Dionte Berry
Editor-in-Chief
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After being a founder of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and a member of the athletic conference for nearly 80 years, Murray State Athletics has accepted a bid to join the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).
The conference change was announced and unanimously approved upon by the Board of Regents at their meeting on Friday, Jan. 7. Murray State’s participation in the MVC will begin July 1, 2022. This will make Murray State the eleventh school in the MVC.
All sports will join the MVC except football, which will be joining a separate Missouri Valley Football Conference on July 1, 2023, and Rifle, which will remain in the OVC because it is not included in the MVC.
“This is one of the biggest historic points in Racer Athletic history,” President Bob Jackson said. “The first was forming and being a founder of the Ohio Valley Conference almost 75 years ago.”
Murray State’s membership in the OVC came into question after schools such as Belmont, Austin Peay and Eastern Kentucky University announced their departure from the OVC. This left nine schools in the OVC, and only six that play football.
Further speculation could be made about the possible conference change after an announcement was made by Athletic Director Kevin Saal on Sept. 24, 2021.
“Murray State University remains actively engaged in a thoughtful and thorough vetting process as it relates to conference realignment. Murray State is a nationally recognized brand and promising discussions about the future of Racer Athletics are ongoing. Whether within or outside of the Ohio Valley Conference, Murray State University is considering all options in order to position our Athletics program in a thriving environment and offer a first-class student-athlete and fan experience,” Saal wrote.
Along with focusing on what is best for Murray State’s athletes there was also a focus on students as a whole and the large intersection of the MVC’s and Murray State’s footprint.
The MVC is made up of schools in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Missouri, which are states the majority of Murray State students are from.
The Regents mentioned how having a larger athletic presence in Murray State’s footprint can be a tool for recruitment.
“Over 90% of our students and 80% of our alumni live in the footprint of the MVC, greatly enhancing the exposure of Murray State for student recruitment and alumni engagement,” Regent Chair Eric Crigler said.
Student opinions were also taken into consideration over the decision to move or stay in the OVC.
“I would like to thank our student body, there have been quite a number of students that have been pretty involved in this,” Student Regent Ian Puckett said. “We asked for their opinions and they gave us wonderful feedback.”
As Murray State is set to fully leave the OVC on June 30, 2022, there is a $1 million exit fee that will have to be paid.
A celebration has been set for Jan. 10, at noon at the CFSB center to commemorate Murray State being the latest addition to the MVC.