Under longtime head coach Rick Stockstill, MTSU was a perennial bowl team, playing in 11 bowl games during the iconic head coach's 18-year tenure.
For the second straight season since hiring Derek Mason, the program is entering their final week of the regular season with a game at New Mexico State, and their bowl hopes are well out of reach.
Sources tell FootballScoop that, despite the on-field struggles, MTSU is planning to retain Mason for a third season leading the program. The Daily News Journal has shared the same.
In two seasons in Murfreesboro, Mason has managed just five wins total.
He notched three wins - two of them against FBS foes - in his debut season, and has managed just two wins so far this fall.
After losing the season opener of 2025 to FCS Austin Peay, Mason's MTSU squad lost by 32 to Wisconsin in Week Two before capturing a win in Week Three against Nevada. They would go on to lose seven in a row (to Marshall, Kennesaw State, Missouri State, Delaware, Jacksonville State, FIU, and Western Kentucky) before beating a 2-9 Sam Houston squad this past weekend.
While Mason struggles, other new Conference USA hires have found immediate success as Kennesaw State is bowl eligible in an impressive year one turnaround under Jerry Mack, Delaware and Ryan Carty can hit six wins with a victory over UTEP this weekend as they look to complete their first season as an FBS member, while another FBS newcomer at Missouri State is sitting at 7-4 in their debut season as an FBS member under Ryan Beard, and Willie Simmons has FIU bowl eligible already in his first season as well.
Sources tell FootballScoop the decision to keep Mason in place come as the school is making longterm plans for the future of the school's leadership, which could include turnover at both the school president and athletic director spots. Multiple sources have shared athletic director Chris Massaro, the third-longest tenured FBS athletic director in the country in his 21st season at MTSU, is leaning toward retirement as soon as 2026. Massaro was recently appointed to the College Football Playoff Selection Committee back in March, and that's a role that lasts typically lasts three seasons.
Well known for his time as the defensive coordinator at Sanford in 2012-13, Mason landed his first head coaching opportunity at Vanderbilt, where he led the Commodores to two bowl berths (2016 and 2018) before he was ultimately let go after an 0-8 start to the 2020 season. He would go on to have brief defensive coordinator stints at Auburn and Oklahoma State, each lasting one season, before a few seasons away from football prior to landing the opportunity leading the Blue Raiders.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.