Massaro looks ahead after successful 2018-19

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Sitting at his desk in Middle Tennessee's historic Murphy Center, Chris Massaro is surrounded by a small amount of clutter and plenty of mementos. It's summertime around campus, and the pace is slower for much of campus, but it is full speed ahead for everyone in Murphy Center.

Massaro, who's heading into his 15^th year as athletics director at MT, is a little giddier than usual, and for good reason. Not only is it finally time for that summertime feeling, but he also gets to look back at a year full of success.

The Blue Raiders had a good 2018-19 athletics year, capturing three team Conference USA championships and having postseason competitors in 12 of 17 sports. They also played in conference title games in women's basketball and football, and the university hosted both the C-USA football and men's tennis championships, the latter of which they won on home turf.

A total of 73 Raiders were named all-conference, and Brent Stockstill, Marcus Byrd, Hanley Long and Peyton DePriest were named conference players of the year in football, men's golf, women's golf and women's soccer, respectively. Rick Stockstill, Mark McEntire, Jimmy Borendame and Dean Hayes all took home conference coach of the year awards, respectively, in football, men's golf, men's tennis and men's indoor track and field.

While the success on the field, court and course was well-documented for Massaro's athletics programs this year, there's plenty left on the horizon.

"We're really proud of what our student-athletes do, and I hope people appreciate how hard they work," he said. "This year was obviously very successful for us, and we have everything in place to try and keep that going into the future. We hope to accomplish even more next year."

Here are some of Massaro's thoughts on the year that was in Blue Raider athletics:

How special was this year to you personally?
Massaro: "We continued to do well in Conference USA, which is our No. 1 objective. We had three conference titles, and then we had one divisional championship in football. We had a good year, obviously. This spring, our student-athletes finished with a 3.0 average. Those are good numbers and we want to improve on those next year."

Do you believe the department is set up for continued success?
Massaro: "The previous year, we had five championships, and that was our high-water mark. That's the goal for next year is to get back to that five-win territory. I think when you look at our programs and their various stages, a lot of them are slated for both tremendous improvement and continued success. You see these sports and see what's happening, and you can't help but be energized by them taking it to the next level."

Conference USA recently signed a football broadcasting deal with NFL Network. How significant is that for the conference?
Massaro: "I think that's going to be great. Anytime Conference USA can associate ourselves with the NFL, we should really explore those possibilities. They're the No. 1 sports brand in America, and to have our games on that network is huge for the conference. When you realize their primary audience are football fans, you have a lot of crossover audience opportunities. It's a real win for us, and I commend our conference office for having that vision."

The athletics department has a few new coaches who really excelled in their first year at MT. What do you attribute that to?
Massaro: "They all inherited different circumstances, so it was really fun to watch and help counsel them through their first year. They're all very different, but they're all very maniacal about their recruiting and have a very clear vision of what they want their programs to be. That's what you look for in your interviews, and I'm very excited to see what unfolds with all of those programs.

"I'd really like to point out our women's tennis team, who had a new coach come in and the student-athletes still maintained a team 3.9 GPA. I tip my cap to them. That's a real joy to see."

The construction on Middle Tennessee Boulevard is finally rounding down, and it looks great. How nice will that be for fans this coming year?
Massaro: "For fan convenience to get to Floyd Stadium and the Murphy Center, it'll be much easier to come to our games now. It also just looks gorgeous, and really spurs the need to keep pressing on with our Master Facility Plan. We want people when they pull up to know where they're arriving and to realize how special it is. Our road now reflects that."

Any more updates on the Master Facilities Plan?
Massaro: "We're moving along with it. We're securing funding, and we've had a lot of conversations with the city. I think that's very important in terms of how the mutual benefit is good for both of us. We want to continue to try and get more activities and shows at our facilities beyond our events, so I think everyone can benefit from this plan. We're very excited about it and grateful that we have these kinds of possibilities to really transform our end of campus. It is important for us to continue to push on our facilities. Many schools are ahead of us and we can't fall further behind in this area."

This was Year 1 for selling alcohol at sporting events. Did it all go according to plan?
Massaro: "I think it went well. This spring, I had a lot of comments about how fans appreciated it, especially at baseball games. Having a beer and peanuts and watching baseball on a spring afternoon, it doesn't really get better than that. Our No. 1 driver was to help our fan enhancement and experience, especially that younger demographic (21-35) that everyone tries to capture. We didn't have, that I know of, any incidents in the stands or anything that were related to alcohol. That's not to say we'll be immune to that, so we have to keep being vigilant to make sure those situations don't occur, and if they do occur, they have to be an anomaly."

You're entering your 15^th year as athletics director at MT. How special of a number is that to you?
Massaro: "I saw something come out that said I'm the 11^th-longest tenured in the FBS at their particular institution. It's a cycle and a spectrum, and I think it's exciting to look and see how much farther along we are now than we were 15 years ago. I think we always have to try to stay one step ahead of the competition and dominate the conference we're in, and historically we've been able to do that.

"I'm as excited today as I've ever been to be the athletic director at MT, and a lot of that is because we have a great cadre of coaches. In a lot of ways, this thing isn't that hard if you have great coaches and great people in your athletic department, and we have that. I hope our fanbase is really proud of what we've been able to accomplish, and, more importantly, proud of our coaches and our student-athletes."

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

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