Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
COLUMN: “A little bit different?”
12/12/2021 3:50:00 PM | Football
The crazy logistics of playing a bowl game overseas have only led to more anticipation of this Friday’s game
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — For the first bowl season for me in the Middle Tennessee athletic office, it's been a hectic one. It seems like every day I came into work during the week, there was another problem being solved by someone.
Of course, every bowl season can be hectic, from planning media availability for coaches and players before and after the game, to figuring out the traveling roster of who's going on the trip, to even who's on each vehicle you have at the location. A beefed up, longer away game, at the end of the day.
But with the Bahamas Bowl this year, it was always fun seeing the equipment office grinding at the other end of the Murphy Center, and then hopping on Twitter to a tweet like this:
Or this:
Or this:
The logistics of getting an FBS football team, and everything that they bring with them to gameday, are more complicated than ever. And when that game happens to be at an island paradise outside the United States' borders, the operation's complexity increases tenfold.
From Associate AD for Equipment Larry Maples packing up his equipment super early in literal shipping containers so it can get to port to be shipped to Nassau. To Director of Football Operations Brent Brock spending his whole week after the announcement getting everyone's passport squared away, with an assist from Congressman Scott DesJarlais.
It's a process Rick Stockstill's staff was ready for, in part due to playing in the Bahamas Bowl back in 2015. But it was a song and dance that has only become even trickier to figure out thanks to changes in the world in the years in between the Blue Raiders' trips to Nassau.
"A little bit different? There's a lot different," Stockstill said of the logistical prep. "Coach Brent Brock, (Video Coordinator) Erik Bartlett, (Director of Player Personnel) Eli Miller, (Football Executive Assistant) Jan Worley, (Associate AD) Zackie Sanderson, Larry Maples, those people have just worked tirelessly and endlessly on this.
"Because there's so much more you have to do this year than the last time we went because of COVID. All the visas, all the testing protocols, all the things that we have to do on top of passports. It's mentally exhausting. I'm so tired of going through planes and who's going to be on a bus and who's going to sit next to each other. Those people have done a great job, I'm very appreciative of their sacrifices and hard work."
As I write this Sunday column, a lot of those folks Stock mentioned are already down at the Atlantis Resort where both Middle Tennessee and Toledo will stay. Double checking their work from earlier, setting up for the team's first practice on Tuesday, and getting ready for the bright and early flight the traveling party will take down to the Bahamas early on Monday morning.
If all goes to plan, a lot of work the support staff has put in will go unnoticed during the week. Buses will be on time, with everyone in the right seat, COVID testing will go off without a hitch, and customs will stamp everyone's passport as they arrive. But of course, their work hasn't gone unnoticed, and with some more hard work, the logistical success we've had to this point will be the first Blue Raider victory in the Bahamas in 2021.
Of course, every bowl season can be hectic, from planning media availability for coaches and players before and after the game, to figuring out the traveling roster of who's going on the trip, to even who's on each vehicle you have at the location. A beefed up, longer away game, at the end of the day.
But with the Bahamas Bowl this year, it was always fun seeing the equipment office grinding at the other end of the Murphy Center, and then hopping on Twitter to a tweet like this:
Special THANKS to the guys at Shipping and Receiving for helping us get Bahamas Bowl Equipment out December 3rd! #Equipped pic.twitter.com/ufH3SFBxm5
— MT Equipment (@MTSU_Equipment) December 4, 2021
Or this:
QTNA: @TheBahamasBowl travel limited to 25 passenger vehicles. How many @taguptuff bag tags are needed to match transportation vehicles?
— MT Equipment (@MTSU_Equipment) December 4, 2021
3 tags per person
25 people per vehicle
12 vehicles pic.twitter.com/i61eP9Ggtr
Or this:
Best text message I've received all day. @TheBahamasBowl #Equipped pic.twitter.com/OJQdMdgmlY
— MT Equipment (@MTSU_Equipment) December 10, 2021
The logistics of getting an FBS football team, and everything that they bring with them to gameday, are more complicated than ever. And when that game happens to be at an island paradise outside the United States' borders, the operation's complexity increases tenfold.
From Associate AD for Equipment Larry Maples packing up his equipment super early in literal shipping containers so it can get to port to be shipped to Nassau. To Director of Football Operations Brent Brock spending his whole week after the announcement getting everyone's passport squared away, with an assist from Congressman Scott DesJarlais.
It's a process Rick Stockstill's staff was ready for, in part due to playing in the Bahamas Bowl back in 2015. But it was a song and dance that has only become even trickier to figure out thanks to changes in the world in the years in between the Blue Raiders' trips to Nassau.
"A little bit different? There's a lot different," Stockstill said of the logistical prep. "Coach Brent Brock, (Video Coordinator) Erik Bartlett, (Director of Player Personnel) Eli Miller, (Football Executive Assistant) Jan Worley, (Associate AD) Zackie Sanderson, Larry Maples, those people have just worked tirelessly and endlessly on this.
"Because there's so much more you have to do this year than the last time we went because of COVID. All the visas, all the testing protocols, all the things that we have to do on top of passports. It's mentally exhausting. I'm so tired of going through planes and who's going to be on a bus and who's going to sit next to each other. Those people have done a great job, I'm very appreciative of their sacrifices and hard work."
As I write this Sunday column, a lot of those folks Stock mentioned are already down at the Atlantis Resort where both Middle Tennessee and Toledo will stay. Double checking their work from earlier, setting up for the team's first practice on Tuesday, and getting ready for the bright and early flight the traveling party will take down to the Bahamas early on Monday morning.
If all goes to plan, a lot of work the support staff has put in will go unnoticed during the week. Buses will be on time, with everyone in the right seat, COVID testing will go off without a hitch, and customs will stamp everyone's passport as they arrive. But of course, their work hasn't gone unnoticed, and with some more hard work, the logistical success we've had to this point will be the first Blue Raider victory in the Bahamas in 2021.
If you've worked in a college athletic department, you know how essential positions like a Director of Ops and other support staff are to a team's success.
— Miles McQuiggan (@MilesMcQuiggan) December 9, 2021
This is one of the most beautifully organized things I've ever seen in my life. https://t.co/qA1LZp1Tzq
Saturday, August 15
Tuesday, August 11
Tuesday, August 11
Monday, August 03
