 1973 and a 3–8 campaign in 1974.[15] Peck was asked to resign after back to back losing seasons to end his tenure.[16]
Ben Hurt took over the Blue Raiders in 1975. Under his tutelage, in 1975, MTSU posted a 4–7 mark.[17] That was followed by another 4–7 campaign in 1976.[17] In 1977, Hurt's Blue Raiders posted a 3–8 record that was followed by a 1–9–1 1978 season,[17] after which Hurt was fired.
Austin Peay head coachJames "Boots" Donnelly was hired as MTSU's head coach in 1979. Under his leadership, the MTSU football program compiled a record of 133–80–1.[18] Donnelly is the second winningest football coach in MTSU history. Of his 20 seasons at the helm, 15 of them were winning seasons (including 12 in a row) and four of them were seasons of at least 10 wins. Donnelly resigned after a 5–5 season in 1998.
Baylor assistant coachAndy McCollum took over for Donnelly in 1999.[19] McCollum led the Blue Raiders to a 6–5 record in 2000, their first as an FBS program. In 2001, McCollum oversaw an offense that ranked fifth nationally and MTSU finished 8–3 as the runner-up behind North Texas which won theSun Belt Conference championship. In 2005, MTSU's defense ranked ninth nationally. McCollum was fired after the 2005 season.[20]
In 2006,South Carolina tight ends coach and recruiting coordinatorRick Stockstill got the head coaching job at Middle Tennessee State.[21] In his first season, Stockstill led the Blue Raiders to the program's second bowl game as well as a share of theSun Belt Conference title. He was later that year named the conference coach of the year.
The 2007 and 2008 seasons saw the Blue Raiders take a small step back with back-to-back 5–7 seasons.[22][23] However, in 2009, Stockstill and the Blue Raiders went 10–3[24] and won theNew Orleans Bowl, which was the third bowl victory in school history.[25] Again, Stockstill was named conference coach of the year for the 2009 season. The Blue Raiders went to another bowl in 2010, and they finished the season 6–7 after losing theGoDaddy.com Bowl.[26][27]
After the successful2009 season, he turned down several offers from other schools, includingConference USA'sEast Carolina[28] andMemphis,[29] citing that it was not the right time to leave the Blue Raiders.[30] Stockstill has led MTSU to seven bowl games in 13 years.
In 2016, Stockstill led the Blue Raiders to an 8–5, 5–3 in C-USA play to finish in third place in the East Division.[31] They were invited to theHawaii Bowl where they lost toHawaii.[32]
In 2017, Stockstill led the Blue Raiders to a 7–6, 4–4 in C-USA play to finish for a tie in third place in the East Division. They were invited to the 2017 Camellia Bowl where they defeated Arkansas State.
Stockstill was fired after a 4–8 season in 2023.
On December 6, 2023, formerVanderbilt head coach, Derek Mason, was hired to be MTSU's next head coach.
Middle Tennessee has been both an independent and affiliated with multiple conferences.[33]: 128–134
Middle Tennessee has won 13 conference championships, seven outright and six shared.[33]: 128–134, 156 [34]
| Season | Conference | Coach | Overall Record | Conference Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Ohio Valley Conference | Charles M. Murphy | 7–3 | 5–0 |
| 1957 | Ohio Valley Conference | Charles M. Murphy | 10–0 | 5–0 |
| 1958† | Ohio Valley Conference | Charles M. Murphy | 8–2 | 5–1 |
| 1959† | Ohio Valley Conference | Charles M. Murphy | 10–0–1 | 5–0–1 |
| 1962† | Ohio Valley Conference | Charles M. Murphy | 6–4 | 4–2 |
| 1964 | Ohio Valley Conference | Charles M. Murphy | 8–2–1 | 6–1 |
| 1965 | Ohio Valley Conference | Charles M. Murphy | 10–0 | 7–0 |
| 1985 | Ohio Valley Conference | Boots Donnelly | 11–1 | 7–0 |
| 1989 | Ohio Valley Conference | Boots Donnelly | 9–4 | 6–0 |
| 1990† | Ohio Valley Conference | Boots Donnelly | 11–2 | 5–1 |
| 1992 | Ohio Valley Conference | Boots Donnelly | 10–3 | 8–0 |
| 2001† | Sun Belt Conference | Andy McCollum | 8–3 | 5–1 |
| 2006† | Sun Belt Conference | Rick Stockstill | 7–6 | 6–1 |
† Co-championship
As a member of Conference USA since 2013, Middle Tennessee competed in the East Division from that point through2021, with Conference USA removing divisions from 2022 onwards. In that timeframe, the Blue Raiders had won one division title.
| Season | Division | Coach | Opponent | CG result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | C-USA East | Rick Stockstill | UAB | L 25–27 |
Middle Tennessee has had 16 head coaches since it began play during the1911 season.[35] Since December 2023,Derek Mason has served as head coach at Middle Tennessee.[36]
Middle Tennessee has appeared in 14bowl games including four prior to joiningNCAA Division I. The Blue Raiders have a record of 6–8 in those games. The Blue Raiders appeared twice in the Tangerine Bowl, now known asCitrus Bowl. Thefirst game, played January 1, 1960, againstPresbyterian, resulted in a 21–12 win. Thesecond game, againstLamar Tech on December 29, 1961, was a 21–14 loss.
The Blue Raiders were invited to theMotor City Bowl in 2006 after a shared conference title withTroy. Troy earned a bid to theNew Orleans Bowl with a tie-breaker over Middle Tennessee. Middle Tennessee was invited to the Motor City Bowl due to theBig Ten Conference having two teams in theBowl Championship Series (BCS) and thus being unable to fulfill their bowl contract for the Motor City Bowl. This was the Blue Raiders' first bowl game in 42 years and their first since joiningNCAA Division I. They playedCentral Michigan in the game and were defeated 31–14.
Middle Tennessee finished the 2009 regular season with a 9–3 record and was invited to play in theNew Orleans Bowl on December 20. The team played against theSouthern Miss, winning, 42–32. This was their second bowl game since joining theFBS and first ever bowl win. Quarterback Dwight Dasher was named as the game'sMVP after rushing and passing for two touchdowns each.[37]
| Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Charles M. Murphy | Refrigerator Bowl† | Sam Houston State | L 13–27 |
| 1959 | Charles M. Murphy | Tangerine Bowl† | Presbyterian | W 21–12 |
| 1961 | Charles M. Murphy | Tangerine Bowl† | Lamar Tech | L 14–21 |
| 1964 | Charles M. Murphy | Grantland Rice Bowl† | Muskingum | W 20–0 |
| 2006 | Rick Stockstill | Motor City Bowl | Central Michigan | L 14–31 |
| 2009 | Rick Stockstill | New Orleans Bowl | Southern Miss | W 42–32 |
| 2010 | Rick Stockstill | GoDaddy.com Bowl | Miami (OH) | L 21–35 |
| 2013 | Rick Stockstill | Armed Forces Bowl | Navy | L 6–24 |
| 2015 | Rick Stockstill | Bahamas Bowl | Western Michigan | L 31–45 |
| 2016 | Rick Stockstill | Hawaii Bowl | Hawaii | L 35–52 |
| 2017 | Rick Stockstill | Camellia Bowl | Arkansas State | W 35–30 |
| 2018 | Rick Stockstill | New Orleans Bowl | Appalachian State | L 13–45 |
| 2021 | Rick Stockstill | Bahamas Bowl | Toledo | W 31–24 |
| 2022 | Rick Stockstill | Hawaii Bowl | San Diego State | W 25–23 |
†non-Division I bowl game
The Blue Raiders have made sevenappearances in the Division I-AA/FCS playoffs, with an overall record of 6–7.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Eastern Kentucky Indiana State Louisiana Tech | W 27–10 W 42–413OT 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 |
Middle Tennessee's rivalry withTroy, now dormant following Middle Tennessee's2013 move to Conference USA, is known as theBattle for the Palladium.[38] Troy and Middle Tennessee first played each other in 1936,[39] but it wasn't until 2003 that schools started playing annually for the Palladium Trophy.[38] Middle Tennessee leads the series 12–9.
| Games played | First meeting | Last meeting | Middle Tennessee wins | Middle Tennessee losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | October 9, 1936 (Won 19–0) | September 9, 2020 (Lost 47–14) | 12 | 9 |
The rivalry between Middle Tennessee andWestern Kentucky, is both school's oldest rivalry, as the two programs played together for several decades in theOhio Valley Conference before both became members of theSun Belt Conference and then transitioned toConference USA about the same time.[40] The name comes from the fact that the two universities are separated by about 100 miles.[40]
| Games played | First meeting | Last meeting | Middle Tennessee wins | Middle Tennessee losses | Series Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | October 10, 1914 (Won 47–0) | November 15, 2025 (Lost 42–26) | 35 | 39 | 1 |
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'sThe Daily News Journal with his winning entry "Blue Raiders", which he later admitted borrowing fromColgate University, whose teams were known as "Red Raiders" at the time. No official nickname existed prior to 1934, when teams were called "Normalites", "Teachers", and "Pedagogues".[41]
MT is represented by the colors white and royal blue, described as PMS 301 by the university.[42]
Lightning is the mascot of both the Middle Tennessee men and women's sports teams.[41]
The Blue Raiders has retired two jersey numbers.
| Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders retired numbers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Player | Pos. | Tenure | No. ret. | Ref. |
| 14 | Teddy Morris | QB | 1962–1965 | 1965 | [43] |
| 20 | Kevin Byard | S | 2012–2015 | 2022 | [44][45] |
Official record (including anyNCAA imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current CUSA opponents through the 2025 season.[46]
| Opponent | Won | Lost | Tied | Percentage | Streak | First | Last |
| FIU | 14 | 7 | 0 | .667 | Lost 2 | 2005 | 2025 |
| Jacksonville State | 14 | 4 | 2 | .750 | Lost 3 | 1927 | 2025 |
| Kennesaw State | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | Lost 1 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Liberty | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | Lost 3 | 1982 | 2024 |
| Louisiana Tech | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | Lost 1 | 1984 | 2024 |
| New Mexico State | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | Lost 3 | 2001 | 2024 |
| Sam Houston | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | Lost 1 | 1956 | 2023 |
| Delaware | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | Lost 2 | 1977 | 2025 |
| Missouri State | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | Lost 1 | 1986 | 2025 |
| UTEP | 6 | 1 | 0 | .857 | Won 5 | 2013 | 2024 |
| Western Kentucky | 35 | 39 | 1 | .473 | Lost 7 | 1914 | 2025 |
| Totals | 78 | 71 | 3 | .523 |
Announced schedules as of July 21, 2025.[47]
| 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 | 2033 | 2034 | 2035 | 2036 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vsMurray State | atAuburn | vsChattanooga | vsTennessee State | vsSouthern Miss | vsArmy | vsGeorgia Southern | atTroy | vsTroy | vsEastern Michigan | atEastern Michigan |
| atMarshall | vsNorth Alabama | atSouthern Miss | atDuke | atNorthern Illinois | atGeorgia Southern | vsBall State | atBall State | |||
| atKansas | atSouth Alabama | vsSouth Alabama | vsNorthern Illinois | |||||||
| vsNevada | vsMemphis |
