Football
The Murray State football program first competed on the gridiron in 1924. The first game was a 0-0 tie against Union University. The Racers have had 45 winning seasons. Murray State has produced 33 All-American selections with 14 of them earning First Team All-American honors. Murray State's largest margin of victory over another Division I program came in 1932 when the Racers defeated the Louisville Cardinals by a score of 105-0. The Racers modern-day scoring record was set on October 9, 2010, with a 72-59 homecoming victory over the Missouri State Bears.
Murray State's football rivalries have historically been with the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. The rivalry with the Hilltoppers began in 1931, and it later became an annual trophy game known as the Battle for the Red Belt.
The Murray State football program has become a steppingstone to major-college coaching success. Five former Murray State coaches have gone on to head coaching positions at BCS schools.
- Mike Gottfried served as head coach of the Racers from 1978-1980. He was recognized as OVC Coach of the Year in 1979. Gottfried went on to coach the Cincinnati Bearcats, Kansas Jayhawks, and Pittsburgh Panthers.
- Ron Zook served as a secondary coach at Murray State under Gottfried from 1978-1980. Zook went on to become the head coach of the Florida Gators from 2002–2004 and the Illinois Fighting Illini from 2005–2011, and is now a college football studio analyst with CBS.
- Frank Beamer served as head coach of the Racers from 1981-1986. After leaving Murray State, Beamer went on to build the Virginia Tech program into a national power through the 1990s and early 2000s. Beamer, who remains at Virginia Tech, now has the most Division I wins among active college coaches.
- Ralph Friedgen was an assistant coach at Murray State under Frank Beamer in 1981. Friedgen was head coach at Maryland from 2001–2010.
- Houston Nutt was head coach of the Racers from 1993-1996. He was recognized as the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year in 1996 and the OVC Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1996 while coaching the Racers. Nutt went on to coach the Arkansas Razorbacks to three SEC division titles, and he also served as the head coach of Ole Miss from 2008 to 2011. In his first two years at Ole Miss, Nutt coached the Rebels to back-to-back Cotton Bowl Classic victories. Nutt is now a studio analyst for CBS.
In addition to the success of former Racer football coaches, former players have also gone on to achieve major successes. Former Racer quarterback Justin Fuente was named head football coach of the Memphis Tigers in 2011. As a player, Fuente was named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year in 1999. As a senior in 1999, Fuente set school season records for passing yards (3,498), attempts (400), completions (240) and touchdowns (27). Fuente still holds the MSU record for most 300-yard passing games with ten.
The Racers have appeared in only one bowl game, when they were invited to the 1949 Tangerine Bowl. This was only the third installment of the Tangerine bowl, which is now known as the Capital One Bowl. The Racers played to a 21-21 tie against Sul Ross State University. The Racers were coached by Fred Faurot, who was the younger brother of legendary Missouri Tigers coach Don Faurot.
Ohio Valley Conference Championships
1948, 1950, 1951, 1979, 1986, 1995, 1996, 2002
Bowl Game Appearances
1949 Tangerine Bowl
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Famous quotes containing the word football:
“...I’m not money hungry.... People who are rich want to be richer, but what’s the difference? You can’t take it with you. The toys get different, that’s all. The rich guys buy a football team, the poor guys buy a football. It’s all relative.”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)
“... in the minds of search committees there is the lingering question: Can she manage the football coach?”
—Donna E. Shalala (b. 1941)
“People stress the violence. That’s the smallest part of it. Football is brutal only from a distance. In the middle of it there’s a calm, a tranquility. The players accept pain. There’s a sense of order even at the end of a running play with bodies stewn everywhere. When the systems interlock, there’s a satisfaction to the game that can’t be duplicated. There’s a harmony.”
—Don Delillo (b. 1926)