Aldo Giovanni Amato

agamato@dnj.com

MURFREESBORO — Titans rookie safety Kevin Byard will not be the only Blue Raider at Nissan Stadium on Sunday.

The Titans will honor the MTSU men's basketball program for its recent Conference USA championship season and NCAA Tournament upset over Michigan State before Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders (noon, WTVF-5). MTSU, seeded 15th, beat second-seeded Michigan State 90-81 in March.

As part of the pregame festivities, coach Kermit Davis and players will spike the Titans' "12th Titan" sword into the 50-yard line.

"We're looking forward to it, and it's great for our team," Davis said. "This came in the works the last couple of weeks and we'll get to do the spike sword right before kickoff.

"Then we'll get to watch Kevin (Byard) play. So we're really excited for our team and our fans."

The defending Conference USA champions will start the 2016-17 season with an exhibition against North Alabama on Nov. 3.

Reach Aldo Amato at 615-278-5109 and on Twitter @Aldo_Amato.