CUSA Kickoff Notebook: “This is not a rebuild at MTSU.”

FRISCO, Texas — Derek Mason is never one to shy away from high expectations.

He set them from the very first team meeting the night he was hired. He enforces them in the classroom, the weight room and, of course, on-the-field. Those expectations can sometimes be more abstract, in how he describes the culture he wants (blue collar) or the want-to of his team's work ethic (The Work is Free).

But he doesn't shy away from concrete goals either.

"This is not a rebuild at MTSU," Mason said at CUSA Kickoff on Tuesday. "I think we've got a chance to compete, like anybody else in this conference, immediately. It's just about how fast we can get our guys up to speed with what this conference entails."

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