Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
| Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| University | Middle Tennessee State University |
| Conference | C-USA |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletic director | Chris Massaro |
| Location | Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Varsity teams | 15 |
| Football stadium | Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Murphy Center |
| Baseball stadium | Reese Smith Jr. Field |
| Soccer stadium | Dean A. Hayes Stadium |
| Other arenas | Alumni Memorial Gym Buck Bouldin Tennis Center |
| Mascot | Lightning |
| Nickname | Blue Raiders |
| Colors | Royal Blue and White |
| Website | www |
The 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 (Bowl Subdivision in football) in Conference USA. MT competed in the Ohio Valley Conference until 2000, and the Sun Belt Conference until 2013.
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".
A member of Conference USA, Middle Tennessee sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports:
Men's Intercollegiate Sports
Women's Intercollegiate Sports
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.
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Wikipedia