It’s fall, y’all. You know what that means, besides pumpkin spice, pretty leaves and spooky memes? Blue Raider FOOTBALL! Our school is home to a very competitive football team, making it to a postseason bowl game in five of the last six years; they even made it to the Conference USA Championship Game in 2018. So yeah, they’re pretty good. And did I mention that tickets are FREE for ALL STUDENTS?

You may not have been to a game, and you may not even like to watch sports. Keep reading though, as the Student Voice is here to guide you through game day and make sure that you gave a great experience, no matter your level of interest in sports!

You’ll be joining a sea of True Blue!

Members of the Blue Zoo hold up their new banner in Section 1F of Floyd Stadium Sept. 7 during the MTSU-TSU football season home opener. (MTSU photo by James Cessna)

Rule No. 1: Always wear blue. Unless it’s a special game, such as a blackout, you’re trying to be the “truest of the bluest” on game days. We take pride in our school colors, and there is nothing more motivating to our players than looking up and seeing a crowd of students wearing blue. Looking for some new blue swag? Check out the Phillips Bookstore and off-campus MTSU-supporting businesses. That’s where you’ll find some sweet gear that’ll get you ready for game day.

Game days are kind of a big deal

Game day traditions run deep in our institution’s culture. Students, alumni and the community show up hours before kickoff to start getting hyped up for the game. Tailgating is very popular, and you can easily find some good food and fun activities to get you in the game day spirit, so don’t be afraid to make a day of it!

Raider Walk is one of our oldest game day traditions. It takes place in Walnut Grove a couple of hours before the game, when the MTSU Band of Blue plays in front of Peck Hall and the entire football team walks through the crowd on their way to the stadium. 

Fraternities and sororities also make game days into a big occasion, showing out in full force at tailgate, raising their flags high and showing strong True Blue spirit. Game day is the time where everyone comes together, forgets about classes for a few hours, and supports our school and our classmates who play the game.

How to get into Floyd Stadium

Simply follow these instructions to claim your FREE tickets to every MTSU football and basketball home game!

MT Athletics has recently launched a new ticketing program for students, BlueZooTix. Every student is eligible for a free ticket to every home game, so follow the steps in the image above to reserve yours! Once you get to the stadium, simply show your barcode and you’ll be granted access to Floyd Stadium!

Once you’re inside, you’ll want to make your way over to the sections labeled “Blue Zoo.” These is the official student section, highlighted by Section 1F, the rowdiest area where the entire section raises the infamous banner. Those seats typically fill up fast, so get there early if you want to get rowdy! You’ll quickly pick up on all the chants and traditions, and sitting (well, standing) with the Blue Zoo is a guaranteed way to have fun.

When the team is on the road …

As much fun as it is to watch the Blue Raiders at home, reality has to ruin everything, and the team is only in town for half of the games. Road rallies are set up occasionally for students to travel to away games, but there are some games where we simply cannot be in the stands.

There are plenty of places to catch road games in Murfreesboro, though, including watch parties on campus. Grab some friends, wear some blue and cheer on our players through the TV. We all know that they can hear us if we yell loud enough at the TV, right?

To prove that we can still be rowdy from afar, here’s a clip of fans at various establishments after MTSU upset Michigan State in the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament:

Author Kobe Hermann is a senior at MTSU, majoring in management in the Jones College of Business and minoring in business administration. The views and opinions expressed above are his own.