Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Top Raider moments from 2016-17
6/25/2017 8:00:00 AM | General
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The 2016-17 school year provided Middle Tennessee with countless moments of euphoria in athletics.
The Blue Raiders claimed three team Conference USA championships, and individually they had 11 student-athletes take home a conference crown, 10 of which were cross country and track and field athletes. MT also finished the year as the second ranked C-USA school in the Learfield Director's Cup standings, coming in 88th out of 287 schools. It was the Raiders' highest ranking since 2009-10.
With all of the extraordinary highlights from Middle Tennessee's athletics, the athletic communications staff narrowed down what they believed were the Top 10 moments of the year for the Blue Raiders.
10) Men's golf hosts and competes in NCAA Regional
Middle Tennessee had never hosted an NCAA Golf Regional before 2017, and it hadn't hosted a regional in any sport since the 1979 NCAA basketball tournament. In conjunction with The Grove Club in College Grove, the Blue Raiders not only put on a tournament that many coaches and players said was the best regional they had been a part of in recent memory, but they also competed in the tournament. MT came home tied for sixth, one place from advancing to the NCAA Men's Golf Championships for the second time in school history.
Read More
9) Two coaches enter national hall of fames
Current Middle Tennessee head women's basketball coach Rick Insell and former Blue Raider baseball coach Steve Peterson both added national hall of fame inductions onto their résumés in the last year. Insell, who has compiled a 299-96 record with nine NCAA tournament appearances in 12 seasons at MT, entered the National Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, his sixth hall of fame nod. Peterson, who coached the Blue Raiders from 1988 until 2012 and had a 791-637-3 record with 18 total conference titles in the blue and white, was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame in Anaheim, California. It was his fifth HOF induction.
Read more about Coach Insell
Read more about Coach Peterson
8) Ty Petty and Reggie Upshaw close out all-time great Blue Raider careers
Two of Middle Tennessee's all-time best basketball players hung up their blue shoes in 2017, as seniors Ty Petty and Reggie Upshaw graduated and ended storied careers. Petty left the program as the only player ever to record more than 1,400 points, 500 assists, 300 rebounds and 190 steals. The Murfreesboro native also holds the top two single-season assist marks in school history and was named both an All-Conference USA First and Second Team member to add to a Conference USA Championship MVP. Upshaw, who guided the Blue Raiders to two straight NCAA appearances and first-round wins for the first time in school history, graduated with MT career records in wins, games played and games started. He also ended second in career minutes played, third in steals, fourth in bocks, fourth in rebounds, fourth in points, fifth in field goals made and tied for seventh in double-doubles. The Chattanooga native had All-Conference USA Second and Third Team honors and was named the 2016 C-USA Tournament MVP.
Read more about Petty
Read more about Upshaw
7) Richie James did something no other Division I wide receiver has ever done
There's no questioning the talent of redshirt junior wide receiver Richie James, and that talent was on full display during the Blue Raiders' regular season finale against Florida Atlantic. Starting quarterback Brent Stockstill was sidelined with an injury, and when backup John Urzua was knocked out of the game in the first quarter, MT turned to James to run the offense. The First Team All-CUSA member became the first NCAA Division I wide receiver to compile 200 yards rushing (207) and 100 yards receiving (120) in the same game after he took over in the Wildcat formation. The Raiders went on to win the game 77-56, securing an 8-4 regular season ahead of a Hawai'i Bowl berth. James also set the school's single-season receiving yards record in the game, and he and running back I'Tavius Mathers became the sixth teammate duo in NCAA Division I history to each run for over 200 yards in the same game.
Read More
6) Jenna Burris dominates at the Conference USA Championship
Redshirt sophomore golfer Jenna Burris put on a show at the Conference USA Championship in April, and in the process she provided Middle Tennessee with the feel-good story of the year. The Manchester, Tennessee, native carded a 7-under 209 three-round score, including a career-low round of 67, to take home the individual conference title, six strokes ahead of the closest golfer. While she was navigating the course, on her arm was written "This one's for you, Paps," an inspirational slogan written for her grandfather, who was fighting cancer and couldn't be there to see her win in person. The individual conference crown was the second ever for MT, and Burris' 209 went down as the second best three-round total in school history.
Read More
5) Dean Hayes wins 50th conference title as head coach
Legendary cross country and track and field head coach Dean Hayes hit another milestone in 2017. With a team victory in the Conference USA Indoor Track and Field Championships on the men's side, the USTFCCCA hall of famer notched his 50th career conference title. The Blue Raiders set four school records and one meet record during their first ever indoor team conference victory. The 50th league championship for Hayes came 40 years after his first with MT, a win on the men's side in the 1977 Ohio Valley Track and Field Outdoor Championships. He was also named C-USA Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year, his 31st such honor.
Read More
4) Football team gets road win at Missouri
Middle Tennessee got its first road win over a Southeastern Conference opponent since beating Vanderbilt in 2005 with a 51-45 victory over Missouri on Oct. 22. With 6 minutes, 17 seconds remaining, Canon Rooker knocked in his third field goal of the day to widen the lead to 51-45, and from there the Blue Raider defense held on. It was the offense that guided MT to its fourth win over an SEC school in 26 tries. The Raiders accounted for 584 total yards, led by redshirt senior running back I'Tavius Mathers. The Murfreesboro native and ex-Ole Miss standout racked up 215 yards rushing and 48 yards receiving with two touchdowns. It was his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game.
Read More
3) Choge becomes first MT cross country All-American
Freshman cross country and track and field runner Jacob Choge had what legendary head coach Dean Hayes called the best freshman distance running campaign in school history in 2016-17. The Kapsabet City, Kenya, native became the first Blue Raider runner ever to be named a cross country All-American after he placed 40th in the NCAA National Championships, which was also the first appearance for Middle Tennessee as a team. Choge was the first MT runner to be named C-USA Athlete of the Year in cross country after winning an individual championship at the conference meet, and he took home the school's first individual South Regional title. In track and field, he was named Second-Team All-American in the outdoor 10,000-meter and took home four individual conference titles, two in the indoor season and two outdoors. He currently owns four individual school records.
Read More
2) Men's basketball wins second NCAA Tournament Round of 64 game in a row
The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team became the first program in NCAA Tournament history to win first-round games in consecutive years over major conference teams as a 12 seed or lower when the 12th-seeded Blue Raiders handled fifth-seeded Minnesota 81-72 on March 16. It was the second year in a row a Big Ten team fell victim to MT after second-seeded Michigan State was upset by the 15th-seeded Raiders in 2016. Senior Reggie Upshaw, who closed out one of the greatest careers for any student-athlete at Middle Tennessee when the Blue Raiders lost to Butler in the Round of 32, led the way over Minnesota with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and nine rebounds. He also hit a clutch 3-pointer from the right corner with just under seven minutes remaining to turn a four-point lead into seven, and the Golden Gophers never got any closer. The play would go on to be the Raiders' Choice Awards Play of the Year.
Read More
1) Men's basketball clinches best conference season in Conference USA history
Middle Tennessee's win as a 12 seed over fifth-seeded Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament was one of the biggest wins in school history, but it may not have been possible without the Blue Raiders' victory in the Conference USA Tournament final. Without its 83-72 win over Marshall to clinch a second straight C-USA Tournament crown, it's no telling if MT would have made the tournament, let alone as a 12 seed. The win over the Thundering Herd, in which Middle Tennessee never trailed, capped a dominant C-USA season for the Blue Raiders. On their way to shattering the school record for wins in a season with 31 (31-5), they set a C-USA record with 17 regular-season league wins (17-1) and became just the fourth program in C-USA history to register 30 or more wins in a season. Middle Tennessee's 21 wins in the 2017 calendar year were also tied for the second most in NCAA Division I.
Read More
The Blue Raiders claimed three team Conference USA championships, and individually they had 11 student-athletes take home a conference crown, 10 of which were cross country and track and field athletes. MT also finished the year as the second ranked C-USA school in the Learfield Director's Cup standings, coming in 88th out of 287 schools. It was the Raiders' highest ranking since 2009-10.
With all of the extraordinary highlights from Middle Tennessee's athletics, the athletic communications staff narrowed down what they believed were the Top 10 moments of the year for the Blue Raiders.
10) Men's golf hosts and competes in NCAA Regional
Middle Tennessee had never hosted an NCAA Golf Regional before 2017, and it hadn't hosted a regional in any sport since the 1979 NCAA basketball tournament. In conjunction with The Grove Club in College Grove, the Blue Raiders not only put on a tournament that many coaches and players said was the best regional they had been a part of in recent memory, but they also competed in the tournament. MT came home tied for sixth, one place from advancing to the NCAA Men's Golf Championships for the second time in school history.
Read More
9) Two coaches enter national hall of fames
Current Middle Tennessee head women's basketball coach Rick Insell and former Blue Raider baseball coach Steve Peterson both added national hall of fame inductions onto their résumés in the last year. Insell, who has compiled a 299-96 record with nine NCAA tournament appearances in 12 seasons at MT, entered the National Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, his sixth hall of fame nod. Peterson, who coached the Blue Raiders from 1988 until 2012 and had a 791-637-3 record with 18 total conference titles in the blue and white, was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame in Anaheim, California. It was his fifth HOF induction.
Read more about Coach Insell
Read more about Coach Peterson
8) Ty Petty and Reggie Upshaw close out all-time great Blue Raider careers
Two of Middle Tennessee's all-time best basketball players hung up their blue shoes in 2017, as seniors Ty Petty and Reggie Upshaw graduated and ended storied careers. Petty left the program as the only player ever to record more than 1,400 points, 500 assists, 300 rebounds and 190 steals. The Murfreesboro native also holds the top two single-season assist marks in school history and was named both an All-Conference USA First and Second Team member to add to a Conference USA Championship MVP. Upshaw, who guided the Blue Raiders to two straight NCAA appearances and first-round wins for the first time in school history, graduated with MT career records in wins, games played and games started. He also ended second in career minutes played, third in steals, fourth in bocks, fourth in rebounds, fourth in points, fifth in field goals made and tied for seventh in double-doubles. The Chattanooga native had All-Conference USA Second and Third Team honors and was named the 2016 C-USA Tournament MVP.
Read more about Petty
Read more about Upshaw
7) Richie James did something no other Division I wide receiver has ever done
There's no questioning the talent of redshirt junior wide receiver Richie James, and that talent was on full display during the Blue Raiders' regular season finale against Florida Atlantic. Starting quarterback Brent Stockstill was sidelined with an injury, and when backup John Urzua was knocked out of the game in the first quarter, MT turned to James to run the offense. The First Team All-CUSA member became the first NCAA Division I wide receiver to compile 200 yards rushing (207) and 100 yards receiving (120) in the same game after he took over in the Wildcat formation. The Raiders went on to win the game 77-56, securing an 8-4 regular season ahead of a Hawai'i Bowl berth. James also set the school's single-season receiving yards record in the game, and he and running back I'Tavius Mathers became the sixth teammate duo in NCAA Division I history to each run for over 200 yards in the same game.
Read More
6) Jenna Burris dominates at the Conference USA Championship
Redshirt sophomore golfer Jenna Burris put on a show at the Conference USA Championship in April, and in the process she provided Middle Tennessee with the feel-good story of the year. The Manchester, Tennessee, native carded a 7-under 209 three-round score, including a career-low round of 67, to take home the individual conference title, six strokes ahead of the closest golfer. While she was navigating the course, on her arm was written "This one's for you, Paps," an inspirational slogan written for her grandfather, who was fighting cancer and couldn't be there to see her win in person. The individual conference crown was the second ever for MT, and Burris' 209 went down as the second best three-round total in school history.
Read More
5) Dean Hayes wins 50th conference title as head coach
Legendary cross country and track and field head coach Dean Hayes hit another milestone in 2017. With a team victory in the Conference USA Indoor Track and Field Championships on the men's side, the USTFCCCA hall of famer notched his 50th career conference title. The Blue Raiders set four school records and one meet record during their first ever indoor team conference victory. The 50th league championship for Hayes came 40 years after his first with MT, a win on the men's side in the 1977 Ohio Valley Track and Field Outdoor Championships. He was also named C-USA Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year, his 31st such honor.
Read More
4) Football team gets road win at Missouri
Middle Tennessee got its first road win over a Southeastern Conference opponent since beating Vanderbilt in 2005 with a 51-45 victory over Missouri on Oct. 22. With 6 minutes, 17 seconds remaining, Canon Rooker knocked in his third field goal of the day to widen the lead to 51-45, and from there the Blue Raider defense held on. It was the offense that guided MT to its fourth win over an SEC school in 26 tries. The Raiders accounted for 584 total yards, led by redshirt senior running back I'Tavius Mathers. The Murfreesboro native and ex-Ole Miss standout racked up 215 yards rushing and 48 yards receiving with two touchdowns. It was his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game.
Read More
3) Choge becomes first MT cross country All-American
Freshman cross country and track and field runner Jacob Choge had what legendary head coach Dean Hayes called the best freshman distance running campaign in school history in 2016-17. The Kapsabet City, Kenya, native became the first Blue Raider runner ever to be named a cross country All-American after he placed 40th in the NCAA National Championships, which was also the first appearance for Middle Tennessee as a team. Choge was the first MT runner to be named C-USA Athlete of the Year in cross country after winning an individual championship at the conference meet, and he took home the school's first individual South Regional title. In track and field, he was named Second-Team All-American in the outdoor 10,000-meter and took home four individual conference titles, two in the indoor season and two outdoors. He currently owns four individual school records.
Read More
2) Men's basketball wins second NCAA Tournament Round of 64 game in a row
The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team became the first program in NCAA Tournament history to win first-round games in consecutive years over major conference teams as a 12 seed or lower when the 12th-seeded Blue Raiders handled fifth-seeded Minnesota 81-72 on March 16. It was the second year in a row a Big Ten team fell victim to MT after second-seeded Michigan State was upset by the 15th-seeded Raiders in 2016. Senior Reggie Upshaw, who closed out one of the greatest careers for any student-athlete at Middle Tennessee when the Blue Raiders lost to Butler in the Round of 32, led the way over Minnesota with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and nine rebounds. He also hit a clutch 3-pointer from the right corner with just under seven minutes remaining to turn a four-point lead into seven, and the Golden Gophers never got any closer. The play would go on to be the Raiders' Choice Awards Play of the Year.
Read More
1) Men's basketball clinches best conference season in Conference USA history
Middle Tennessee's win as a 12 seed over fifth-seeded Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament was one of the biggest wins in school history, but it may not have been possible without the Blue Raiders' victory in the Conference USA Tournament final. Without its 83-72 win over Marshall to clinch a second straight C-USA Tournament crown, it's no telling if MT would have made the tournament, let alone as a 12 seed. The win over the Thundering Herd, in which Middle Tennessee never trailed, capped a dominant C-USA season for the Blue Raiders. On their way to shattering the school record for wins in a season with 31 (31-5), they set a C-USA record with 17 regular-season league wins (17-1) and became just the fourth program in C-USA history to register 30 or more wins in a season. Middle Tennessee's 21 wins in the 2017 calendar year were also tied for the second most in NCAA Division I.
Read More
MTSU Women's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs Kennesaw State 2/14/26
Sunday, February 15
MTSU Men's Basketball Recap vs Kennesaw State University
Friday, February 13
MTSU Women's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs Jax State 2/12/26
Friday, February 13
Blue Raider Notebook Presented by TOA - February 9th
Monday, February 09
