Feature photo by Shauna Reynolds
Story by Shauna Reynolds
When Middle Tennessee State University’s football season begins on Saturday, Aug. 31, the school’s newest fall tradition will also commence.
Party in the Grove is the result of months of planning and a collaboration of the Division of Student Affairs, the College of Media and Entertainment and Blue Raider Athletics. The party is the first in a series of six preceding Blue Raiders home games this season.
Festivities start at 3 p.m. in Walnut Grove between Peck Hall and the Cope Administration Building. Entertainers will take to the Grove stage at each event, with 2024 MTSU graduate Nick Edgerson, also known by his stage name Legendary Nedge, headlining the first weekend.
Food trucks, sponsor booths and family activities will also populate the Grove.
Party in the Grove is all about student involvement. When MTSU hired Derek Mason to coach the Blue Raiders, Student Body President Michai Mosby joined him in the conversation about student engagement with the football program.
“In order to get different results, we have to do things differently,” Mosby said. “And so, from day one, when it came to planning for this football season, we started with, ‘Okay, how are we engaging our students?’ And so here we are.”
Mosby witnessed Mason’s dedication to students on the first day of classes.
“Coach Mason was making sure that students knew who he was,” Mosby said. “He was personally inviting students to the game. And I think that personal touch is something that we lack and something that students gravitate to.”
Students can return that support to Mason and his team by showing up to celebrate and attending the game.
“They deserve to be supported, and I think that that goes a long way,” Mosby said. “And I think that our new coach needs to be supported, because, technically, he’s a freshman, too, right? And I think what we’ll see in return is when we support our team, they’ll support us. They perform better.”
Though the first game and party fall on a Labor Day weekend, Mosby doesn’t believe the timing will hurt student involvement.
“You have a lot of your students who are looking for something to do here in Murfreesboro,” Mosby said. “They’re looking for a reason to stay, and our hope is that we give them an opportunity.”
Before game time, the party will progress to its next stop. Along with Bretlyn Warner, president of MTSU’s Blue Zoo student section, Mosby will lead Party in the Grove attendees to fill the stands of Floyd Stadium, where the Blue Raiders will host the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech.
The party will continue before each home game, three hours before kickoff. HunterGirl and The Cadillac Three, two other acts with MTSU connections, will headline Sept. 14 and Sept. 21 respectively. Entertainers for the remaining home games have yet to be announced.
Shauna Reynolds is the Lifestyles Editor for MTSU Sidelines
To contact the Lifestyles Editor, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com
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