MTSU Secures $66 Million For Student-Athlete Performance Center, Floyd Stadium Upgrades

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MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee. Photo: Kaitlyn Hungerford

Middle Tennessee State University has secured $66 million in funding to build a new student-athlete performance center as well as make upgrades to Floyd Stadium, as announced by University President Sidney A. McPhee on Monday (Nov. 15).

The new facility will be built on the site of the current weight and game day rooms adjacent to Murphy Center. The three-story structure will house training, strength and conditioning, and equipment centers. Football’s locker and meeting rooms and personnel offices will be moved from Murphy Center into the new facility.

“The importance of enhanced facilities became clear to me during the shifts in the national collegiate landscape prompted by the realignment of athletic conferences,” McPhee said. “The decision we made to remain with Conference USA aligns squarely with our desire to bring about meaningful change in our athletics campus.”

Design of the new facility will begin immediately, with project completion expected before the start of the 2024 Blue Raider football season. GMC+HOK, a team that helped build similar projects at Vanderbilt, Auburn, Georgia and other universities, will oversee design of the project.

McPhee also announced the launching of the “Build Blue” campaign on Monday. Trustees Board Chairman Steve Smith urged support of the Blue Raider Athletics Association’s Build Blue fundraising campaign which hopes to raise $15 million over five years for the project.

MTSU football head coach Rick Stockstill. Photo: Kaitlyn Hungerford

Football head coach Rick Stockstill and wife Sara donated $500,000 to the Build Blue campaign.

MTSU Director Athletics Chris Massaro announced a three-phase plan, with the Student-Athlete Performance Center (SAPC) being the first phase in the Blue Raider Athletics facilities investment.

Phase two of the plan would feature an upgraded and revitalized Murphy Center entrance, providing a grand, fan-friendly entrance, a large interior atrium and a ticket office. Internally, a state-of-the-art training and skill center for the men’s and women’s basketball programs, featuring a regulation 94-foot NCAA court, would also be constructed.

In phase three of the plan, a multipurpose indoor practice facility would be constructed to the east of the SAPC. The climate-controlled facility would provide all 17 Blue Raider athletic programs an indoor amenity to practice and train regardless of weather conditions.

“This is transformational for our department, for our University and for our community,” Massaro said. “We will be able to better develop our players, attract top-notch recruits, and make our student-athlete experience second to none. This will truly represent a turning point for Blue Raider football.”

To learn more about the Blue Raider Athletic Complex plans, see concept art, and make a donation, click here.

Steven Boero
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