Middle Tennessee State University is welcoming the return of the annual TSSAA boys’ high school basketball tournament March 16-19 by making temporary parking and traffic changes to accommodate guests.

The boys’ TSSAA Division I High School Basketball Tournament is set March 16-19 inside Murphy Center’s Hale Arena on the northwest side of the MTSU campus. The girls’ tournament was held last week while the university was on spring break.

This Wednesday through Saturday, motorists should be aware of several factors affecting campus roads and parking.

• MTSU’s East Main Street and Rutherford Boulevard entrances will be the most convenient campus entry points during the tournament, university officials said.
• The Greenland Drive parking lot will be reserved for TSSAA ticketholders during the tournament, and vehicles must pay $5 to park there. Students and faculty who use the Greenland Drive lot should prepare now to find alternative parking on campus, including the Tennessee Livestock Pavilion lot off Greenland Drive and the Rutherford Boulevard parking lots.
• The university will reserve parking during the tournament in the Middle Tennessee Boulevard (Woodfin), Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building, Holmes and Smith Field lots for vehicles displaying appropriate campus permits. Visitors with appropriate permits also will be allowed to park in those lots.
• The Champion Way entrance at Greenland Drive will be closed March 16-19, and eastbound Greenland Drive traffic will be directed to Rutherford Boulevard. Campus traffic can still exit via Champion Way onto Greenland.
• Faulkinberry Drive and Normal Way will be closed to accommodate TSSAA team buses. No parking or street access will be available.

Motorists should allow extra time to reach their destinations because of the ongoing road construction on Middle Tennessee Boulevard and the additional tournament traffic congestion around campus. They also can use the university’s perimeter parking lots, including the Tennessee Livestock Pavilion and Rutherford lots, during the tournament.

The Raider Xpress shuttle service will operate on its normal schedule during the boys’ TSSAA tournament with the exception of the “Green Route,” which will not serve the Greenland Drive parking lot.

All other events scheduled on campus during the tournament will be allowed first-come, first-served parking in any of MTSU’s free lots, based on availability.

A searchable campus map with parking and travel notes is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap.

For more information about MTSU traffic, parking and road closures, call the MTSU Parking and Transportation Services at 615-898-2850 between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Central time. For more information about the TSSAA state tournaments, visit www.tssaa.org or call 615-889-6740.