Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
COLUMN – “It will change our program”
1/29/2023 6:01:00 PM | Football, General, BRAA
The groundbreaking of the Student-Athlete Performance Center this week represents a huge milestone for MTSU
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — It's no secret that Rick Stockstill has a reputation of being level-headed. While you can see his excitement on the sideline after a big Blue Raider touchdown, or after a win at No. 25 Miami, most of the time when he speaks to the media, whether it be after practice, during the offseason, after a win, after a loss, the tone is the same: steady.
Which is why when he took the podium during Thursday evening's groundbreaking for the new $66 million Student-Athlete Performance Center and practiced the five Bs of public speaking ("Be Brief, Baby, Be Brief"), the excitement was evident.
"It's a game changer," Stockstill said of the SAPC. "It will change our program."
Scheduled to open in the fall of 2024 on the site of the current weight room and game day room in the North End Zone of Floyd Stadium on the MTSU Athletics side of campus, the SAPC will be many things to Stockstill's football program. It'll house the team's locker room, its players' lounge, the various coaching and recruiting offices needed to run an FBS football program in the 2020s, as well as a plethora of other amenities for use by the athletic department (hydrotherapy pools, an updated weight room and a nutrition station, among others) or even the MTSU community as a whole (I can't wait to see the event space on the third floor come to fruition).
For Stockstill, it will give his program a chance to honor those who built the foundation, by giving it a brighter future than it's ever had before.
"I'm so happy for our players," Stockstill said. "I'm so happy for our future players, our coaches because we've gone without for so long... Not to be cliche or anything, but we're going to be on a level playing field now."
MTSU football has long had to work around questions about their facilities while out on the recruiting trail. To the point where Stockstill said they didn't always highlight every facility they use on every visit. That won't be a problem anymore.
Chris Adams, MTSU Women's Golf Coach, spoke at the groundbreaking as well, highlighting how the facilities being built are already making an impact in her program. Something that Director of Athletics Chris Massaro is quick to emphasize as well.
"Every sport will benefit from it," Massaro said. "It's a place for wellness. A place to train, get better, all those kinds of things."
There's much work to be done to get there on the demolition and construction side. In the coming months, Blue Raider fans will see the current building on site torn down, and the upper deck in the North End Zone will also be taken out. Weights will be moved; adjustments will be made to schedules for all sports and MTSU will make do in the interim for the future of their programs.
And while the SAPC is fully funded, the Build Blue campaign is still going strong, blasting through its initial $15 million goal to raise over $18 million from more than 300 donors for future facility projects, including the Murphy Center updates and an indoor practice facility. Stockstill himself contributed to the cause, along with a plethora of former players, including All-Pro Kevin Byard.
"I'm so appreciative of everybody that contributed," Stockstill said. "(I'm) ecstatic about former players contributing, no matter how much, because they're the ones that have invested. They're the ones that have practiced and played and maybe got hurt, hopefully they didn't. What they've sacrificed for this University, for this football program, for them to feel good about giving back, as a coach makes you feel good."
For this week, the ceremonial golden shovels, the piles of dirt covered by a tarp to keep them from freezing in the frigid temperatures, the hard hats worn by folks dressed in suits will have to hold everyone over. Because the SAPC is finally being built, and without a dime of state money, as MTSU Board of Trustees Chair Steve Smith said on Thursday.
And that fact has Chris Massaro dreaming of another big day in the future.
"It is a huge moment, but you always start thinking about the next one," Massaro said. "I'll be more excited for the ribbon cutting."
Which is why when he took the podium during Thursday evening's groundbreaking for the new $66 million Student-Athlete Performance Center and practiced the five Bs of public speaking ("Be Brief, Baby, Be Brief"), the excitement was evident.
"It's a game changer," Stockstill said of the SAPC. "It will change our program."
Scheduled to open in the fall of 2024 on the site of the current weight room and game day room in the North End Zone of Floyd Stadium on the MTSU Athletics side of campus, the SAPC will be many things to Stockstill's football program. It'll house the team's locker room, its players' lounge, the various coaching and recruiting offices needed to run an FBS football program in the 2020s, as well as a plethora of other amenities for use by the athletic department (hydrotherapy pools, an updated weight room and a nutrition station, among others) or even the MTSU community as a whole (I can't wait to see the event space on the third floor come to fruition).
For Stockstill, it will give his program a chance to honor those who built the foundation, by giving it a brighter future than it's ever had before.
"I'm so happy for our players," Stockstill said. "I'm so happy for our future players, our coaches because we've gone without for so long... Not to be cliche or anything, but we're going to be on a level playing field now."
MTSU football has long had to work around questions about their facilities while out on the recruiting trail. To the point where Stockstill said they didn't always highlight every facility they use on every visit. That won't be a problem anymore.
Chris Adams, MTSU Women's Golf Coach, spoke at the groundbreaking as well, highlighting how the facilities being built are already making an impact in her program. Something that Director of Athletics Chris Massaro is quick to emphasize as well.
"Every sport will benefit from it," Massaro said. "It's a place for wellness. A place to train, get better, all those kinds of things."
There's much work to be done to get there on the demolition and construction side. In the coming months, Blue Raider fans will see the current building on site torn down, and the upper deck in the North End Zone will also be taken out. Weights will be moved; adjustments will be made to schedules for all sports and MTSU will make do in the interim for the future of their programs.
And while the SAPC is fully funded, the Build Blue campaign is still going strong, blasting through its initial $15 million goal to raise over $18 million from more than 300 donors for future facility projects, including the Murphy Center updates and an indoor practice facility. Stockstill himself contributed to the cause, along with a plethora of former players, including All-Pro Kevin Byard.
"I'm so appreciative of everybody that contributed," Stockstill said. "(I'm) ecstatic about former players contributing, no matter how much, because they're the ones that have invested. They're the ones that have practiced and played and maybe got hurt, hopefully they didn't. What they've sacrificed for this University, for this football program, for them to feel good about giving back, as a coach makes you feel good."
For this week, the ceremonial golden shovels, the piles of dirt covered by a tarp to keep them from freezing in the frigid temperatures, the hard hats worn by folks dressed in suits will have to hold everyone over. Because the SAPC is finally being built, and without a dime of state money, as MTSU Board of Trustees Chair Steve Smith said on Thursday.
And that fact has Chris Massaro dreaming of another big day in the future.
"It is a huge moment, but you always start thinking about the next one," Massaro said. "I'll be more excited for the ribbon cutting."
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