Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
COLUMN: Gratitude for the Year that Was
5/28/2023 7:30:00 PM | General
Middle Tennessee had plenty of success on the field in 2022-23. Now, it’s time for even more
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — After the past few weekends in Middle Tennessee Athletics, it was very weird having a Sunday that gave me a chance to breathe.
Last Sunday, after all, I was sweating out a NCAA Regional Final with MTSU Softball in the Rhoads Stadium press box on the campus of the University of Alabama. In the past weeks, I was either at the Softball Field, or at Reese Smith Jr. Field, following the Blue Raiders on the diamond, or at the Adams Tennis Complex enjoying Blue Raider Tennis. Those seemed like peaceful weekends in contrast to the non-stop run of basketball season in the Murphy Center, to say nothing of juggling the hardwood with the gridiron this past fall.
Yes, summer comes for all of us in college athletics. But never is there a better time to think back on everything a program has accomplished in a year than right now, when the memories are still fresh from hard fought wins, heartbreaking losses and everything in between,
So with respect to Alaba Akintola, who is now the final Blue Raider competing this academic year after qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 100-meter and 200-meter after his rapid pace at this weekend's NCAA East Preliminaries, it's time for a quick look into the year that was in Murfreesboro, and an acknowledgement of the success MTSU has had on the field this year. Because thinking back on it this weekend, it's really quite remarkable.
We'll start with the three programs that reached the top of Conference USA in 2023: Men's Tennis winning their fourth straight title with ease in the spring, Women's Basketball capping off a dominant regular season with a dominant conference tournament run to get back to the NCAA Tournament, and Softball, ripping off four one-run wins to take the C-USA title and earn the program's third berth in the NCAA Tournament.
MTSU's four conference titles were the second most of any school in Conference USA this season (only counting the sports MTSU competes in, that is). The school with the most conference titles this year, Charlotte's seven after their win in the baseball tournament today, earned five of those titles within one program (sweeping cross country & indoor track and field, plus winning the men's outdoor title).
Only one other school that will be in Conference USA next season, FIU (women's tennis), won any conference titles in sports MTSU competes in (WKU was close, winning the regular season in volleyball, before falling to Rice the C-USA Tournament). The Blue Raiders are set up well to continue their strength in the new look Conference USA when the calendar turns to July and the conference welcomes Liberty, Sam Houston State, Jacksonville State and New Mexico State into the fold.
Outside of NCAA Tournament play, which those three teams plus Men's Golf got to experience in 2023, MTSU picked up nine ranked wins spread across six different programs in the 2022-23 season, starting with Football's marquee win over No. 25 Miami in Hard Rock Stadium and ending with Softball's win over No. 11 Alabama (No. 5 national seed) in the NCAA Tournament.
In between? There were exhilarating wins in the Glass House to celebrate her 50th anniversary, with men's basketball knocking off FAU and women's basketball taking down Louisville. Men's Tennis picked up a Top 25 win during the ITA Indoor Nationals and then knocked off No. 19 Northwestern on the road. Baseball picked up the final regular season Top 25 win of the year, taking down C-USA foe Dallas Baptist, then No. 16, on the road to help spark their eventual run in Houston this week, where the fell just one game short of making the conference title game.
And for this Blue Raider, more important than maybe anything else is the fact that MTSU was 19-8-1 against Western Kentucky this year.
On a personal note, MTSU has taken me places I could not have dreamed of two summers ago when I first took this Staff Writer job. I've had bylines filed from Honolulu, Hawai'i, to Frisco, Texas, to Durham, N.C., a special trip back to the Triangle for me, even if it had to be on the campus of Duke University.
But as much fun as the places have been and will continue to be, I'll remember the moments of 2022-23 far more. Alexis Whittington's And-1 to spark the Lady Raiders past UTEP and to the C-USA Tournament finals. DJ England-Chisolm outrunning everybody in 305 area code to put MTSU up three scores on the Hurricanes. Jimmy Borendame screaming like a madman after Marcel Kamrowski clinched the Conference USA Title.
It'll be a new era in just over a month's time, with four new Conference USA members and a ton of dirt moving around the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro. Just this week, I passed by the Dance Studios on the first floor of the Glass House, already laid down with hard flooring for the weight room that will be moved into the facilities in the coming weeks as the Student Athlete Performance Center construction gets underway this summer.
There will be plenty to strive for in that new era as well. I know I won't be satisfied until every one of those C-USA titles is MTSU's, and I think every coach on campus feels the same way. Until that time comes, however, it's worth remembering where we are. And where we are, with the people I get to see work every day, it's already a pretty remarkable place.
Thanks for reading along all year to my Sunday musings. I hope the stories of our student athletes and coaches here at Middle Tennessee have brought you closer to the programs you love. Telling those stories certainly has done the same for me.
The Sunday Column will take a bit of a summer break while the Blue Raiders are off from competing but stay tuned for some summer stories still coming from my writing desk. You can follow me on Twitter @sjdoughton, where I do a pretty good job of linking my stuff when it comes out.
Last Sunday, after all, I was sweating out a NCAA Regional Final with MTSU Softball in the Rhoads Stadium press box on the campus of the University of Alabama. In the past weeks, I was either at the Softball Field, or at Reese Smith Jr. Field, following the Blue Raiders on the diamond, or at the Adams Tennis Complex enjoying Blue Raider Tennis. Those seemed like peaceful weekends in contrast to the non-stop run of basketball season in the Murphy Center, to say nothing of juggling the hardwood with the gridiron this past fall.
Yes, summer comes for all of us in college athletics. But never is there a better time to think back on everything a program has accomplished in a year than right now, when the memories are still fresh from hard fought wins, heartbreaking losses and everything in between,
So with respect to Alaba Akintola, who is now the final Blue Raider competing this academic year after qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 100-meter and 200-meter after his rapid pace at this weekend's NCAA East Preliminaries, it's time for a quick look into the year that was in Murfreesboro, and an acknowledgement of the success MTSU has had on the field this year. Because thinking back on it this weekend, it's really quite remarkable.
We'll start with the three programs that reached the top of Conference USA in 2023: Men's Tennis winning their fourth straight title with ease in the spring, Women's Basketball capping off a dominant regular season with a dominant conference tournament run to get back to the NCAA Tournament, and Softball, ripping off four one-run wins to take the C-USA title and earn the program's third berth in the NCAA Tournament.
MTSU's four conference titles were the second most of any school in Conference USA this season (only counting the sports MTSU competes in, that is). The school with the most conference titles this year, Charlotte's seven after their win in the baseball tournament today, earned five of those titles within one program (sweeping cross country & indoor track and field, plus winning the men's outdoor title).
Only one other school that will be in Conference USA next season, FIU (women's tennis), won any conference titles in sports MTSU competes in (WKU was close, winning the regular season in volleyball, before falling to Rice the C-USA Tournament). The Blue Raiders are set up well to continue their strength in the new look Conference USA when the calendar turns to July and the conference welcomes Liberty, Sam Houston State, Jacksonville State and New Mexico State into the fold.
Outside of NCAA Tournament play, which those three teams plus Men's Golf got to experience in 2023, MTSU picked up nine ranked wins spread across six different programs in the 2022-23 season, starting with Football's marquee win over No. 25 Miami in Hard Rock Stadium and ending with Softball's win over No. 11 Alabama (No. 5 national seed) in the NCAA Tournament.
In between? There were exhilarating wins in the Glass House to celebrate her 50th anniversary, with men's basketball knocking off FAU and women's basketball taking down Louisville. Men's Tennis picked up a Top 25 win during the ITA Indoor Nationals and then knocked off No. 19 Northwestern on the road. Baseball picked up the final regular season Top 25 win of the year, taking down C-USA foe Dallas Baptist, then No. 16, on the road to help spark their eventual run in Houston this week, where the fell just one game short of making the conference title game.
And for this Blue Raider, more important than maybe anything else is the fact that MTSU was 19-8-1 against Western Kentucky this year.
On a personal note, MTSU has taken me places I could not have dreamed of two summers ago when I first took this Staff Writer job. I've had bylines filed from Honolulu, Hawai'i, to Frisco, Texas, to Durham, N.C., a special trip back to the Triangle for me, even if it had to be on the campus of Duke University.
But as much fun as the places have been and will continue to be, I'll remember the moments of 2022-23 far more. Alexis Whittington's And-1 to spark the Lady Raiders past UTEP and to the C-USA Tournament finals. DJ England-Chisolm outrunning everybody in 305 area code to put MTSU up three scores on the Hurricanes. Jimmy Borendame screaming like a madman after Marcel Kamrowski clinched the Conference USA Title.
It'll be a new era in just over a month's time, with four new Conference USA members and a ton of dirt moving around the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro. Just this week, I passed by the Dance Studios on the first floor of the Glass House, already laid down with hard flooring for the weight room that will be moved into the facilities in the coming weeks as the Student Athlete Performance Center construction gets underway this summer.
There will be plenty to strive for in that new era as well. I know I won't be satisfied until every one of those C-USA titles is MTSU's, and I think every coach on campus feels the same way. Until that time comes, however, it's worth remembering where we are. And where we are, with the people I get to see work every day, it's already a pretty remarkable place.
Thanks for reading along all year to my Sunday musings. I hope the stories of our student athletes and coaches here at Middle Tennessee have brought you closer to the programs you love. Telling those stories certainly has done the same for me.
The Sunday Column will take a bit of a summer break while the Blue Raiders are off from competing but stay tuned for some summer stories still coming from my writing desk. You can follow me on Twitter @sjdoughton, where I do a pretty good job of linking my stuff when it comes out.
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