Murray State University Athletics
South Dakota Town Adopts Racers In NCAA Tournament
3/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
When Murray State takes the floor Friday for its first-round NCAA Tournament game against Illinois, the Racers will have the support of thousands of MSU fans from Murray, western Kentucky and South Dakota.
South Dakota?
Yes, thousands of citizens from South Dakota will have a keen interest in Friday's game versus Illinois thanks to a radio station in Mitchell, South Dakota.
"For the past few years we've adopted a team in the NCAA Tournament to cheer for since we don't have a Division I team in South Dakota," said KMIT program director Joel Van Dover. "We want to be apart of the tournament excitement.
"We let our listeners vote on the team we're going to adopt and this year it was Murray State."
Van Dover, who hosts the morning radio show which originated the idea, said that last year KMIT listeners chose Wagner as their adopted team. In the past, Mitchell has supported Fairleigh-Dickinson and Hampton.
"We usually choose a team that's not as nationally known as some of the bigger schools. The underdog kind of fits the attitude of the people of South Dakota."
KMIT officially kicked off its support of the Racers during Tuesday morning 's show. Throughout the week Van Dover will ask Murray State trivia, give away MSU memorabilia and play the school's fight song.
Murray State (28-5), a 12th seed, opens up the NCAA Tournament on Friday against No. 5-seed Illinois (24-6) in Columbus, Ohio. Tipoff is set for 11:25 a.m. and the game will be televised by CBS Sports.
