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HOMECOMING ’04
Fun, activities spice ‘Monster Bash’
Oct. 29-30
By Tonya Johnson
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Jordan Yates, now age 5, daughter of Charles and alumna Courtney
Yates (B.B.A. ’83), enjoys a fun ride down the slide during
the Homecoming 2003 activities.
(Click for Homecoming 2004
schedule.)
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MTSU Homecoming 2004’s “Monster
Bash”theme has special treats in store, and alumni and friends
are encouraged to return to campus to celebrate the event Blue Raider
style Oct. 29-30.
The activities planned for this year include all of the familiar favorites
with some great additions that are sure to become popular among the
university’s family, friends and fans.
“Monster Bash Homecoming is the perfect time for family and friends
to reunite on campus for a spirit-filled weekend of Blue Raider fun,”said
Michelle Stepp, assistant director, alumni relations. “There’s
something for everyone, and we’re ready to welcome our family back
home for the making of more MTSU memories.”
The festivities kick off Monday, Oct. 25, with a T-shirt swap that continues
through Oct. 29.
Students can visit the Alumni Center any day of the week between 8 a.m.
and 4:30 p.m. to trade a T-shirt from another school for a free MTSU
shirt to replace it. All shirts collected will be donated to local charities.
A new event on Oct. 27, the Great Pizza Pass-Out, will offer Greek and
student organization alumni a sneak peek at the floats that will be
displayed in Saturday’s Homecoming parade. Alumni should meet at
the Alumni Center at 8 p.m. to visit the float sites and dish out pizza
to the hungry students finishing their floats.
At 12:30 p.m. Oct. 29, the newest members will be inducted into the
Golden Raiders Society, which honors alumni who graduated from or attended
MTSU 50 or more years ago. After the ceremony and luncheon, guests will
have the chance to see how much has changed with a campus bus tour led
by current students.
At 7 p.m., the annual Pigskin Pregame will take place at the Emmett
and Rose Kennon Sports Hall of Fame. Pigskin Pregame will feature music,
food and fun. All proceeds benefit the Rutherford County scholarship
fund. It has become an alumni tradition and is a place to connect with
friends.
The week ends on Oct. 30, with many fun alumni activities planned. A
free continental breakfast and open house at the Alumni Center will
be offered at 8 a.m., followed by the Homecoming parade at 9:30. Dr.
Aaron Todd will serve as grand marshal, and the Golden Raiders and Baby
Raiders will be featured participants. Complimentary parade seating
will be available near the Alumni Center on S. Tennessee Boulevard.
After the parade at 11 a.m., alumni and friends are encouraged to attend
the Raider Walk in Walnut Grove as the football team makes a special
pregame appearance.
At 11:30, food will be available under the big tent in Walnut Grove
and will continue until 1:30 p.m. Tailgating crews will be on hand before
the 2 p.m. kickoff to compete in the annual Blue Bolt Tailgate Contest,
where food and creativity will be judged to earn a coveted trophy and
$250 in prize money.
For a detailed schedule or registration information, visit mtalumni.com,
call 1-800-533-MTSU (6878) or 615-898-2922.
Floyd Stadium was renovated in 1998, and its seating
capacity was increased to 30,788. A crowd of 27,568 saw the Blue
Raiders beat Tennessee State University
28-27 on Sept. 5, 1998. |
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Mandate
NCAA decrees MTSU must average 15,000 fans
to remain in I-A
By Tony Stinnett
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee stresses the need to have more than
15,000 fans flock to Floyd Stadium for Blue Raider football games throughout
the fall.
McPhee is all for packed stadiums, but he has issues with being told
the football program must average 15,000 fans or risk losing its Division
I-A status.
Beginning in 2004, NCAA legislation requires the 117 schools that play
Division I-A football to average 15,000 in attendance (actual, not paid).
Though not yet formally adopted, the consequences for failing to average
15,000 in home attendance would be probation the first year – including
a postseason ban.
If the school fails to meet the standard a second consecutive season,
it will be placed on provisional status and denied participation in
a bowl game. Failure to meet the attendance requirement a third year
could result in the football program being dropped to I-AA.
McPhee wants to see Floyd Stadium filled well beyond 15,000 for each
of the five home games in 2004 (click schedule), but not because of
pending legislation that threatens the future status of the program.
“I want our fans to know that we are interested in filling our
stadium,” McPhee said. “We want to draw more than 15,000,
but the notion of putting that as an absolute criteria and if you miss
it you are out forever obviously was something the bigger schools pushed
for. I am not pushing for this legislation because I want to get out
of the 15,000 requirement, but I don’t want other parts of our
university to hinge on one or two years of not meeting those requirements
either.”
Middle Tennessee averaged 11,021 for six home dates in 2003, and the
university’s athletic department is in the midst of its season
ticket campaign. McPhee is a member of the NCAA Executive Committee,
which sets policy, and he says the group, which includes a president
from each conference, will take another look at the issue in August.
McPhee says the attendance requirement is not necessarily set in stone.
“While the NCAA has approved the 15,000, the board has not voted
on the penalty or what will happen if schools don’t meet that,”
McPhee said. “That’s the big debate that will occur in August
when we have our next meeting. I need to make it clear that this isn’t
an argument against the 15,000 because I want to see our stadium filled
with 30,000, but if the school has a bad year or a bad two years, should
it be kicked out of Division I-A?”
When Middle Tennessee officials made the decision to upgrade the university’s
football program from Division I-AA to Division I-A for the 1999 season,
they made sure to meet all requirements for I-A status, including averaging
17,000 fans the year prior and having a stadium that seats at least
30,000. Middle Tennessee averaged 21,816 in paid attendance in 1998
and renovated Floyd Stadium to seat 30,788.
“We did everything asked of us to meet the standard to become a
Division I-A football-playing school,” said Boots Donnelly, MTSU
athletics director and former long-time Blue Raider coach. “The
discouraging thing is we did everything asked of us and then they want
to change the rules. We have to make sure we do our part, but it’s
not right to dictate to institutions how many people they have to put
into the stands in order to play at the highest level.”
While the 15,000 attendance requirement is not set in stone at the present,
university officials must operate and push for season ticket sales as
though it is because the inability to average 15,000 if the legislation
is put into law would mean bad news for at least 11 I-A programs that
failed to average that magic number in 2003.
Tony Stinnett is an assistant director in athletic media relations.
NOTEWORTHY
'Miss Tennessee’ Eicher heads to Atlantic
City
Alumna Ashley Eicher (B.S. ’02) saw the next year of her life take
an exciting and dramatic twist when she was crowned Miss Tennessee 2004
in Jackson. The Nashville resident, who was Miss Murfreesboro during
the pageant, beat 35 contestants to earn the crown and the right to
represent Tennessee in the Miss America pageant in September.
Eicher, 24, a recording industry major who has
worked for a year and a half for country music singer Wynonna Judd,
said her platform as Miss Tennessee will focus on the importance of
keeping music education in schools. Her rendition of “Take My Hand,
Precious Lord” won the talent portion of the pageant.
First runner-up Ashley Brooks (B.M. ’03) also attended MTSU. Sarah
Hamner, Miss Middle Tennessee Blue Raider, and Eicher were pageant roommates.
Perryman receives national recognition
Elaine S. Perryman (B.B.A. ’87, M.Ed. ’92)
of Franklin designed, developed and implemented the Incumbent Worker
Program for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development,
earning a national honor from the Business Relations Group in Washington,
D.C., earlier this year. Perryman, administrator, employment and workforce
development, serves as state coordinator in the Partnerships for Jobs
Initiative.
ALUMNI MAKING WAVES
• Bob Jacobs (B.S. ’82) serves
as director of media services and news chief for the National Aeronautics
and Space Adminis- tration in Washing- ton, D.C. He formerly was with
WMOT-JAZZ89.
• Caroline I. Mohr (M.S. ’74
in biology) received the Scherago-Rubin Award from the American Society
for Microbiology in recognition of her work in the clinical laboratory.
Mohr is microbiologist at the Epidemiology and Laboratory Branch, Centers
for Disease Control, in Atlanta.
Special events planned for Opry, Texas speedway
MTSU aumni will meet at Texas Motor Speedway
in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this fall.
TMS President Eddie Gossage (B.S. ’82) and
his staff will coordinate efforts for an event that likely will be held
either Oct. 1 (Friday) or Oct. 2 (Saturday) at a time to be announced.
The event will coincide with MTSU’s 6:05 p.m. Oct. 2 football game
at North Texas.
Joe Bales, vice president for development and university relations,
also said alumni and friends of the university can look forward to “MTSU
Night at the Grand Ole Opry” on the night of Oct. 19 in Nashville
at the Grand Ole Opry House.
Visit mtalumni.com for updates.
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Country conversation
Grand Ole Opry General Manager Pete Fisher (B.S. ’87) visits
with Dr. Anantha Babbili, dean, mass communication at the Recording
Industry Alumni Reception June 10 at the Hilton Suites Nashville
hotel. About 170 people attended the event.
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