College football team fires head coach after 18 seasons, over 100 wins
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Rick Stockstill’s Middle Tennessee tenure with more than 100 wins has come to an end.
MTSU Director of Athletics Chris Massaro announced Monday that Stockstill has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Blue Raiders after the team went 4-8 in 2023.
“This is one of the most difficult days in my tenure, but one I feel is necessary in our aspiration to compete and win championships,” Massaro said in a program announcement. “I appreciate everything Rick, his wife Sara, and their family have done the last 18 years for MTSU Athletics, our football program, and, more importantly, our student-athletes.
“Because of his leadership, our student-athletes have performed at a high level in the classroom, have dedicated time and energy to supporting our community and have given us countless hours of dedication to being successful on the football field. I want to thank Coach Stockstill for his professionalism, character and dedication, and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
A former Florida State quarterback who worked at Clemson and South Carolina as an assistant coach, Stockstill took the MTSU head coaching job in December 2005. Stockstill, who turns 68 in December, led the program to 10 bowl appearances, a Sun Belt Conference shared title in 2006 and a 2018 appearance in the Conference USA championship game.
During Stockstill’s tenure, MTSU won 10 games in the 2009 season, capped by a New Orleans Bowl victory. Since joining Conference USA in 2013, MTSU hit the 8-win mark in 4 seasons. In 2022, the Blue Raiders went 8-5 with a win in the Hawaii Bowl.
Stockstill notched a record of 113-111 as MTSU’s head coach. Per the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, Stockstill is owed a buyout of $5 million, considerably large in the Group of 5 ranks, to be paid out by Dec. 31, 2029.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
