Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
COLUMN: Taking a Middle Moment and Making it Happen
1/14/2024 9:22:00 PM | Football
Football’s revitalization of its refueling station reminds us of the importance of the little things
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Even when school is not in session on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University, the Murphy Center is never quiet.
There's always a basketball being dribbled, a coach on the phone with a student-athlete or recruit (depending on the time of the year) or, since the beginning of construction of the Student-Athlete Performance Center this summer, the clang of weights being lifted in the temporary weight room of Dance Studio A.
But this Friday, that symphony of activity was joined by the sounds of power drills, metal locking in with metal, Defensive Coordinators reading furniture building instructions to GAs, and soft rock music to help the painting go by a little faster.
Because Head Football Coach Derek Mason wanted to build a refueling station, and he didn't have time to outsource it.
"We talk about being Blue Collar," Mason said with a smile. "We could've outsourced this, but we didn't. We brought it in-house."
---
If you've listened to Mason's interviews since he's taken over as head coach of the Blue Raider football program, making sure his team has a top-notch nutrition program in place has been a constant theme of his early priorities. And it was something that would be a challenge in the near future at MTSU, given the construction of the SAPC.
The department's original nutrition facilities were in the Game Day room complex, just off the old weight room on the current site of the SAPC construction. When construction began this summer, a storage room in the hallways of the Murphy Center was made the temporary home for the protein powders, protein milk and other foods and beverages that help the team eat right to get the most out of their work outs. All the price of progress for the SAPC, which is going to feature a modern nutrition facility with many more amenities than the old Game Day complex to fuel the next generation of Blue Raiders.
But for now, the nutrition room being a storage space under the seats of the Glass House wasn't a room that looked inviting for folks to stop by, and there was plenty of room to rearrange the space to not only house more nutrition options, but to better serve the student athletes. So, Mason, with some help from Associate AD for Equipment & Capital Projects, Larry Maples, got to work.
Cabinets and shelves were ordered. Paint and rollers were picked up. New flooring, left over from the floor installation in the temporary weight room, was installed to better withstand additional wear and tear. And then, with some elbow grease from everyone in the football, strength and equipment offices, the new refueling station was assembled.
"This is about us being us, learning how to work together," Mason said. "We're going to ask this football team to work together, we're working together."
It was an impressive operation, with Mason spending his time painting the walls of the room dark black, Defensive Coordinator Brian Stewart helping Wide Receivers Coach Cornelius Williams attach a shelf into the new storage cabinet. Maples drew out the layout of the room on the side of a cardboard box, helping keep the operation organized. And before even three o'clock on Friday, the room had been transformed, with more plans to make it feel like a permanent space with wall art and additional resources to come in the weeks ahead.
Sure, at the end of the day, the refueling station is a little thing compared to wins on the field, all-conference players and championships that every program at MTSU is striving for, day-in and day-out. But it's a little thing that I think speaks a lot to who Derek Mason, and those he puts around him, are, in addition to why he's already fit at Middle Tennessee.
---
When I interviewed Mason for the MTSU Alumni Magazine shortly before the winter holidays (keep an eye out for the February 1 issue!), one part from the interview that didn't end up making the story was Mason's fondness for his time as an assistant at Weber State in Ogden, Utah, back in the days where the NCAA had rules in place for a restricted-earnings coach. Mason didn't make much money coaching the Wildcats in that position, but his love for his time at Weber was from the fact that he chased the responsibility of the job, his first position coach role in Division I.
Mason coached the Wildcat receivers, of course, but he also lined the practice fields and drove players home after practice. Many of his players were married and had families, a more common occurrence in a program that featured many players from the Church of Latter-Day Saints, helping further Mason's commitment to chasing that responsibility.
Days like Friday make it clear that commitment to responsibility is still at the heart of who Mason is, as much as has changed for Mason in the nearly 30 years since his time at Weber. And it was a reminder of the ways, big and small, that so many Blue Raiders across the athletic department uphold that commitment as well.
It's little things on the field, like Jerry Meyers and his staff filling dirt in the mound at Reese Smith Jr. Field, but also in both bullpens, after a long weekend series. But it's also in the community, like Tayo Bailey-Duvall's women's tennis team making time to volunteer for community organizations around Rutherford County, or Jimmy Borendame's men's tennis team taking time at a local elementary school to teach tennis in gym class.
In athletic communications, we do our best to show the ways of that responsibility, those Middle Moments, happen every day around our teams. But the social media metrics from Friday show that y'all would still like to see a lot more of it, even be a part of it when you can. That's good to know and it's certainly something I'll keep in mind in the near future.
And with campus soon to be alive with activity with the return of classes, I suspect we'll have many Middle Moments to share in the months to come!
There's always a basketball being dribbled, a coach on the phone with a student-athlete or recruit (depending on the time of the year) or, since the beginning of construction of the Student-Athlete Performance Center this summer, the clang of weights being lifted in the temporary weight room of Dance Studio A.
But this Friday, that symphony of activity was joined by the sounds of power drills, metal locking in with metal, Defensive Coordinators reading furniture building instructions to GAs, and soft rock music to help the painting go by a little faster.
Because Head Football Coach Derek Mason wanted to build a refueling station, and he didn't have time to outsource it.
"We talk about being Blue Collar," Mason said with a smile. "We could've outsourced this, but we didn't. We brought it in-house."
Take it easy on a bad weather Friday? Nah, that ain't us.
— Middle Tennessee Football (@MT_FB) January 12, 2024
It's a work day. New-look nutrition room coming soon.#BLUEnited | #BlueCollar pic.twitter.com/Z2wSN6Oy04
---
If you've listened to Mason's interviews since he's taken over as head coach of the Blue Raider football program, making sure his team has a top-notch nutrition program in place has been a constant theme of his early priorities. And it was something that would be a challenge in the near future at MTSU, given the construction of the SAPC.
The department's original nutrition facilities were in the Game Day room complex, just off the old weight room on the current site of the SAPC construction. When construction began this summer, a storage room in the hallways of the Murphy Center was made the temporary home for the protein powders, protein milk and other foods and beverages that help the team eat right to get the most out of their work outs. All the price of progress for the SAPC, which is going to feature a modern nutrition facility with many more amenities than the old Game Day complex to fuel the next generation of Blue Raiders.
But for now, the nutrition room being a storage space under the seats of the Glass House wasn't a room that looked inviting for folks to stop by, and there was plenty of room to rearrange the space to not only house more nutrition options, but to better serve the student athletes. So, Mason, with some help from Associate AD for Equipment & Capital Projects, Larry Maples, got to work.
Cabinets and shelves were ordered. Paint and rollers were picked up. New flooring, left over from the floor installation in the temporary weight room, was installed to better withstand additional wear and tear. And then, with some elbow grease from everyone in the football, strength and equipment offices, the new refueling station was assembled.
"This is about us being us, learning how to work together," Mason said. "We're going to ask this football team to work together, we're working together."
It was an impressive operation, with Mason spending his time painting the walls of the room dark black, Defensive Coordinator Brian Stewart helping Wide Receivers Coach Cornelius Williams attach a shelf into the new storage cabinet. Maples drew out the layout of the room on the side of a cardboard box, helping keep the operation organized. And before even three o'clock on Friday, the room had been transformed, with more plans to make it feel like a permanent space with wall art and additional resources to come in the weeks ahead.
Sure, at the end of the day, the refueling station is a little thing compared to wins on the field, all-conference players and championships that every program at MTSU is striving for, day-in and day-out. But it's a little thing that I think speaks a lot to who Derek Mason, and those he puts around him, are, in addition to why he's already fit at Middle Tennessee.
---
When I interviewed Mason for the MTSU Alumni Magazine shortly before the winter holidays (keep an eye out for the February 1 issue!), one part from the interview that didn't end up making the story was Mason's fondness for his time as an assistant at Weber State in Ogden, Utah, back in the days where the NCAA had rules in place for a restricted-earnings coach. Mason didn't make much money coaching the Wildcats in that position, but his love for his time at Weber was from the fact that he chased the responsibility of the job, his first position coach role in Division I.
Mason coached the Wildcat receivers, of course, but he also lined the practice fields and drove players home after practice. Many of his players were married and had families, a more common occurrence in a program that featured many players from the Church of Latter-Day Saints, helping further Mason's commitment to chasing that responsibility.
Days like Friday make it clear that commitment to responsibility is still at the heart of who Mason is, as much as has changed for Mason in the nearly 30 years since his time at Weber. And it was a reminder of the ways, big and small, that so many Blue Raiders across the athletic department uphold that commitment as well.
It's little things on the field, like Jerry Meyers and his staff filling dirt in the mound at Reese Smith Jr. Field, but also in both bullpens, after a long weekend series. But it's also in the community, like Tayo Bailey-Duvall's women's tennis team making time to volunteer for community organizations around Rutherford County, or Jimmy Borendame's men's tennis team taking time at a local elementary school to teach tennis in gym class.
In athletic communications, we do our best to show the ways of that responsibility, those Middle Moments, happen every day around our teams. But the social media metrics from Friday show that y'all would still like to see a lot more of it, even be a part of it when you can. That's good to know and it's certainly something I'll keep in mind in the near future.
And with campus soon to be alive with activity with the return of classes, I suspect we'll have many Middle Moments to share in the months to come!
MTSU Football Signing Day Press Conference 12/3/25
Wednesday, December 03
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Sunday, November 30
MTSU Football at New Mexico State post-game press conference – 11/29/25
Saturday, November 29
Raider Report Game 12 - MTSU vs. New Mexico State University
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