RE: MTSU/FAU
I may miss something but here's a quick snapshot. First a quick disclaimer on the name. Most people who get it hate to be called MTSU. Sans schools with two word city or state names it just doesn't work. Implies mediocrity. We get the double whammy on the name, because "middle" is not necessarily a glamour word. Name originated because there are three grand divisions of the state of Tennessee. East, Middle, and West (I know genius right). They each have their own socio-economic and cultural differences. If you think of Texas as the lone star state, Tennessee is the three star state. You get a very different vibe depending on which of the areas you're in. Anyway, most (but not all) prefer "Middle Tennessee" or MT. At least this way we can remove the four-letter acronym since we already have to live with "middle."
Football: Had the 100 year anniversary last season. Made the move from I-AA in 99. It should have occurred no later than about the time you guys made the move in the mid-90s. Those few years cost us, because the program started to slide in the late 90's. Further, the former retard AD wouldn't let us take any I-A drop downs. Had first winning season a year later in 2000. Went 8-3 in 01 which was first year of the Sun Belt, but we got hosed out of a bowl game cause of La Tech's AD refused to negotiate with the bowls (probably because we had taken them to the wood shed the year before, so we already love to hate the Techsters. The move had been discussed since late 80s when MT was a powerhouse in the I-AA ranks (several years ranked #1). Currently, MT is the winningest program since the Belt's inception. We went through a very difficult period in the middle part of the decade. Andy McCollum's recruiting philosophy was a fail, because he focused on too many high risk juco's which prevented us from ever getting the numbers up from the I-AA 63 schollies to the max 85. I think more kids we signed never made it to campus than those that actually did. We became one of the first APR casualties with one of the lowest recorded APR rates. That was the last straw. McCollum was fired and Stockstill was brought in with the primary focus of fixing the academic issues and getting us back on track. Believe it or not we actually did not achieve maximum scholarship numbers until last year. In Stockstill's first season in 06 we had about 55 on scholarship. With the APR sanctions it took a while to build it due to the limits placed on the number you can hand out each year. Now, the NCAA recognizes MT as a model for not only how to fix an APR mess but to maintain it. We're now annually recognized with the likes of Duke, Northwestern, Rice, etc. regarding APR. I think the bottom line for us is we're still just scratching the surface on what we can become if we can ever get past the perception issues the name of the university carries with it. Historically, MT has always been a football school. Going back to the era of Johnny Red Floyd (who the stadium is named after) and the Murphy era of the 50's you'll find a lot of undefeated and 10-win seasons.
Basketball: Perennial underachiever. We got hit about has hard you could get hit in basketball by the NCAA in the early 90's. Might as well have given the program the death penalty. We know how SMU feels. We never fully recovered until Kermit finally was able to turn the corner last season. We had a few decent 17, 18, 19 win seasons but that's about as far as it goes. Last year finally showed we could win and perform at a high level in basketball again. Kermit's recruiting has taken off and for the first time in two decades the program is headed in the right direction.
WBB: They just win and win a lot. Their next step is to win more than one game in the NCAA tourney.
Baseball: Baseball has been the most consistent of all the men's sports. Lots of conference championships and NCAA tourney appearances over the past two decades. Long-time assistant Jim McGuire begins first season after Coach Pete retired. His marching orders are simple. Get us to Omaha. It has alluded us despite several 40+ win seasons, and I really look forward matching up with Rice.
Others: We have some individual national titles in track, golf and tennis. Our non-revenue sports is probably what separates us from the rest of the Sun Belt. We have made a commitment to athletics across the board. You'll find MT to be competitive and compete for championships in everything right off the bat except for softball the lone laggard. I think there is a new coach there too but I don't really follow that much. BTW, the track coach is a legend. He has been at MT for over 40 years. Coached in the Olympics and other international games (i.e. Pan Am) He has produced like a gazillion All-Americans at MT. Whoever C-USA's best track programs are just said damn when this announcement was made.
Facilities: Lastly this is an area we take pride in. The most recent renovation was baseball. We want to host a regional. Aside from that most of the major upgrades were made in the late 90's when we made the move, the additional revenue from C-USA is likely to be pumped into taking the next step in facility improvements. We already have plans drawn up for an indoor football facility. That and renovating the basketball arena are first on the list. The top side of the basketball arena is also an indoor track. Retractable bleachers can be extended to increase capacity to over 10,000. Marshall fans that came last year for the NIT got to see this. What we're looking to do once the indoor football facility is completed is to relocate the indoor track to there, remove those bleachers and build out suites on that top side of the arena. It will reduce seating capacity but a 7-8K facility that's less open will make the place louder and more intimate anyway. FYI, the official name is the Murphy Center, but we call it the Glass House. The exterior is all windows.
That's about all I can think of right now.
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MTSU/FAU 
