MTSU breaks ground on $66M Student-Athlete Performance Center

Middle Tennessee State University broke ground on the Athletic Department’s new $66 million Student-Athlete Performance Center Thursday, Jan. 26, on the site of the project just outside of Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium.

The three-story, 85,500-square-foot building connected to the north end of Floyd Stadium will serve as the new home of Blue Raider Football, as well as contain a variety of facilities for the continued support of all MTSU student-athletes, including new athletic training, weightlifting and nutrition areas.

“Once completed, this new facility, along with an enhanced Murphy Center, will be part of a new gateway into our campus and will stand as a visible reminder of our commitment to athletic success,” said President Sidney A. McPhee. “Today’s groundbreaking publicly reaffirms our commitment to maintaining a nationally competitive athletic program.”

McPhee was joined by Board of Trustees Chair Stephen B. Smith, Director of Athletics Chris Massaro, Head Football Coach Rick Stockstill, Women’s Golf Coach Chris Adams, student-athletes, supporters and fans from around the MTSU community for the groundbreaking, which was held before the evening’s women’s basketball game against Florida Atlantic in Murphy Center.

Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee addresses a capacity crowd inside the Kennon Sports Hall of Fame during the Thursday, Jan. 26, groundbreaking ceremony for the new $66 million Student-Athlete Performance Center that will connect to the north end of Floyd Stadium. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt) — MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee addresses a capacity crowd inside the Kennon Sports Hall of Fame during the Thursday, Jan. 26, groundbreaking ceremony for the new $66 million Student-Athlete Performance Center that will connect to the north end of Floyd Stadium. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

This conceptual rendering shows a night view of exterior of the new Student-Athlete Performance Center that broke ground Thursday, Jan. 26, outside Floyd Stadium at Middle Tennessee State University. (Courtesy of MTSU Athletics Communications) — This conceptual rendering shows a night view of MTSU’s new Student-Athlete Performance Center. Officials broke ground on the facility Thursday, Jan. 26, outside Floyd Stadium. (image courtesy of MTSU Athletics Communications)

Head Football Coach Rick Stockstill — Coach Rick Stockstill

Chris Massaro, MTSU director of athletics — Chris Massaro

“Today marks the latest milestone in a project that countless Blue Raiders have worked on and dreamed of for many years,” said Massaro. “The Student-Athlete Performance Center is transformational for our department, the university, and for our community. We will be able to better develop our players, attract top-notch recruits and make our student-athlete experience second to none.”

Fresh off the football program’s first back-to-back bowl wins, Stockstill expressed appreciation for the continued support of Blue Raider fans, who he said are helping take MTSU football to the next level with the start of construction later this winter.

“This new center will help Middle Tennessee football compete at the highest level on the field,” Stockstill said. “With the upgraded facilities, so many new doors will be opened for the Blue Raiders to continue to build off of the legacy of our past players and coaches.”

This conceptual rendering shows the inside of the weight room to be part of the new Student-Athlete Performance Center that broke ground Thursday, Jan. 26, at Middle Tennessee State University. (Courtesy of MTSU Athletics Communications) — This conceptual rendering shows the inside of the weight room that’s part of the new Student-Athlete Performance Center at Middle Tennessee State University, where officials broke ground for the facility Thursday, Jan. 26. (image courtesy of MTSU Athletics Communications)

Middle Tennessee State University Director of Athletics Chris Massaro addresses attendees inside the Kennon Sports Hall of Fame during the Thursday, Jan. 26, groundbreaking ceremony for the new $66 million Student-Athlete Performance Center that will connect to the north end of Floyd Stadium. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt) — MTSU Director of Athletics Chris Massaro addresses attendees inside the Kennon Sports Hall of Fame during the Thursday, Jan. 26, groundbreaking ceremony for the new $66 million Student-Athlete Performance Center that will connect to the north end of Floyd Stadium. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

This conceptual rendering shows the locker room in the new Student-Athlete Performance Center that broke ground Thursday, Jan. 26, outside Floyd Stadium at Middle Tennessee State University. (Courtesy of MTSU Athletics Communications) — This conceptual rendering shows the locker room in the new Student-Athlete Performance Center at Middle Tennessee State University, where officials broke ground for the facility Thursday, Jan. 26. (image courtesy of MTSU Athletics Communications)

When completed, the SAPC will feature three floors of amenities. The first floor’s Tommy and Judy Smith Entry Lobby will greet visitors to the building, and it also will house state-of-the-art facilities that include a nutrition station, a strength and conditioning room and an athletic training room equipped with hydrotherapy pools. The first floor will also be the new home for the Blue Raider football team and will house the new football locker room and player’s lounge, in addition to the new equipment room.

The second floor will house the offices of the Blue Raider football coaching staff with a plethora of meeting areas, including the team meeting room, position rooms and coaches meeting rooms.

The third floor will also feature a large dining venue for student-athletes. On game days this space will be dedicated to premium opportunities for fans.

Middle Tennessee State University football coach Rick Stockstill thanks supporters of Blue Raider football and athletic teams during remarks inside the Kennon Sports Hall of Fame Thursday, Jan. 26, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new $66 million Student-Athlete Performance Center that will connect to the north end of Floyd Stadium. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt) — MTSU football coach Rick Stockstill thanks supporters of Blue Raider football and athletic teams during remarks inside the Kennon Sports Hall of Fame Thursday, Jan. 26, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new $66 million Student-Athlete Performance Center that will connect to the north end of Floyd Stadium. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

This conceptual rendering shows a Floyd Stadium view of the new Student-Athlete Performance Center that broke ground Thursday, Jan. 26, outside the stadium at Middle Tennessee State University. The center will serve as the new home of Blue Raider Football. (Courtesy of MTSU Athletics Communications) — This conceptual rendering shows a Floyd Stadium view of the new Student-Athlete Performance Center at Middle Tennessee State University, where officials broke ground for the facility Thursday, Jan. 26. The center will serve as the new home of Blue Raider football. (image courtesy of MTSU Athletics Communications)

The SAPC project, made possible through the support of Blue Raider fans in the Build Blue campaign, will also provide updates to the south end zone videoboard in Floyd Stadium as well as the videoboards inside Murphy Center. A control room giving MTSU the ability to produce its own live industry-standard television broadcasts also will be constructed within Murphy Center.

Goodwyn Mills Cawood Inc. and HOK, a team that helped build similar projects at Vanderbilt, Auburn, Georgia and other universities, is overseeing the design of the project. General contracting for the construction of the SAPC will be done by The Parent Company Inc. of Brentwood, Tennessee.

Those interested in pursuing naming rights within the Student-Athlete Performance Center can contact Hans Malebranche, associate AD for development and chief development officer, at hans.malebranche@mtsu.edu.

To stay up to date on all MTSU Athletics news, visit goblueraiders.com.

— From MTSU Athletics Communications