But turn the radio dial a bit and you'll find that MTSU's influence is a little more prevalent than that.

MTSU's top notch mass communications department has produced several reputable voices, and I'm not talking about yours truly (though I am c/o 2002 and regularly on the airwaves).

Several MTSU graduates are on the air these days and have been for quite a long time. A couple of the freshest faces — make that voices — are Jonathan Hutton and Chris Childers.

Hutton, a 2006 MTSU graduate, is network producer for Tennessee Titans Radio and a reporter for WGFX 104.5 FM The Zone. This week he's been sitting on radio row at SEC football media days, all the while making subtle references to the Blue Raiders on 104.5.

Hutton, a McMinnville native, said he values his perspective as an MTSU graduate.

"It's important to have a local connection and especially one that's not necessarily common to this station (104.5)," Hutton said. "There's just not a huge Middle Tennessee contingent inside this studio. So I think being a Middle grad, it provides a local flavor, but also a unique one that the listeners aren't as used to hearing."

Hutton has been a valuable Nashville connection to MTSU, serving as an on-site reporter for 104.5 to the Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament and attending Blue Raider football practices.

Unlike Hutton, Childers is not a middle Tennessee native. He's from Chicago, but he makes no apologies for making MTSU references on air to a national audience as much as possible.

"I've got Middle Tennessee banners and posters hanging up everywhere in our studio, and I make no bones about it on the air. I'm a huge Middle Tennessee fan," said Childers, a 2004 MTSU graduate and host on Rivals Radio, a national satellite radio show on Sirius XM Sports Nation.

"On the radio show, I'm constantly making references to my school and all the great things going on at Middle Tennessee," continued Childers. "You have to remember that I broadcast to a national audience, but I still try to get Middle Tennessee into the conversation anytime it's topical or newsworthy."

Childers hosts Rivals Radio Blitz from 9-11 a.m. on Sirius XM. He has hosted live from two BCS national title games, the Heisman Trophy presentation and three Final Fours. But when he's not on the air, he routinely stops by MTSU sporting events to stay current with his alma mater.

Neil Price is another young rising star in sports broadcasting who cut his teeth at MTSU. Price is the play-by-play man for Kentucky women's basketball and baseball on the Big Blue Sports Radio Network.

Hutton, Childers and Price are not the only Blue Raider alums on the air; they are just three of the latest.

Of course, the Blue Raider Network is stocked with MTSU alums. Chip Walters, Dick Palmer, former Blue Raider quarterback Kelly Holcomb and Duane Hickey all earned degrees from MTSU. They broadcast MTSU games locally on WNSR 560 AM, WMOT 89.5 FM and WGNS 1450 AM, 100.5 FM, 101.9 FM.

Locally, you can also hear DNJ sports editor Monte Hale or Tim Tackett, both MTSU grads, on All Sports Talk on weekdays from 4-5 p.m. on WGNS.

Coincidentally, Hutton and Childers were fill-in co-hosts for All Sports Talk before they moved on to their current jobs.

"I remember filling in for Monte on 1450, and we were so thankful for that opportunity. I think it was Hutton's first show on the radio, and he was raw," Childers said. "But he has really developed, and he sounds like an old pro on 104.5 now.

"I love Middle Tennessee and Murfreesboro because I owe a lot to both for those opportunities. It's hard to believe Monte let me fill in for him five years ago, and now I get to do interviews at the 50-yard line of the Rose Bowl. It's a dream and I'm really proud of it."