Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
The coronavirus impact: How MT Athletics has been affected
3/19/2020 5:30:00 PM | General, BRAA
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — With the world being tossed upside down, inside out and every which way, it's hard to believe Middle Tennessee was preparing for some exciting times on the field, hardwood, golf course and track just a week and a half ago.
On Wednesday evening, March 11, at 9:52 p.m., Conference USA announced that because of the COVID-19 scare, the remainder of the conference's men's and women's basketball tournaments would be played without fans. Then, following suit with other collegiate conferences and professional leagues, the next day shortly before 1 p.m., C-USA suspended all remaining winter and spring sports competition, effectively ending the basketball tournaments.
The NCAA followed a few hours later, canceling the men's and women's basketball national tournaments and the rest of the winter and spring sports championships.
Before the announcement at 1 p.m. on March 12, as C-USA's member schools were in discussions of canceling the basketball tournaments, Middle Tennessee's women's basketball team was still scheduled to play against LA Tech in the quarterfinals. The Lady Raiders were informed of the cancelation while they were warming up.
"We all knew it was coming, but we didn't know how fast it was coming," MT Director of Athletics Chris Massaro said. "I flew back on Thursday, and when I got home and got my suitcase thrown down, I got a text saying we as ADs needed to jump on a conference call. It was determined to cancel the entire tournament, and that was stunning.
"Those are really hard decisions to make, because you know how hard every kid on every campus has worked. So, your heart does break for them, but this is a very serious health issue. Any way we can help flatten the curve, that's what we're going to do."
It was still just the start of a whirlwind for the entire sports world, as society started to come to a crashing halt.
The Blue Raiders, in particular, had to see their spring seasons be cut short, as well as the women's basketball team's postseason — a frustrating development, considering MT was poised for success in several sports.
The aforementioned Lady Raiders were the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament and held a national RPI ranking of 46, which could very well have earned them an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if they didn't win the C-USA tourney.
Middle Tennessee's baseball team had just swept in-state rival Memphis in a two-game midweek series and was going into league play with four wins in their previous six games. Not to mention they had the league's top RPI and the sixth strongest schedule in the country. The softball team was 8-3 in its last 11 games and several players were inching towards milestones, including senior Summer Burgess being just 22 hits away from Precious Birdsong's career program record of 243.
On the tennis courts, the MT men's team sported a sharp 13-5 record, and the reigning C-USA champs were about to start league play against Rice. On the women's side, second-year head coach Tayo Bailey-Duvall had her ladies rolling, winning six in a row to bring their record to 9-5.
The Blue Raider golfers were gearing up for prestigious tournaments. The men were scheduled to be at the Schenkel Invitational hosted by Georgia Southern in just a few days and senior Tanner Owens had the single-season stroke average mark in his sights, while the women, who'd just arrived back in Murfreesboro from the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational hosted by UTSA, were about to embark on a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for the Hawkeye El Tigre.
As has become a regularity the past few years, the Blue Raiders track and field teams were about to send several runners to the NCAA Indoor Championships, including all-time greats Kigen Chemadi and Jacob Choge in the 5,000 meters. They were ranked ninth and 10th in the nation in the event, respectively, and they were also going to compete with the nationally ranked distance medley relay team with Brian Rono and Jaquez Torian.
Needless to say, the Blue Raiders had a lot to look forward to in athletics, and having to tell the student-athletes and coaches they weren't going to be able to compete was heart-breaking.
"Our spring sports athletes and our women's basketball team, that's where it really hurts," Massaro said. "If you've ever been around an athletic department or student-athletes, then you have an appreciation for how hard they work. It's difficult for them, but, as we're trying to teach, life's not always fair. You get dealt a bad hand, and it's about what you do with that hand and how you grow from it."
While he hurt for the student-athletes because their hard work in practice couldn't be rewarded, Massaro also had to start figuring out how to make sure they would stay safe, including the international students on several of the Blue Raiders' rosters.
"You worry about how long we can have open access to our training room for our kids coming off surgeries and rehabbing," Massaro said. "We're concerned about that group as well as our international athletes and whether they have the ability to go home or not … Every situation is a little different, so we're working through those on a case-by-case basis.
"We're making sure, as their surrogate parents here on campus, that if our student-athletes come back to campus, they know what their options are. Life could change a great deal, and we need to make sure our student-athletes are prepared for that and can handle and do well with it."
Just because there are no sports, that doesn't mean MT's student-athletes can relax too much, either.
All campus athletic facilities will be closed, including the training room, until March 23, and the weight room until April 6. However, while Middle Tennessee has also closed campus to students, they will still attend online classes remotely starting Monday, March 23 when spring break concludes.
"The university has announced we'll go online and do remote teaching the rest of the semester," Massaro said. "Some of our athletes will adapt very well to that, but others, we'll need to provide a more solid structure, because maybe they haven't done that before. We're making sure they're monitoring their assignments and making sure they're getting their work done in a timely fashion and staying up with it."
It's an unprecedented time around the world presently, and at Middle Tennessee, Massaro and the rest of the athletics department staff are doing all they can to help their student-athletes, coaches and community through the challenges.
"Our resources are going towards making sure our student-athletes are doing as well as they can right now," Massaro said. "That's our point of emphasis, as well as that when we come out of the back side of this, we come out of it stronger and better than we were, and more together."
Here are some of Middle Tennessee's coaches' thoughts surrounding the pandemic and cancelation of sports:
"The health and safety always come first and foremost with the team. It's time to focus on academics for the guys; for me, I'm trying to find other ways to serve them. I had them each send me their résumé and gave them some critiques. Next week, I will ask them to do a few other mini-assignments to help them in some life-skills areas. This is an opportunity to work on some other areas for them, and for us coaches, we can do things to better ourselves. I know I am already planning on how to move forward with our program and our new tennis facility in the near future, books I want to read, home projects and make up for all the family time I miss out on. All of the Blue Army will come out better when we return to action." — men's tennis coach Jimmy Borendame
"The COVID-19 outbreak is unfortunate for our team and the world. We have had a bittersweet end to our season. On one hand, our seniors were not able to end their seasons in the traditional way, while on the other hand, we were playing great in the midst of a win streak. Nonetheless, we understand how important it is for our country to get the spread of this virus under control. We embrace our sacrifice, as there are so many who have sacrificed much more as a result of this pandemic. We pray for those directly impacted by this virus and look forward to getting back into to the swing of things in due time." — women's tennis coach Tayo Bailey-Duvall
"This is certainly an unknown for everyone, and you see necessary precautions being taken in the best interest of the student-athletes. The whole thing with this virus is that it overrides everything. It has taken precedence. … It reminds me of when I was a junior in high school and we had a polio outbreak. That was the 1950s. The town I lived in (Naperville, Ill.) was hit hard. Our math teacher died, and all of the pools were closed because we were spreading it amongst ourselves. A girl in my class caught polio and her left arm was paralyzed. That was a long time ago, and it took time to develop the vaccine. You don't just develop a vaccine overnight. This is an invisible enemy, and you probably can't be too careful." — track and field coach Dean Hayes
"Having such a young team, losing valuable competition time is tough, and we were learning from each day out on the course. Anytime you have to look your team in the eye and tell them our season is canceled, after all the hard work they have put in, is hard, especially with all the bad weather and course conditions we've had. I am stressing to the team to stay at home and stay up on academics, and if help is needed at all, we will help. But, they are in a good and safe environment at home. So, we'll practice 'social distancing' and be safe." — women's golf coach Chris Adams
"I think this is a tough time for the world. Along with everyone, we are disappointed that the spring season was canceled. But, this matter is bigger than golf, and we just want everyone to stay healthy. With classes going online, time management will be the most important thing for our student-athletes. We will closely monitor all classes and continue to check in with our players daily to make sure they are staying on top of their classwork." — men's golf coach Mark McEntire
"It's been kind of a whirlwind couple of weeks for not just our program but every program on campus and a lot of people around the country. Obviously, we're very disappointed that the college baseball season had to be canceled, but we also understand we have to worry about the health and well-being of our student-athletes above everything. We're just making sure we listen to the government and follow all the rules they set out so we can limit the spread of the virus. Our guys are at home, and we're still going to provide them with guidance on remote learning and taking online classes. We're just telling them to stay away from large groups and listen to all the parameters the government is setting with this, and making sure they take this seriously." — baseball coach Jim Toman
"The season cancelation is really hard on all our kids, especially the seniors. They work extremely hard getting ready to perform each season. The sense of non-closure is what is really hard to grasp. Usually, you know when the end of their playing career is coming and mentally you prepare for it. This is different — one day you're playing, and the next someone has decided it's over. We talk to our kids about their self-worth is not softball, that softball is just a part of what they are. In this pandemic, we need to look at the big picture. Some people will lose their lives, some people will lose family members, some people will lose businesses or jobs. When you look at all those things, losing a sports season seems small. We will continue to monitor academics and make sure our kids are responsible for their coursework. They have to have a good structure at home and be disciplined enough to make distance learning work. We will send workouts and physical things for them to do at home with high physical expectations being placed on them for their return to campus. We hope that all Blue Raiders and all friends and families stay safe during this pandemic, and please everyone follow the CDC guidelines." — softball coach Jeff Breeden
On Wednesday evening, March 11, at 9:52 p.m., Conference USA announced that because of the COVID-19 scare, the remainder of the conference's men's and women's basketball tournaments would be played without fans. Then, following suit with other collegiate conferences and professional leagues, the next day shortly before 1 p.m., C-USA suspended all remaining winter and spring sports competition, effectively ending the basketball tournaments.
The NCAA followed a few hours later, canceling the men's and women's basketball national tournaments and the rest of the winter and spring sports championships.
Before the announcement at 1 p.m. on March 12, as C-USA's member schools were in discussions of canceling the basketball tournaments, Middle Tennessee's women's basketball team was still scheduled to play against LA Tech in the quarterfinals. The Lady Raiders were informed of the cancelation while they were warming up.
"We all knew it was coming, but we didn't know how fast it was coming," MT Director of Athletics Chris Massaro said. "I flew back on Thursday, and when I got home and got my suitcase thrown down, I got a text saying we as ADs needed to jump on a conference call. It was determined to cancel the entire tournament, and that was stunning.
"Those are really hard decisions to make, because you know how hard every kid on every campus has worked. So, your heart does break for them, but this is a very serious health issue. Any way we can help flatten the curve, that's what we're going to do."
It was still just the start of a whirlwind for the entire sports world, as society started to come to a crashing halt.
The Blue Raiders, in particular, had to see their spring seasons be cut short, as well as the women's basketball team's postseason — a frustrating development, considering MT was poised for success in several sports.
The aforementioned Lady Raiders were the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament and held a national RPI ranking of 46, which could very well have earned them an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if they didn't win the C-USA tourney.
Middle Tennessee's baseball team had just swept in-state rival Memphis in a two-game midweek series and was going into league play with four wins in their previous six games. Not to mention they had the league's top RPI and the sixth strongest schedule in the country. The softball team was 8-3 in its last 11 games and several players were inching towards milestones, including senior Summer Burgess being just 22 hits away from Precious Birdsong's career program record of 243.
On the tennis courts, the MT men's team sported a sharp 13-5 record, and the reigning C-USA champs were about to start league play against Rice. On the women's side, second-year head coach Tayo Bailey-Duvall had her ladies rolling, winning six in a row to bring their record to 9-5.
The Blue Raider golfers were gearing up for prestigious tournaments. The men were scheduled to be at the Schenkel Invitational hosted by Georgia Southern in just a few days and senior Tanner Owens had the single-season stroke average mark in his sights, while the women, who'd just arrived back in Murfreesboro from the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational hosted by UTSA, were about to embark on a trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for the Hawkeye El Tigre.
As has become a regularity the past few years, the Blue Raiders track and field teams were about to send several runners to the NCAA Indoor Championships, including all-time greats Kigen Chemadi and Jacob Choge in the 5,000 meters. They were ranked ninth and 10th in the nation in the event, respectively, and they were also going to compete with the nationally ranked distance medley relay team with Brian Rono and Jaquez Torian.
Needless to say, the Blue Raiders had a lot to look forward to in athletics, and having to tell the student-athletes and coaches they weren't going to be able to compete was heart-breaking.
"Our spring sports athletes and our women's basketball team, that's where it really hurts," Massaro said. "If you've ever been around an athletic department or student-athletes, then you have an appreciation for how hard they work. It's difficult for them, but, as we're trying to teach, life's not always fair. You get dealt a bad hand, and it's about what you do with that hand and how you grow from it."
While he hurt for the student-athletes because their hard work in practice couldn't be rewarded, Massaro also had to start figuring out how to make sure they would stay safe, including the international students on several of the Blue Raiders' rosters.
"You worry about how long we can have open access to our training room for our kids coming off surgeries and rehabbing," Massaro said. "We're concerned about that group as well as our international athletes and whether they have the ability to go home or not … Every situation is a little different, so we're working through those on a case-by-case basis.
"We're making sure, as their surrogate parents here on campus, that if our student-athletes come back to campus, they know what their options are. Life could change a great deal, and we need to make sure our student-athletes are prepared for that and can handle and do well with it."
Just because there are no sports, that doesn't mean MT's student-athletes can relax too much, either.
All campus athletic facilities will be closed, including the training room, until March 23, and the weight room until April 6. However, while Middle Tennessee has also closed campus to students, they will still attend online classes remotely starting Monday, March 23 when spring break concludes.
"The university has announced we'll go online and do remote teaching the rest of the semester," Massaro said. "Some of our athletes will adapt very well to that, but others, we'll need to provide a more solid structure, because maybe they haven't done that before. We're making sure they're monitoring their assignments and making sure they're getting their work done in a timely fashion and staying up with it."
It's an unprecedented time around the world presently, and at Middle Tennessee, Massaro and the rest of the athletics department staff are doing all they can to help their student-athletes, coaches and community through the challenges.
"Our resources are going towards making sure our student-athletes are doing as well as they can right now," Massaro said. "That's our point of emphasis, as well as that when we come out of the back side of this, we come out of it stronger and better than we were, and more together."
Here are some of Middle Tennessee's coaches' thoughts surrounding the pandemic and cancelation of sports:
"The health and safety always come first and foremost with the team. It's time to focus on academics for the guys; for me, I'm trying to find other ways to serve them. I had them each send me their résumé and gave them some critiques. Next week, I will ask them to do a few other mini-assignments to help them in some life-skills areas. This is an opportunity to work on some other areas for them, and for us coaches, we can do things to better ourselves. I know I am already planning on how to move forward with our program and our new tennis facility in the near future, books I want to read, home projects and make up for all the family time I miss out on. All of the Blue Army will come out better when we return to action." — men's tennis coach Jimmy Borendame
"The COVID-19 outbreak is unfortunate for our team and the world. We have had a bittersweet end to our season. On one hand, our seniors were not able to end their seasons in the traditional way, while on the other hand, we were playing great in the midst of a win streak. Nonetheless, we understand how important it is for our country to get the spread of this virus under control. We embrace our sacrifice, as there are so many who have sacrificed much more as a result of this pandemic. We pray for those directly impacted by this virus and look forward to getting back into to the swing of things in due time." — women's tennis coach Tayo Bailey-Duvall
"This is certainly an unknown for everyone, and you see necessary precautions being taken in the best interest of the student-athletes. The whole thing with this virus is that it overrides everything. It has taken precedence. … It reminds me of when I was a junior in high school and we had a polio outbreak. That was the 1950s. The town I lived in (Naperville, Ill.) was hit hard. Our math teacher died, and all of the pools were closed because we were spreading it amongst ourselves. A girl in my class caught polio and her left arm was paralyzed. That was a long time ago, and it took time to develop the vaccine. You don't just develop a vaccine overnight. This is an invisible enemy, and you probably can't be too careful." — track and field coach Dean Hayes
"Having such a young team, losing valuable competition time is tough, and we were learning from each day out on the course. Anytime you have to look your team in the eye and tell them our season is canceled, after all the hard work they have put in, is hard, especially with all the bad weather and course conditions we've had. I am stressing to the team to stay at home and stay up on academics, and if help is needed at all, we will help. But, they are in a good and safe environment at home. So, we'll practice 'social distancing' and be safe." — women's golf coach Chris Adams
"I think this is a tough time for the world. Along with everyone, we are disappointed that the spring season was canceled. But, this matter is bigger than golf, and we just want everyone to stay healthy. With classes going online, time management will be the most important thing for our student-athletes. We will closely monitor all classes and continue to check in with our players daily to make sure they are staying on top of their classwork." — men's golf coach Mark McEntire
"It's been kind of a whirlwind couple of weeks for not just our program but every program on campus and a lot of people around the country. Obviously, we're very disappointed that the college baseball season had to be canceled, but we also understand we have to worry about the health and well-being of our student-athletes above everything. We're just making sure we listen to the government and follow all the rules they set out so we can limit the spread of the virus. Our guys are at home, and we're still going to provide them with guidance on remote learning and taking online classes. We're just telling them to stay away from large groups and listen to all the parameters the government is setting with this, and making sure they take this seriously." — baseball coach Jim Toman
"The season cancelation is really hard on all our kids, especially the seniors. They work extremely hard getting ready to perform each season. The sense of non-closure is what is really hard to grasp. Usually, you know when the end of their playing career is coming and mentally you prepare for it. This is different — one day you're playing, and the next someone has decided it's over. We talk to our kids about their self-worth is not softball, that softball is just a part of what they are. In this pandemic, we need to look at the big picture. Some people will lose their lives, some people will lose family members, some people will lose businesses or jobs. When you look at all those things, losing a sports season seems small. We will continue to monitor academics and make sure our kids are responsible for their coursework. They have to have a good structure at home and be disciplined enough to make distance learning work. We will send workouts and physical things for them to do at home with high physical expectations being placed on them for their return to campus. We hope that all Blue Raiders and all friends and families stay safe during this pandemic, and please everyone follow the CDC guidelines." — softball coach Jeff Breeden
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