MTSU Reveals Jersey Patch to Honor Dolly Parton in Photo After Country Music Legend's Death

Middle Tennessee State is honoring late country music icon Dolly Parton with a special patch for the football team's season opener.

The Blue Raiders will wear a jersey featuring Parton's signature and her birth and death years for next Saturday's home opener against Murray State.

Parton died this week in Nashville at the age of 80.

Middle Tennessee announced the jersey initiative Friday at the university's Center for Popular Music, which features multiple artifacts from Parton's career.

A game-worn jersey featuring the special patch will be donated to the center after the home opener, MTSU athletics director Chris Massaro said.

Massaro said the tribute is especially appropriate because the game takes place on Sept. 5, a date coinciding with Parton's iconic roles in the song and film "9 to 5."

Fans attending the home opener will also be shown QR codes allowing them to donate to the Imagination Library, a program launched by Parton in 1995 which gifts books to children aged zero through five.

Other sports organizations across Parton's state have also shared tributes in the singer and philanthropist's honor, including the University of Tennessee, Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators.