Go Blue Raiders
Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky visited Nashville on Feb. 13 to meet with MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and the university’s athletic officials. Banowsky addressed Middle Tennessee sports media during the luncheon at the Country Music Hall of Fame, where he touted the benefits of expanding C-USA, including the addition of MTSU in July 2013. For more details on the visit, visit mtsunews.com/conference-usa-commissioner.
NASHVILLE — Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky got his first taste of Middle Tennessee hospitality Wednesday with a luncheon and press event at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to introduce him to Music City USA.
MTSU accepted an invitation to join the conference last November, then announced last month that it would officially leave the Sun Belt Conference and join C-USA on July 1, 2013.
Representatives from the two of Music City’s iconic institutions — the Grand Ole Opry and the Hall of Fame — were on hand to welcome the commissioner, along with representatives from Nashville Sports Council and the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau.
MTSU alumnus Pete Fisher, vice president and general manager of the Grand Ole Opry, presented Banowsky with a framed Opry appearance poster welcoming the commissioner to Middle Tennessee.
Fisher, a 1987 recording industry management graduate, said the poster reflects an Opry tradition and that “Britton Banowsky is our star today.”
“The Grand Ole Opry is synonymous with Nashville and Middle Tennessee,” Fisher said after the presentation.
“This (move to C-USA) is obviously a great step of growth and affirmation for everything that’s going on in this area. Conference USA obviously recognizes that. This rising tide raises all ships.”
Britton Banowsky, left, commissioner of Conference USA, receives a gift from MTSU alumnus Pete Fisher, vice president and general manager or the Grand Ole Opry, during an MTSU-Conference USA media luncheon Feb. 13 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)
Banowsky applauded the university’s leadership, pointing to the importance of infrastructure improvements on campus as well as MTSU’s emphasis on academic excellence.
“It’s a great university, and what makes great universities are great leaders. Academically, they do a great job not only for their students but their student-athletes,” Banowsky said. “We think the university is absolutely a perfect fit for what we’re trying accomplish going forward in Conference USA.”
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee, along with Athletics Director Chris Massaro and Football Coach Rick Stockstill, led the university’s delegation at the Nashville event.
“On behalf of our 100,000 alumni, our outstanding faculty, staff, administrators and students, I want to offer a true Blue Raider welcome to Commissioner Britton Banowsky,” McPhee said.
“Our university alumni, friends and supporters are truly excited about MTSU being a part of the largest FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) conference in the NCAA.”
MTSU officials say the move to C-USA is expected to enhance the university’s national profile athletically and academically as it joins a conference featuring member schools such as Rice, Tulane and Marshall.
McPhee noted that C-USA’s partnerships with television networks CBS, Fox and ESPN will raise the profile of the university’s programs and its student-athletes.
“We have made it a point, as a university, to align ourselves academically and athletically with entities that will continue this university on the explosive growth pattern over the past 10 years, and certainly Conference USA does just that,” McPhee said.
Banowsky traveled to Murfreesboro after the Nashville event to tour the MTSU campus and appear at a Business After Hours event of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce held Wednesday night at MTSU’s Kennon Sports Hall of Fame.
— Jimmy Hart (jimmy.hart@mtsu.edu)
Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee announced Nov. 29 that the university had entered into a membership agreement to join Conference USA for intecollegiate athletics beginning no later than July 1, 2014. Director of Athletics Chris Massaro joined McPhee in making the announcement during a news conference in the lobby of the university’s new Student Union Building. On Jan. 22, the university announced that MTSU will become a part of C-USA in July 2013. For more information, visit mtsunews.com/mtsu-conference-usa-july2013.
Middle Tennessee State University will become a full member of Conference USA on July 1, 2013, after agreeing today to separate early from the Sun Belt Conference.
MTSU announced Nov. 29, 2012, that it would join C-USA no later than July 1, 2014. However, the university decided recently to negotiate with C-USA and the Sun Belt to make the change effective with the 2013-14 academic year.
“While we have been proud members of the Sun Belt Conference, it was felt that it was in the best interest of the university, our student-athletes and supporters to accelerate our move to Conference USA,” said MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee.
“C-USA’s television partnerships, increased bowl tie-ins and larger national footprint will provide better and stronger platforms for our athletics program and our university,” he said.
The university has spent the last 12-plus years in the Sun Belt, where it has won eight All-Sports trophies and 54 conference championships.
MTSU, which joined the Sun Belt on July 1, 2000, will leave the SBC with a league-best 50 conference football wins, while also ranking first in victories over automatic qualifying conferences.
Other notable milestones in the MTSU-Sun Belt partnership include:
“We have enjoyed a great partnership with the Sun Belt Conference, which has provided us many avenues to further improve our athletic program,” said Director of Athletics Chris Massaro.
MTSU cheerleaders join Director of Athletics Chris Massaro, center left, and President Sidney A. McPhee, center right, to celebrate the Nov. 29 announcement of the university’s new affiliation with Conference USA. (MTSU file photo by Andy Heidt)
“We look forward to our future in Conference USA and are excited about developing new relationships with its member schools. I am really eager to see how our 2013 home football schedule shapes up.”
McPhee said the university will pay the Sun Belt Conference $700,000 to leave the league by June 30. MTSU will use funds from private donations to the athletics department to cover the $700,000, McPhee said, rather than tapping into state funding or other revenues.
MTSU agreed to pay the SBC half the sum within 30 days and the rest by June 30, the day before it joins Conference USA.
McPhee said MTSU will quickly recoup the money through higher returns from revenue sharing in C-USA.
In addition to Middle Tennessee, beginning July 1, 2013, the C-USA membership will include Charlotte, East Carolina, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa, Alabama-Birmingham, Texas-El Paso and Texas-San Antonio.
C-USA’s existing media contracts include television partnerships with Fox Sports Media Group, CBS Sports Network and ESPN.
“Middle Tennessee has been one of the amazing growth stories in higher education and intercollegiate athletics,” said C-USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky. “We are delighted to have them with us next year. The university has great leadership and will definitely contribute to our plan for the conference.”
The Blue Raiders will begin their quest for C-USA titles in August with eight available for men and nine for women.
The men will compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, tennis, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. The women will take part in basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, volleyball, soccer and softball.
MTSU will not field teams in men’s soccer, women’s rowing and women’s swimming and diving.
For more details, visit www.GoBlueRaiders.com. You can read the original announcement story here.
— MT Athletics (GoBlueRaiders.com)
The following is an open letter from MTSU Director of Athletics Chris Massaro to supporters of Blue Raider Athletics.
To our supporters of Blue Raider Athletics,
As our stakeholders, I wanted to reach out and provide some background on the events of the last few days, so you can have a better understanding of what transpired.
I know you, as Blue Raider faithful, share in my disappointment that our football team was not extended an invitation to compete in a post-season bowl game — despite our 8-4 overall record and the distinction of having the biggest year-over-year win improvement in the country in 2012.
However, this emotional low point on Sunday came just days after we celebrated last Thursday our invitation into Conference USA, an affiliation that will elevate the standing, competitiveness and stature of Middle Tennessee State University’s athletics program. As I said at the press conference, “the invitation was a validation of the labor and progress we have made at Middle Tennessee athletically and academically.”
The lingering frustration will not overshadow the tremendous season our football program enjoyed. We upset ACC Coastal Division Champion Georgia Tech on the road by 21 points, went 5-2 on the road, and finished second in the conference with a 6-2 mark.
MTSU Director of Athletics Chris Massaro wrote an open letter to Blue Raider Athletics supporters following MTSU’s omission from any bowl invitation following an 8-4 season in 2012. (Photo courtesy of GoBluRraiders.com)
We all remember the excitement generated by Coach Rick Stockstill and his team’s victory over Western Kentucky on Nov. 1. Our Blue Raiders were 10-point underdogs going into this nationally-televised road game, yet we pulled out a thrilling victory that demonstrated the tenacity and spirit of our team. While we had been touting our potential to bowl committees before the WKU game, our efforts ramped up after we became bowl eligible with the win in Bowling Green.
Within a few days of that win, it became evident that the conference landscape was about to change yet again, when Maryland and Rutgers announced a move to the Big Ten. The domino effect eventually led to Conference USA talks to re-engage, and discussions moved quickly at that time.
As you know, President McPhee and I have been quietly and deliberately looking for ways to raise the level of athletic competition and success for Blue Raiders athletics. We have long admired Conference USA as the next logical step in our program’s evolution — and the conference publicly and privately made it known that MTSU would be an excellent addition to its ranks.
On Nov. 25, two days before it was announced that East Carolina and Tulane would leave C-USA, the conference reached out to us, asking informally if we would be interested in joining. After careful consideration, President McPhee agreed that this move would be in the best interest of our university, and we began serious and immediate discussions on joining C-USA.
We had hoped that the announcement of the realignment could have waited until after our Sun Belt football championship game with Arkansas State on Saturday. However, as word emerged that both MTSU and fellow Sun Belt member Florida Atlantic University were being courted by C-USA, the Sun Belt scheduled a board meeting on Nov. 28 to discuss the departure of member schools. One of the proposals we heard from a reliable source was increasing exit fees to a sum as high as $10 million.
Knowing this, President McPhee and I agreed the university should tender its withdrawal from the Sun Belt before the meeting convened. Upon notice of our withdrawal, the Sun Belt cancelled its meeting. But after this point, it became clear that the news of MTSU and FAU’s movements were not going to wait until after Saturday’s game. As such, both MTSU and FAU held press conferences on Nov. 29 to announce that the two universities were going to join C-USA.
Against the backdrop of conference realignment, we continued to make our case for a bowl invitation. We were assured by the Sun Belt that our decision to move to C-USA would not affect how it negotiated on our behalf for bowl placement. When the dust settled on Sunday, we learned that despite playing for the Sun Belt Championship, we would not be among the teams heading for post-season play.
As Coach Rick Stockstill said Sunday about the football team and the bowl omission, “they did what they had to do on the football field and were not rewarded.”
Personally, I am frustrated with decisions made in board rooms and not on the football field. Our team and fans deserve better. I think it is clear that the bowl system needs improvement and should be better than this. However, this incredibly frustrating turn of events will not define us or our season.
As President McPhee said Sunday night, when we say “I am True Blue,” we are speaking about character and commitment. I am so proud of the character and commitment put forth by this football team, what they have accomplished this season and the turnaround they have made. I believe in this football team, the momentum we have built — and the future is bright.
Thank you for your continued support of Blue Raiders athletics and please join me in congratulating Coach Stockstill and his team for an exciting and memorable football season.
I invite you to make the next move with us.
Follow MTSU athletics anytime at www.goblueraiders.com.
Middle Tennessee President Sidney A. McPhee announced Nov. 29 that the university has entered into a membership agreement to join Conference USA for intercollegiate athletics beginning no later than July 1, 2014.
A happy crowd cheers at the news that MTSU athletics will move from the Sun Belt Conference to Conference USA at a special Nov. 29 press conference held in the Student Union Building. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)
Conference USA is an established, nationally recognized FBS conference that sponsors 20 sport championships.
“We have worked at many levels to advance the quality of our athletics program and this invitation recognizes the hard work and excellent results of our athletes, coaches and administrators,” McPhee said at a 10 a.m. announcement event inside MTSU’s new Student Union Building.
“Our affiliation with C-USA will build upon the strong results we enjoyed as a proud member of the Sun Belt Conference and position us for even greater success.”
The C-USA membership beginning July 1, 2013, will include Charlotte, East Carolina, FIU, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, UTEP and UTSA. The league office is located in Irving, Texas. ECU will be leaving for the Big EAST Conference in football beginning with the 2014 season, and Tulane will be leaving for all sports for the 2014-15 campaign.
“This tremendous opportunity is the result of effort from many, especially Dr. McPhee,” said Director of Athletics Chris Massaro.
“I would particularly like to acknowledge the work of our student-athletes, coaches and, most importantly, our former student-athletes and coaches. They are the ones who truly built our foundation for this launching point. This invitation is a validation of their labor and the progress we have made at Middle Tennessee athletically and academically.”
C-USA teams and individuals have made nearly 700 NCAA championship appearances since the league’s inception in 1995-96. Sixty-seven football programs have earned bowl bids, 90 men’s basketball teams have participated in NCAA and NIT postseason play, 47 women’s basketball squads have appeared in the NCAA Tournament and 53 baseball programs have made NCAA tournament appearances, including 12 College World Series and a national crown for Rice in 2003. Additionally, 61 men’s and women’s soccer squads have participated in NCAA tournaments, with Charlotte competing for the men’s College Cup crown in 2011.
Conference USA members also enjoy significant national and regional television exposure and revenue sharing through a multi-tiered package that includes partnerships with CBS Sports Network, Fox Sports Media Group and ESPN. During 2011-12, C-USA football teams appeared on television more than 70 times, while 65 men’s basketball games were featured, and more than 40 baseball, softball and women’s basketball games and conference championships were broadcast.
Middle Tennessee has spent the last 12-plus years as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, where it has won eight All-Sports trophies and 54 conference championships and had four Athletes of the Year and 38 Coach of the Year winners. The Blue Raiders officially made their announcement to the SBC on November 4, 1999, with the effective date of July 1, 2000.
MTSU cheerleaders join Director of Athletics Chris Massaro, center left, and President Sidney A. McPhee, center right, to celebrate the Nov. 29 announcement of the university’s new affiliation with Conference USA. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)
Prior to the Sun Belt affiliation, Middle Tennessee spent two years as an independent and the previous 47 years as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, where it won 11 league titles in football, made six NCAA Playoffs and appeared in four bowl games.
The Blue Raiders amassed an overall OVC mark of 192-115-4 (.624) during their 47 seasons of football competition, while having 15 Players of the Year and 177 first team all-OVC selections. In basketball, the women registered 11 OVC titles and the men garnered five. In all, the Blue Raider athletic program has accumulated 102 OVC Championships and nine All-Sports trophies.
The Blue Raiders will begin their quest for C-USA titles no later than 2014-15 with eight being available for men and nine for women. The men will compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, tennis, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. The women will take part in basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, volleyball, soccer and softball. Middle Tennessee will not field teams in men’s soccer, women’s rowing and women’s swimming and diving.
“We have been impressed by the continued success at Middle Tennessee, which is a direct reflection of the outstanding leadership at that institution,” said Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky. “They fit very well within the footprint of our conference.”
For more on the story, including comments from Middle Tennessee’s head coaches, visit www.goblueraiders.com/content.cfm/id/64239. You can watch a video from the event below.
— MT Athletics (goblueraiders.com)
