MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University has renamed its world-renowned College of Media and Entertainment in honor of a music industry trailblazer who has supported ongoing efforts to provide state-of-the-art technology and hands-on training to its students. 

Effective Tuesday (Aug. 26), the college is now the Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment, named after founder, chairman and CEO of Big Machine Label Group, Scott Borchetta. 

Borchetta, his wife, Sandi, executives from Big Machine Label Group and the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix, and members of Nashville’s music community joined hundreds of students, faculty, staff and supporters in the atrium of the John Bragg Building for the ceremony. 

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee called the renaming “a truly historic event” and “a project years in the making.” 

“We are here to publicly recognize what happens when one’s vision and passion combine with dedication and hard work,” McPhee told the audience.  

“As one of Music City’s leading entrepreneurs and visionaries, Scott Borchetta has earned the reputation as one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and forward-thinking leaders.” 

The official renaming of the college has been years in the making and reflects Borchetta’s ongoing support that has resulted in technological upgrades within the college and experiential learning opportunities for students such as recent trips to the Grammy Awards. 

“I am humbled and profoundly grateful to have MTSU’s College of Media and Entertainment bear my name,” Borchetta shared with Billboard Magazine. “The opportunity that this school affords to its students didn’t exist for me through college education in the 1980s, so it is an honor to now be part of building those bridges for young minds.

“My goal is to inspire others and give back, betting on the creativity of students who dedicate themselves to the entertainment field. The Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment represents the next generation of innovators and creators, whose bold ideas will transform the media landscape.  

Media and Entertainment Dean Beverly Keel, a former record label executive herself, described Borchetta as “our secret weapon” for the last several years, giving his time and resources to support the college. 

“I can’t overestimate how important this is to the life and history of the college,” Keel said. “This propels us to international acclaim because Scott’s name is recognized and respected around the world. By partnering with Scott, we are exposing our students to cutting-edge ideas and perspectives.” 

“Because of Scott’s contributions, we have been able to make the upgrades you see in this building, create new student scholarship, and take students to the Grammys, an esports conference and Bonnaroo.  

“Scott has made it possible for the college to hire a strategic communications specialist and sponsor the Southern Oasis Film Festival for students and our MT Imagine showcase for digital animation students,” she added. “And these are just a few of the wonderful student and college opportunities that Scott has made possible.”

Tuesday’s ceremony concluded with a dramatic button push by Borchetta that revealed the college’s new name on the exterior of the Bragg building.  

“Establishing a named college isn’t something that happens every day or at every institution,” McPhee said. 

About Scott Borchetta

Scott Borchetta is the founder, chairman and CEO of Big Machine Label Group, the leading independent record label home to superstars including Tim McGraw, Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts, Carly Pearce, Mötley Crüe, Sheryl Crow, Riley Green and more.   

With Borchetta at the helm, Big Machine has celebrated monumental success for more than 20 years including multiple Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, Country Music Association Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards.

He has led the charge on more than 226+ million albums sold by Big Machine artists in addition to sending more than 265 singles to No. 1 on the country, pop and rock charts.  

As an executive producer, he’s delivered incredible works of art including the impressive 20-track ”Petty Country,” and the Grammy-winning documentary, ”Glen Campbell … I’ll Be Me.”

Borchetta has been tapped for Billboard Magazine’s Power 100 list and Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business and was honored with the Music Business Association’s prestigious Presidential Award for Outstanding Executive, CRB’s Presidential Award and the Bob Kingsley Living Legend Award. Among many industry-changing accolades, in 2012, Borchetta made an unprecedented agreement with iHeartRadio, marking the first time in U.S. history that artists and labels would get paid for their recordings on terrestrial radio with the first-ever terrestrial performance right.  

An avid philanthropist, Borchetta and wife Sandi partnered with Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in 2020 to form The Big Machine Neighborhood, a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit wing. Steadfast in their dedication, the Borchettas again pledged their support in 2025 toward a four-floor expansion atop the existing Monroe Carell facility. A portion of the hospital’s 131 NICU beds will be housed on the new 14th floor, named the Scott & Sandi Borchetta Floor. 

Together, they also created the Music Has Value fund in support of music in schools and music therapy. Additional charitable initiatives include a multi-year, multi-artist campaign that found BMLG and Borchetta joining forces with General Mills and Feeding America for a nationwide effort aimed at fighting hunger, sending more than 50 million meals to local communities across the country, with the apt tagline – “It Takes a Big Machine to Outnumber Hunger.”  

A former in-house mentor on “American Idol,”Borchetta is also a championship-winning race car driver and is highly involved with motorsports. He serves on the board of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum and was instrumental in bringing the NTT IndyCar Series to Nashville in 2021 with the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. He is also the owner of Big Machine Racing and its NASCAR Xfinity #48 Chevrolet racing team. 

About the Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment 

MTSU’s College of Media and Entertainment, which was first established as a department in 1972, became a college in 1989 with the focus always being on preparing students for diverse and dynamic careers in the recording industry, film, television, journalism, public relations, photography and beyond by equipping them with the skills and knowledge to thrive in the ever-evolving media landscape.  

Students learn in the 80,000-square-foot Bragg Media and Entertainment Building with state-of-the-art production facilities for industry and radio-television and computer labs for animation and graphics. Students also have opportunities to interact with media professionals through internships and more, and have played pivotal roles at the Grammys, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and other high-profile events, preparing them for their careers.  

— DeAnn Hays (deann.hays@mtsu.edu)