History of the Racers

The Murray State Racers are the athletic teams that represent Murray State University (MSU), located in Murray, Kentucky, United States, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks (for football, the Football Championship Subdivision), primarily competing in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) since the 2022–23 academic year. The Racers previously competed in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) from 1948–49 to 2021–22; and in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC; now known as the River States Conference (RSC) since the 2016–17 school year) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1933–34 to 1947–48.

College Sports Established
1922

Location
Murray, Kentucky

College Name
Murray State University

Collegiate History
1973 - Present / NCAA Division 1
1948 - 1973 / University Division of the NCAA

Conference History
2022 - Present / Missouri Valley Conference
1948 - 2021 / Ohio Valley Conference

Nickname
Racers - Murray State men's athletics began in 1925–26, the school's third year, with the first women's team following in 1928–29. Originally, the teams were known as the Thoroughbreds, but over time, sports writers and editors found the name Thoroughbreds to be too cumbersome, so they often shortened it "T-Breds", "Breds", "Race Horses", and "Racers". "Racers" began to grow in popularity through the late 1950s, and it was adopted as the official nickname in 1961 except by the baseball team which continued to be known as the Thoroughbreds or "Breds" until 2014. The women's teams were known as Lady Racers until "Lady" was officially dropped in 2007.

NCAA Championships
Baseball 0

Men's Basketball 0

Women's Basketball 0

Football 0

Soccer 0