HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Since 2010, Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee has taken the Blue Raider spirit on the road, bringing university representatives to career counselors and families who help students find their college home.
But the True Blue Tour stop in Huntsville on Oct. 14 held a special meaning for McPhee, who will retire in December after 26 years at the helm, as he wraps up his final season for the student recruitment initiative.
“This is an exciting time of year for us, because we get to go out into the communities and bring our university to you,” McPhee told attendees gathered at The Westin located in Huntsville’s Bridge Street Town Centre.
The True Blue Tour tradition will continue into November with the next set for Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 21-22, in West Tennessee.
The Huntsville stop began with a luncheon for high school counselors and community college representatives, followed by an evening reception for prospective students and their families to showcase all MTSU has to offer — over 300 undergraduate and graduate degree majors and concentrations, nationally ranked student programming and over $2 billion invested in academic facilities over the past 20 years.
Introduction to MTSU via CSI camp
Among the evening’s highlights was a $1,500 scholarship awarded to Sydney Bunner, a senior at Westminster Christian Academy in Huntsville who attended the university’s weeklong CSI: MTSU Camp over the summer.
For Bunner, the camp offered a hands-on look at the world of forensic science that included presentations from professionals in different fields and an interactive mock crime scene investigation.
“It was awesome,” Bunner said.
Bunner’s interest in forensics prompted her mother, Beth Bunner, to find her daughter the best opportunity to explore the field, and they landed on MTSU. They both left the on-campus experience impressed.
“I thought the campus was really pretty,” the high schooler said. “The size was just perfect. It wasn’t too big or too small.”
That personal connection is part of what draws students and families to MTSU.
Scholarship winner Alana Wiggins first heard about MTSU from a school counselor who kept an MTSU banner on her wall. A campus tour helped seal the interest, particularly the university’s academic programs and equestrian team. “I’ve always wanted to do that,” she said.
Wiggins’ mother, Whitney Rodgers, said she initially worried about the distance from home. During their visit to MTSU’s Murfreesboro, Tennessee, campus, Rodgers was struck by the emphasis on campus safety and the welcoming atmosphere.
“The vibe on campus felt warm, comfortable and safe. That’s what sold me,” Rodgers said.
Academic Common Market noteworthy
For Huntsville Center for Technology career counselor Kwesi Jackson, the tour provides another way to connect students with opportunities — especially through the Academic Common Market, which lets out-of-state students pay in-state tuition if their home state does not offer their specific major.
“There are some students I know really need to leave Alabama, but they don’t need to go all the way to the West Coast,” he said. “They need somewhere close that still has a home feel.”
That message resonated with Parsa Vard, a Calhoun Community College student planning to transfer to pursue audio production at MTSU’s world-renowned Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment. He said alumni and a teacher who graduated from MTSU helped put the university on his radar.
“When I saw that MTSU had great faculty with real experience in the audio engineering field, I knew that was what I wanted to do,” Vard said.
By the end of the day, McPhee had awarded $7,500 in scholarships to students — including $1,500 from his own coffers to Bunner — and $20,000 to guidance and career counselors at the luncheon to carry back to their students.
In addition to academic and campus opportunities, attendees at the events were reminded about priority application deadlines. For first-time incoming freshmen to qualify for guaranteed academic merit scholarships and special partnership programs, the deadline is Dec. 1, and March 1 is the deadline for transfer students. Visit mtsu.edu/how-to-apply/ to apply.
Remaining 2026 True Blue Tour schedule
The True Blue Tour continues this week. All events are free and walkups are welcome, although admissions staff encourage people to RSVP in advance at https://mtsu.edu/rsvp.
• Oct. 21 — FedEx Event Center at Shelby Farms, 415 Great View Drive E. Ste 103, Memphis
• Oct. 22 — Jackson Country Club, 31 Jackson Country Club Drive, Jackson
• Oct. 26 – The Chattanoogan Hotel, 1201 Broad St., Chattanooga
• Oct. 29 — Blue Ribbon Circle Club, 1110 N Evans St., Shelbyville
• Nov. 2 — Gaylord Springs Golf Links, 18 Springhouse Lane, Nashville
• Nov. 5 — MTSU Student Union Ballroom, 1768 MTSU Blvd., Murfreesboro
MTSU opens its campus to prospective students and their families for the True Blue Preview day on Nov. 14. MTSU also offers daily campus tours. For information, call 615-898-5670 or email [email protected].
— Nancy DeGennaro ([email protected])
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