New coach Derek Mason called MTSU football fans 'apathetic.' How he's trying to build a strong base

New Middle Tennessee State football coach Derek Mason said a rebuild was not necessary for the Blue Raiders team but he has been busy trying to build a fan base.

Mason, who said MTSU fans had become "apathetic" shortly after replacing Rick Stockstill as the coach last December, has spent a great deal of his time trying to sell the program.

"If I see somebody in the grocery store and they say 'go blue' I say 'go blue,'" Mason said. "And most of the time we stop and have a conversation about Blue Raider football. If I can see people out in my community then people get a chance to see who we are."

Mason talked about bolstering support and hopefully increasing the number of fans for a program that failed to fill half of its stadium for six home games in 2023 Tuesday at Conference USA football media day in Frisco, Texas.

MTSU's average attendance was 13,219 last season at 30,788-seat Floyd Stadium. Attendance dipped to an average of 9,945 for the last three home games.

Mason spent seven years at Vanderbilt where opposing fans often outnumbered the Commodores fans. But Mason believes MTSU has the potential to increase its fan base with what he called an "organic and blue collar" effort.

"Our fan base is passionate; I think our place could be like Boise, Appalachian State or (James Madison)," Mason said. "When you look at where we sit, from Shelbyville to Nashville one in five homes has an MTSU grad. That's a lot of folks. It's about getting out and creating connections within that community."

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Derek Mason building on what Rick Stockstill created

Even though he has 59 newcomers on the roster, Mason said the nucleus is in place for him to build on the program Stockstill spent 18 seasons developing.

"Something I learned when I stepped into the head coaching seat nine years ago was you don't change everything overnight," Mason said. "You look at your program, you see what are the strengths of your program, then you work to that. You recruit around that."

Safety Brendon Harris from Chattanooga started his career under Mason at Vanderbilt before transferring to Wake Forest. He transferred to MTSU for his final year of eligibility.

"When I started under coach Mason he was able to invest a lot into me," Harris said. "So coming into this season with coach Mason being new and trying to establish a culture I just felt like I could be a staple in the locker room to be that connection to bring all the guys together. Show them the right way to do it. The way coach wants them to do it."

After his Vanderbilt experience Derek Mason knows how tough it is to win

A look at the schedule reveals Mason won't have the chance to ease into his new job. After opening against Tennessee Tech the Blue Raiders play at Ole Miss followed by Western Kentucky and Duke at home before going to Memphis.

MTSU will not likely be favored in any of those games. But Mason is comfortable in the underdog role.

"I was the head coach at Vanderbilt so tough is relevant," Mason said. "The idea for us is to play a competitive schedule to see what your football team is made of. I tell these guys every day is a job interview. So what we intend to do these first six Saturdays is step on the field, present who we are, play good football and let the chips fall where they may."

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: New coach Derek Mason called MTSU football fans 'apathetic.' How he's trying to build a strong base