Stand almost anywhere on the MTSU campus, and you’ll likely see the phrase “I am True Blue” at least once on a nearby sign, light pole banner, or garment.

It’s printed on every student and staff ID card. It’s part of the name of several campus services and initiatives, including True Blue Core, True Blue Fusion, the annual True Blue Tour recruitment effort, and True Blue TV. Major campus awards, such as the True Blue Citations of Distinction for distinguished alumni and the True Blue President’s Award recognizing the year’s top male and female student-athletes, riff on the phrase. The MT Athletics department in particular embraces it. “I am True Blue” is displayed on the playing fields of most athletic venues, including the turf in Floyd Stadium and the hardwood floor in Murphy Center.

Simply put, it’s everywhere. And it has been for the past 15 years.

“I am True Blue,” though, is not just a marketing slogan. 

It has become an identity, one born out of tragedy, that succinctly expresses the MTSU community’s core values of honesty and integrity, respect for diversity, engagement in the community, and a commitment to nonviolence.

The Origins

On March 3, 2011, MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee found himself addressing a grief-stricken assembly in MTSU’s Murphy Center, all mourning an almost unspeakable tragedy.

“The anguish I feel cannot be adequately expressed,” McPhee said of the death of Tina Stewart, a Lady Raider basketball player. Stewart was killed the day before, after an argument in her off-campus apartment with her roommate, also an MTSU student.

McPhee and his late wife, Liz McPhee, had a close, personal relationship with Stewart and her boyfriend, who was a member of the men’s basketball team. They’d even shared Thanksgiving dinner together at the McPhee household the previous holiday because Stewart couldn’t make it home to Memphis.

“The death of a student is always a grievous loss on a campus. In this case, the loss is particularly senseless and appalling,” the president told the mourners. “Tina’s death must have the effect of making us all more tolerant and more kind to each other.”

Days after the memorial service, McPhee reflected on the tragedy with Dwight Lewis, then editorial page editor of The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville. In their conversation, an idea emerged for MTSU to teach and encourage nonviolent conflict resolution as a core value.

Later that month, McPhee appointed a President’s Task Force on Nonviolence and Conflict Resolution. The panel was charged with establishing a comprehensive and ongoing plan to encourage teaching, training, programming, and research related to nonviolence and conflict resolution between students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of MTSU.

The task force, made up of faculty, staff, and students, went to work. As part of its efforts, it developed a pledge that captured the spirit of the core values McPhee emphasized. Honors College Dean John Vile and Vincent Windrow, then associate vice provost for student success, were key authors. Andrew Oppmann, MTSU’s vice president of marketing and communications, and then-marketing specialist Rob Janson later infused the phrase  “I am True Blue” to the pledge.

The True Blue Pledge was born.

I am True Blue.

As a member of this diverse community, I am a valuable contributor to its progress and success. 

I am engaged in the life of this community. 

I am a recipient and a giver.

I am a listener and a speaker. 

I am honest in word and deed. 

I am committed to reason, not violence. 

I am a learner now and forever.

I am a BLUE RAIDER. 

True Blue!

At the time, McPhee called the True Blue Pledge “an affirmation of what we want a Blue Raider to represent.”

Forging a New Tradition

The pledge was formally introduced at MTSU’s very next Convocation ceremony, Aug. 28, 2011, alongside the set of four core values (see sidebar below).

To this day, a decade and a half later, the pledge remains a central part of campus life.

The Student Government Association (SGA) quickly adopted it as its official motto and redesigned its seal to emphasize True Blue. The pledge was incorporated into numerous student and civic events as a reflection of school pride and values. 

Convocation 2026 to welcome thousands of new students to MTSU campus Aug. 22

R.J. Ware, the 2025–26 SGA president, has continued and reinforced the tradition by student government to weave the True Blue Pledge into all of its major functions and activities. 

“At its core, True Blue is about how we treat people,” Ware said. “It shows up in the way students support one another, get involved, and take pride in being part of something larger than themselves. That’s why it continues to resonate. It’s not just a campaign. It’s a standard that students still strive to live out every day.”

Each year, the student body president still leads the incoming class of freshmen and transfer students in reading the True Blue Pledge at Convocation. The University will formally celebrate the 15th anniversary of “I am True Blue” at the 2026 Convocation in August.

“It’s always great beginning our new academic year by introducing our new students to what it means to really be True Blue, as well as reminding those of us already here,” McPhee said. “This pledge represents an expression of universal values that binds our Blue Raider campus together with a commitment to bring our better selves to the academy and to each new community of scholars arriving each year.”

For a decade and a half, “I am True Blue” has been everywhere you look on the MTSU campus.

The Campus Nonviolence Committee also remains vigilant, working hard each semester to keep the True Blue Pledge top of mind by hosting speakers, activities, and remembrances including at the International Day of Nonviolence and the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and Candlelight Vigil. Most recently, the committee held a contest for student groups to submit videos that show True Blue Spirit. Activities are funded through the Tina Stewart Nonviolence Fund, which constitutionalized the $5,000 SGA receives annually to allot  to the nonviolence campaigns.

Through the years, these early initiatives have remained a constant while new ones have been added. “True Blue” later became the focus of a comprehensive University marketing plan.

Casting a Long Shadow

That the phrase, and the message, of “I am True Blue” has had such staying power is a source of comfort to the Stewart family.

Deputy Athletics Director Diane Turnham, who has stayed in touch with the Stewart family over the years and hosts them on campus frequently, said the pledge’s continued use as part of the University brand makes the Stewarts proud and emotional to think that their daughter’s tragic death led to something lasting and meaningful.

As a high-ranking college athletics administrator for many decades, Turnham was trained to deal with death of a student-athlete. It didn’t make it any easier when it happened.

“It’s truly one of the worst experiences ever in an athletic program, because you feel like 300 families have entrusted you with their children, and you’re going to take care of them, and you’re going to make them better,” she said. “Along with head coach Rick Insell and the rest of the MT Athletics staff, our main focus was ‘How do we help these young athletes be able to feel their feelings, and express their feelings, and move forward?’ ”

Turnham said to see these young people, some of whom had not experienced grief of this magnitude, lose someone their own age was devastating.

“It was the most difficult week of our lives. But seeing them go through all that, they developed a resilience that I was so proud of,” she said.

The True Blue Pledge, Turnham said, became a prescription for healing.

“We made a promise to her parents that her life would never be forgotten, and that she would make an impact every day,” said Turnham, who helped write the pledge as part of the nonviolence committee. “I have a picture of Tina in my office, and I look at it every morning, and I just say, ‘Today, we’re going to be better.’ And to me, that’s what the True Blue Pledge is all about. We’re going to make it better. We’re going to do better. We’re going to be a part of a community. And we’re going to support each other.”

Stewart’s parents still attend at least one home game each year. At a recent game, the athletics program surprised them with the gift of their daughter’s pink, game-worn jersey from a breast cancer awareness promotion years ago. A donor who had purchased the jersey at auction contacted the athletics department wanting to return it into the hands of the Stewart family.

“They loved it,” Turnham said of the Stewarts and the gift. “They still embrace us, we still embrace them, and we’re just there for each other.”

You’re not just expressing school spirit; you’re connecting yourself to a community and a set of values that transcend any single graduating class.

Nowhere on campus does the messaging of True Blue permeate more than within the women’s basketball program. It’s been a point of emphasis for now-retired Coach Insell since the day of its inception. A door in the women’s basketball locker room that separates a lobby area from the dressing room prominently features the True Blue Pledge. According to Turnham, the Stewart family loves taking their picture with that poster. 

“They know that Tina’s death, as hard as it was, helped make all of us a little better, or make us think a little more about who we are, and what we need to do, and how we need to do it,” she said. “They are very connected to the True Blue Pledge. They take great pride in that.”

Turnham makes a point of educating new student-athletes about Tina Stewart and the story of the True Blue Pledge.

“I don’t want people to forget,” she said. “Not that we ever want to dwell on it, but we don’t ever want to forget. . . . I like to tell people why it came about. . . . It’s hard, but it’s also therapeutic.”

A Lasting Impact

For a decade and a half, “I am True Blue” has been everywhere you look on the MTSU campus and on University marketing materials.

It’s become synonymous with campus life, especially on game days.

What began as a way to deal with grief has become an ever-present call to action for the MTSU community to bond around common values and desired outcomes.

“I am True Blue” has become a philosophy that reflects the University’s identity as a diverse, welcoming, and tolerant place of learning and personal and community progress.

Jeremy Poynter, SGA president at the time of the creation of the True Blue Pledge, and now a partner in the Nashville law office of Holland & Knight, said he believes the “I am True Blue” culture has endured through time because it represents something bigger than any one moment in time.

“When you say those words, you’re not just expressing school spirit; you’re connecting yourself to a community and a set of values that transcend any single graduating class,” he said. “Phrases that let people see themselves in the words—that give them ownership—those become part of the culture’s DNA. Fifteen years later, when I hear ‘I am True Blue,’ it still resonates with me because it captures something authentic about what it means to be part of the MTSU family. That sense of belonging doesn’t expire with your diploma.”

The definition of true blue is someone who is genuinely, unwaveringly loyal, faithful, and staunch in their beliefs or commitments. It signifies absolute reliability or honesty, often describing a person who stands by another in all situations.

As an institution of higher education, MTSU exists to teach young people lessons with lifetime implications. In fulfilling that mission, could there be an instructional effort more noble than encouragement to become True Blue?

CORE VALUES

In addition to the True Blue Pledge, the nonviolence task force that MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee turned to in spring 2011 after Tina Stewart’s death also called for peaceful conflict-resolution tactics to be included in classroom lessons and orientation sessions. The task force’s work was introduced to the campus in the fall of that year and continues to be a part of the campus protocols.

Specifically, the task force recommended a curriculum to stimulate effective problem-solving and conflict resolution, teach civility in dispute resolution, and promote a positive campus environment that celebrates diversity. The committee authored a statement of commitment as the foundation for a new campuswide campaign. It stated:

MTSU is committed to developing and nurturing a community devoted to learning, growth and service. Each person who joins or affiliates with the community does so freely and accepts and practices the following core values and expectations:

Honesty and Integrity: The notions of personal and academic honesty and integrity are central to the   existence of the MTSU community. All members of the  community will strive to achieve and maintain the highest  standards of academic achievement in the classroom and personal and social responsibility on- and off-campus.

Respect for Diversity: The MTSU community is composed of individuals representing different races, ethnicities,  sexual orientations, cultures, and ways of thinking. We  respect individual differences and unique perspectives  and acknowledge our commonalities.

Engagement in the Community: All members of the  community are encouraged to participate in educationally purposeful activities that support and enhance the MTSU experience. Active involvement and personal investment  in the classroom and throughout the community are  hallmarks of an engaged citizen.

Commitment to Nonviolence: MTSU is committed to the  principles of nonviolence and peaceful conflict resolution. Community members will freely express their ideas and  resolve differences using reason and persuasion.

Those standards and expectations were then infused across MTSU. Chief among the initiatives were: 

• adding a general introduction to all student orientation programs regarding MTSU community standards and expectations, with separate presentations targeting students and their family members
  
• adding a teaching module focused on civility and nonviolent conflict resolution to leadership-training programs for student leaders, resident assistants in residence halls, student-athletes, the Student Government Association, and fraternity and sorority members
  
• including a teaching module in University 1010 classes each semester that focuses on civility and nonviolent conflict
  
• adding a general introduction to the MTSU Community Standards and Expectations to all freshman orientation programs
  
• having faculty who teach COMM 2200—the only general education course required of all students at MTSU—be committed to incorporating principles of nonviolent conflict resolution into their regular curriculum

All of this is still in place to this day. 

True Blue!

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