By: Isaac Berry
MTN Lifestyle and Entertainment Reporter
On January 31st, MTSU’s athletic department hired 4 new members to their athletic staff with intentions to better connect with the true blue fanbase, notably, Hans Malebranche, Clair Freels, Robert Sampson and Leigh Ann Brewton. Only 3 weeks in and this new team has already put plans into motion, Associate chief development officer Hans Malbranche stated that, “The things that our team are putting in place, we’re building on a foundation that has been set before us and we have a large vision for the success of this athletic department and the experience we want to provide for our student athletes".
A true connection between a fanbase and their teams has to be mutual, the athletes give their all and the fans as well, although in different ways. Although real fans should stay loyal, who doesn't want to see their team succeed? Malbranche also stated that,“One of the things we’re working on right now is putting together plans and raising money to build elite facilities”, it was made clear that more than just the fan base, these new members of the athletic department plan on opening up better opportunities for the athletes to succeed as well, with plans to build a student athlete performance center that will feature a new weight room, dining hall and more all for the use of student athletes at MTSU.
Plans like these are truly goal oriented, with a vision of success. While talking about the competition aspect Malbranche proclaimed that, “We want to be the very best and compete at the highest levels, not just in football, but in every sport, we want to win conference championships in every sport.” Success is truly in the effort with this team, no matter how long it takes they have intentions of putting MTSU on the map academically and athletically, when asked about how this plays in to academics, Malbranche stated, “We want to graduate all of our students, we want to win championships in all of our sports, and we want to do all those things consistently year in and year out”. The timetable for this transformation however isn’t one you can put on a calendar, in fact they want to build something that only gets better and better, believing that this development will progress long after they're gone. When asked about the timetable of this transformation, Malbranche said, “The reality of it is, I won’t be alive to see it get where I want it to go.”