The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with the Big South Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision, the lower of two levels of Division I football competition. The OVC has 11 members, six of which compete in football in the conference.
Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level and graduate courses in Paducah, Hopkinsville, Madisonville, and Henderson.
Roy Stewart Stadium is a 16,800-seat multi-purpose stadium in Murray, Kentucky. It opened in 1973 and is home to the Murray State University Racers football, rifle and women's track and field teams. Before Racers football left the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) for the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) in 2023, the stadium was the second-largest of any on-campus stadium in the OVC; it now lies roughly at the MVFC average.
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, 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 of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1933–34 to 1947–48.
The Murray State Racers football team represents Murray State University in the sport of American football. The Racers compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I and the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC).
The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Southeast Missouri State University located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The school's first football team was fielded in 1902. The team plays its home games at the 11,015-seat Houck Stadium. They are coached by Tom Matukewicz.
The Murray State Racers men's basketball program represents Murray State University in intercollegiate men's basketball. Murray State completed a 74-season run in the Ohio Valley Conference, a part of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), in 2021–22, and moved to the Missouri Valley Conference on July 1, 2022. The Racers have played home games at the CFSB Center on their campus in Murray, Kentucky since 1998. Murray State made its 18th appearance in the NCAA tournament in 2022. Five times the Racers advanced in the tournament, most recently by defeating the University of San Francisco in 2022. In 1988, Murray State defeated NC State in the first round but lost to eventual national champion Kansas in the second round. In 2010, 22 years to the date of the 1988 win, the Racers beat Vanderbilt and lost to eventual runner-up Butler in the second round.
The Battle for the Red Belt is an American college football rivalry between the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team of Western Kentucky University and the Murray State Racers football team of Murray State University. The rivalry began as an in-conference rivalry within the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), but both schools have since departed for other conferences. The Hilltoppers were the first to move, transitioning to the Football Bowl Subdivision and playing as an independent in the 2008 season before moving football to the Sun Belt Conference in 2009, followed by a move to Conference USA in 2014. The Racers, which remain in the Football Championship Subdivision to this day, played their final OVC season in 2022, and joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2023. The rivalry has continued as a trophy game, although it is no longer played on an annual basis.
The 2014 Murray State Racers football team represented Murray State University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Chris Hatcher and played their home games at Roy Stewart Stadium. They were a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 1–7 in OVC play to finish in a tie for eighth place.
Joseph Thomas Pannunzio is an American football coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a former player and executive. He served as head football coach at Murray State University (MSU) from 2000 to 2005, compiling an overall record of 30–37. Pannunzio was the director of football operations at the University of Alabama from 2011 to 2014. He was the special teams/tight ends coach in 2017, and running backs coach in 2018 for the University of Alabama. He is currently the director of team development for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL).
The 2016 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Lovie Smith and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. They were members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 2–7 in Big Ten play to finish in sixth place in the West Division.
The 2016 Murray State Racers football team represented Murray State University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Mitch Stewart and played their home games at Roy Stewart Stadium. They were members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 4–7, 4–4 in OVC play to finish in a tie for fifth place.
The 2016–17 Murray State Racers men's basketball team represented Murray State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Racers, led by second-year head coach Matt McMahon, played their home games at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky as members of the West Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 16–17, 8–8 in OVC play to finish in third place in the West Division. As the No. 7 seed in the OVC tournament, they defeated Tennessee Tech and Morehead State before losing to UT Martin in the semifinals.
The 2017 Murray State Racers football team represented Murray State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Mitch Stewart and played their home games at Roy Stewart Stadium. They were members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 3–8, 2–5 in OVC play to finish in a tie for seventh place.
The 2019 Murray State Racers football team represented Murray State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Mitch Stewart and played their home games at Roy Stewart Stadium. They were members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 2–6 in OVC play to finish in a tie for seventh place. Stewart was reassigned to a new position within the athletic department following the season, he finished with a record of 19–37.
The 2020 Murray State Racers football team represented Murray State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by Dean Hood in his first season as the program's 19th head coach. The Racers played their home games at Roy Stewart Stadium. They competed as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference.
The 1979 Murray State Racers football team represented Murray State University during the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by second-year head coach Mike Gottfried, the Racers compiled an overall record of 9–2–1 with a mark of 6–0 on conference play, winning the OVC title. Murray State advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they lost to Lehigh in the semifinals.
The 2022 Murray State Racers football team represent Murray State University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They are led by third-year head coach Dean Hood and play their games at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Kentucky.
The Big South–OVC Football Association is an association of football members of the Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The Big South–OVC covers the American Midwest and South with member institutions located in Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
The 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The regular season began on August 26 and ended in November. The postseason began in November and ended on January 7, 2024, with the 2024 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. South Dakota State repeated as champions, defeating Montana, 23-3.
