MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — For decades, Omri Rawlins could be found on the basketball courts at the Campus Recreation Center at Middle Tennessee State University, playing pickup games with fellow faculty, staff and students. Now, the place where he spent so many years playing bears his name.

The Campus Recreation Center renamed one of its indoor basketball courts during the spring in honor of Rawlins, a retired agribusiness professor whose decades-long presence made him a familiar and respected figure among campus players.

Rawlins joined the MTSU faculty in 1968 and retired in 2001, but his connection to campus basketball continued long after retirement. For years, he regularly played pickup basketball at the rec center, becoming known among fellow players as “the commissioner” of the “noon basketball association” for his role organizing the weekly midday games, picking teams and helping keep the competition friendly.

Beyond campus, Rawlins also competed in Senior Olympics basketball events for about a decade, earning more than 30 medals in competitions including free throws, three-point shooting and three-on-three basketball.

For Rawlins, the recent honor came as a surprise.

“It’s such an honor, there isn’t much else to say about it,” Rawlins said. “My son had brought me to campus because he knew something was going on, but it really came as a surprise to me. I enjoyed being able to get back to see folks who I played with all those years ago at the place where I played for so long.”

According to Campus Recreation Director Josh Stone, Rawlins’ impact on campus recreation made the recognition an easy decision. And now Court No. 4 will be known as “Dr. Omri Rawlins Court” for those hoopers whose sneakers will continue to squeak on the same hardwood as the man whose love for the game brought others together for fun, fitness and fellowship.

“Being that the Campus Rec Center itself is only 30 years old, we don’t often get the opportunity to use the word ‘legend.’ But Omri Rawlins fits the bill,” Stone said. “He has made a lasting impact on others through recreation, and has done it consistently for over 40 years. The least we could do to recognize this is by hanging an honorary plaque in his name on the very courts where he has played since we opened our doors.”

The dedication recognizes not only Rawlins’ longtime commitment to recreation, but also the sense of community he helped build through decades of pickup basketball at MTSU.

For the many faculty, staff and students who shared the court with him over the years, Rawlins’ name now marks a place that had already become part of his legacy.

­— Karli Sutton ([email protected])