Mascot
MTSU's original mascot was Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate General and the founder of the Ku Klux Klan. Because of Forrest's ties to the Ku Klux Klan, the mascot was later changed to a blue-colored scent hound dog named "Ole Blue" in the 1970s.
MTSU's current mascot is a blue winged horse named "Lightning," adopted as the mascot in 1998, when the athletics department updated its image in preparation for the 1999 upgrade to Division I-A football and subsequent transfer to the Sun Belt Conference. "Lightning" symbolizes the university's aerospace and horse science programs and the region's heritage in the walking horse industry.
Read more about this topic: Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders