MTSU Mondays: kicking off pregame for football season; Media Arts student works Olympics

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MTSU kicking off pregame ‘Party in the Grove’ for football season

Middle Tennessee State University’s Walnut Grove, the traditional pregame gathering spot for students, alumni and fans of Blue Raider Football, will be louder and prouder this season with the addition of Party in the Grove, which will feature live music, food trucks and other fun activities.

The centerpiece of Party in the Grove will be a performance stage for bands, artists and DJs, set to start three and a half hours before kickoff of the six home football games. Two food trucks and several new sponsor tents and activities will be added to the mix as well.

Raider Walk, the traditional arrival of the team two hours before kickoff, remains in place, as does the family favorite features such as the Band of Blue, cheer and dance teams, bouncy houses and face painting. Space also remains for fraternities and sorority tents, as well as tailgating for alumni and others.

The party will wind down 45 minutes prior to kickoff with a “Follow Me to Floyd” parade, led by Student Government Association President Michai Mosby and Blue Zoo President Bretlyn Warner, who will also be the event’s emcees.

“Our goal with this, and our many other new initiatives tied to Athletics, is to build excitement and engagement on our campus during game days,” said MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee. “I appreciate the hard work and collaboration by the many offices and groups across the university to make this new event possible.”

With new head coach Derek Mason at the reins this season, Athletics Director Chris Massaro said the event “is just one of many great additions in the works this season to improve the game-day experience for our fans. We are all excited to begin this new era of Blue Raider Football.”

Noting the artist lineup for Party in the Grove will be announced soon, McPhee said, “I’m looking forward to welcoming some of our music industry alums to help us get the Party in the Grove started.”

Information about each pregame event and ticket information will be featured on the Blue Raider Athletics website, goblueraiders.com, as part of its game day information for fans.

Walnut Grove, an open area between Peck Hall and the Cope Administration Building, has long been a focal point on the MTSU campus.

It got its name after J.H. Bayer, a custodian at then Middle Tennessee State Teachers College, visited Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home in Virginia, and filled a paper bag with nuts that had fallen from trees growing when the nation’s first president lived there. Bayer planted the walnuts in the grove and the resulting trees became a source of beauty and shade throughout the years.

Blue Raider Football’s season begins at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, with the home opener at Floyd Stadium against historic rival Tennessee Tech.

MTSU Media Arts student works Paris Olympics

It was a summer opportunity of a lifetime for Middle Tennessee State University video and film production student Tobin Smith as he spent nearly a month in Paris, France, working production for NBC Sports during the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

Smith worked as a senior utility and Steadicam assistant. His role consisted of transporting gear from place to place, building the Steadicam and taking care of it and its operator.

“I was part of the ‘Maria Taylor Late Night Show,’ which consisted of my team and I going through the city to different locations like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and many more places to record shots for Maria’s show,” he said, referring to the NBC sportscaster.

Smith said he was fortunate to know someone already in the industry, and they helped show him the way.

“He took me under his wing and set me up with my first-ever production assistant job, and from there, I was able to learn new skills that led me to new jobs, and I moved up in the industry. Once I was at the level he thought was right, he brought me onto jobs like NBC’s Big Ten coverage and the Olympics as a stead assist,” he said of the summer opportunity.

Smith said his favorite part of working at the Olympics was the people.

“I was able to meet so many new people but also reconnect with old friends I hadn’t seen in a long time. The people I was around daily slowly became family in a weird way,” he said. “It was bittersweet to say goodbye in the end.”

Smith is a senior majoring in video and film production in the Department of Media Arts with a concentration in live production and a minor in mass communications. He will graduate next spring and hopes to direct movies, be a cinematographer or operate a Steadicam in the future.

MTSU Mondays content is provided by submissions from MTSU News and Media Relations .

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: MTSU Mondays: kicking off pregame for football season; Media Arts student works Olympics