The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders college football team represents Middle Tennessee State University in Conference USA (C-USA), as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 16 head coaches since it began play during the 1911 season. Since December 2023, Derek Mason has served as head coach at Middle Tennessee.
Three coaches have led Middle Tennessee in postseason playoff or bowl games: Charles M. Murphy, Boots Donnelly, and Rick Stockstill. Five coaches have won conference championships: Johnny Floyd won two as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association; Charles M. Murphy won nine as a member of the Volunteer State Athletic Conference; Murphy won seven and Boots Donnelly won four as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference; and Andy McCollum and Stockstill each won one as a member of the Sun Belt Conference.
Murphy is the leader in seasons coached, with 22 years as head coach and in games coached (226) and won (155). Johnny Floyd has the highest winning percentage at 0.782. Donald E. Fuoss has the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with 0.100. Of the 16 different head coaches who have led the Blue Raiders, Donnelly has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Key
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage | ||||
Coaches
| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | DC | CC | NC | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | L. T. "Mutt" Weber | 1911–1912 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.500 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 2 | Alfred B. Miles | 1913–1916 1919–1923 |
54 | 36 | 14 | 4 | 0.704 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 3 | Johnny Floyd | 1917 1935–1938 |
39 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 0.782 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 0.658 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | — |
| 4 | Guy Stephenson | 1924–1925 | 17 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 0.294 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 5 | Frank Faulkinberry | 1926–1932 | 63 | 33 | 26 | 4 | 0.556 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.400 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 6 | E. M. Waller | 1933–1934 | 18 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 0.194 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.125 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 7 | Ernest Alley | 1939 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0.188 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0.214 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 8 | Elwin W. Midgett | 1940–1942 1946 |
32 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 0.609 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0.375 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 9 | Charles M. Murphy | 1947–1968 | 226 | 155 | 63 | 8 | 0.704 | 90 | 19 | 1 | 0.823 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | OVC Coach of the Year (1965) |
| 10 | Donald E. Fuoss | 1969 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0.100 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0.143 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 11 | Bill Peck | 1970–1974 | 54 | 27 | 25 | 2 | 0.519 | 17 | 16 | 2 | 0.514 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 12 | Ben Hurt | 1975–1978 | 44 | 12 | 31 | 1 | 0.284 | 8 | 19 | 0 | 0.296 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 13 | Boots Donnelly | 1979–1998 | 214 | 133 | 80 | 1 | 0.624 | 93 | 48 | 0 | 0.660 | 7 | 7 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | OVC Coach of the Year (1977, 1983, 1985, 1989) |
| 14 | Andy McCollum | 1999–2005 | 79 | 34 | 45 | — | 0.430 | 17 | 16 | — | 0.515 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | — |
| 15 | Rick Stockstill | 2006–2023 | 224 | 113 | 111 | — | 0.504 | 82 | 58 | — | 0.586 | 4 | 6 | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2006, 2009) C-USA Coach of the Year (2018) |
| 16 | Derek Mason | 2024–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
Notes
- Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.
- A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
- Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.
- When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.
- Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season.
- Middle Tennessee did not field a team for their 1918 and 1943–1945 seasons.
References
- Thamel, Pete (December 5, 2023). "Middle Tennessee names Derek Mason as new head coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
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