Two MTSU colleges provided midday refreshments, giveaways and fellowship to welcome a new crop of students with some newness of their own during the first week of fall classes.

Both events happened Wednesday, Aug. 26, near the quad area of the Blue Raider campus, with hundreds of students stopping by the courtyard area in the middle of the Business and Aerospace Building and dozens more standing in line inside the renamed Bragg College of Media and Entertainment Building.

The BAS courtyard was the site of the first “Back to Business Courtyard Bash” sponsored by the Jennings A. Jones College of Business. Long lines of students stretched down the sidewalk to get a tasty meal of barbecue and trimmings, a free T-shirt and a chance to interact directly with a host of Jones College faculty, including Dean David Urban.

From left, MTSU students Ryan Ho and John Wahidi enjoy a meal in the Business and Aerospace Building courtyard during the Jones College of Business’ “Back to Business Bash” on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

MTSU business faculty Timothy Dunne and Leigh Anne Clark talk to MTSU junior Avery Alsup Jones and others during the Jones College of Business “Back to Business Courtyard Bash” held Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015, in the Business and Aerospace Building courtyard. (MTSU photo J. Intintoli)

Meanwhile, inside the Bragg Building, Dean Ken Paulson personally handed out hundreds of free blue T-shirts with “College of Media and Entertainment” emblazoned on the front in white letters. Students also enjoyed free drinks and popcorn in between classes.

The college was celebrating its recently announced name change from the previous College of Mass Communication. Paulson said the new name better reflects the 24-hour media cycle, the college’s diversity of programs and the growing demand for content that informs, engages and entertains.

College of Media and Entertainment Ken Paulson, left, and Greg Pitts, new School of Journalism chair, chat during the College of Media and Entertainment celebration Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015, in the Bragg Building lobby. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

MTSU senior Katia Hope and Dean Ken Paulson of the College of Media and Entertainment hand out T-shirts in the lobby of the Bragg Building Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015, during the college’s celebration of its recent name change. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)