Murray State Racers - Rowing

Rowing

Murray State President Kern Alexander floated the idea of establishing a rowing team soon after he assumed his role as president of the university. In Spring 1996 the plan to establish the rowing team was officially announced. The thought of a primarily ivy league sport at Murray State was met with skepticism among some groups. In fact the Murray State student newspaper printed a column mocking the plan, calling it "Alexander's Navy." The plan called for Murray State to practice as well as host home regattas on Kentucky Lake. Murray State was the first school in the State of Kentucky with a rowing program, established two years ahead of the University of Louisville.

In Fall 1996, Stephen Marchino was hired as head coach assisted by Dan Lavit. 172 students attended the first series of tryouts for the new rowing team, held at Roy Stewart Stadium. By Spring 1997 the team had been narrowed to a final group of 31 students. The first competition for the new rowing team was a duel race with Northwestern State University at the Natchitoches River.

In 1998 the women's program was elevated to NCAA status, while the men's team remained at the club level. The move to NCAA status for the women's team was done out of Title IX considerations; however, it brought increased funding, scholarships, and recognition to the Murray State rowing program. The program began hosting the annual Racer Regatta on Kentucky Lake beginning in 1999. Bill McLean was hired as head coach in 2003 after serving as the head coach at the University of Rochester for eight seasons. In the following years, McClean made great strides in turning the women's program into an award-winning NCAA rowing program. McClean hired the program's first full-time assistant coach in 2007. Robert Montague joined the program as a full-time assistant coach after serving three years as the head coach of the rowing club at the College of William and Mary.

In May 2008 Murray State announced that the rowing program would no longer be sponsored at the NCAA level. Athletic Director Allen Ward indicated that the move was necessary to increase female participation while managing costs. As a result, rowing was cut and replaced with women's softball and future plans to add equestrian as a NCAA sponsored sport. Ward noted, "It was important that we address the annual budget in a manner that does not jeopardize the opportunity for competitive success across the board. Our evaluation concluded that the sport of rowing does not ideally fit programmatically at the university, so we are choosing to replace it with sports that are more identifiable with the Murray State service region." Following the loss of university funding and sponsorship at the NCAA level in 2008, the men's and women's programs have continued on in competition as a club program.