Making Our Move - Athletics Facilities Master Plan Focuses on Basketball

The Murray State Athletics Facility Master Plan includes bold plans for Racer men's and women's basketball at their home venue, the CFSB Center.

Today we take a look at the vision for the future of basketball facilities at Murray State. One that will maximize player development and recruiting in order to position Murray State Men's & Women's Basketball at an elite level among conference and regional peers.

In 1998, the Regional Special Events Center opened and has proven to be an outstanding college basketball venue, as both Racer teams play their 24^th season in the building in the 2021-22 campaign. In 2010, CFSB Bank purchased naming rights and the facility became known as the CFSB Center. The FMP - CFSB Center

Racers' home court continues to be one of the toughest places to play for opponents in all of NCAA D-I men's basketball. While more than 1.3 million fans have attended games, the Racers have won 85 percent of their games under five different coaches including current men's coach Matt McMahon.

The Murray State women's program won the 2008 OVC regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The Racers added another OVC title in 2009. Along the way, top performers Amber Guffey, Ashley Hayes and Ke'Shunan James finished their careers as the second, third and fourth all-time scorers in program history and left their mark on the CFSB Center.

Now approaching 25 years old, the time has come to re-invest in the CFSB Center.

In addition to upgraded lighting and sound, the CFSB Center plan includes a fixed seating configuration on three sides of the lower bowl. The west end zone, where Murray State Students and the Racer Band currently reside, will continue with retractable seating to accommodate events requiring a stage (i.e., concerts, commencement ceremony, etc.). Fixed lower bowl seating will facilitate an increase in lower bowl capacity and provide higher-quality seats throughout. Additionally, a premium club space is included in the plan located behind the team benches and underneath the fixed seating. This premium club space will provide ticket holders access to food and beverage service.

In addition to these amenities, the premium club space will offer a new and unique Racer Basketball game days experience as the men's and women's teams take the floor via center court, through the premium club space. The premium club space will also serve as an ideal venue for recruiting activities, external events, and meetings. Working closely with a regional architect, Murray State envisions the Student-Athlete Development Suite – inclusive of spaces dedicated to sports medicine, athletic training, hot/cold tub hydro-therapy, nutrition, rehab/prehab and strength & conditioning – as a premier student-athlete development facility. The Student-Athlete Development Suite – one of the best in the nation - results from a transformation of existing training room and weight room spaces, and would be located across the hall from the premium club space.
CFSB Center - Improvement Plan

"I get excited about having more seats closer to the floor, because it's only going to make what is already one of the top atmospheres of any venue in all of college basketball even better," said McMahon. "The amount of pride our supporters have in this program has always impressed me. To have a club space for them to gather before games and a place we can use in the recruiting process is something that raises our program to a level where it has never been before."

"Without our supporters, we couldn't do what we do," said women's coach Rechelle Turner. "We have already benefited from renovating our locker room because it is our player's home at the CFSB Center and that has been big for our team. Now we're calling all Racers on this because we want to be bigger and better, and we need our supporters to make this plan for the CFSB Center happen. It will take us to the next level and have a positive impact on our program for seasons to come."

"My personal experience with Murray State has been great," said current Racer Tevin Brown. "The energy we feel from our fans at home games affects us as a team, and now we have a plan to make the CFSB Center better and that means a bright future for the program."

"All of these plans fire us up a lot," said current Racer KJ Williams. "The improvements are going to make coming to a game to watch the Racers even better. I am happy that future Racers will be able to enjoy it."

"We have benefited from so many people helping the women's program in the past, and that's why we feel so much passion for our team because there are people out there helping us," said current Racer Reagan Blackburn. "We're excited to see what is in store for our facilities with the master plan."

Former Racers are also taking note of the plans for the CFSB Center, including Ke'Shunan James who played for the Racers from 2014-18 and is MSU's second all-time leading scorer, and Shawn Witherspoon, a 1,000-point scorer for the Racers from 2001-06.

"First, I know Murray State University is a great place to go to school," James said. "As a women's basketball student-athlete, I had a great experience playing for the Racers. Now add in the enhancements being talked about and it just makes the program even better in the eyes of a recruit."

"The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking of this plan is how it will make the men's basketball program more competitive on a national level in recruiting," said Witherspoon. "We have always attracted players that could play at a higher level because of the history and tradition of Racer Basketball, the coaches and the fan support. Now on top of all that, we will have the type of facility that stacks up very well nationally. It's going to cause recruits to take a closer look at the Racers than before."

CFSB Center - Improvement Plan

About The MSU Athletics Facility Master Plan
Shared to Racer Nation in August of 2021, the facility master plan provides clarity and sets the Racers up for a great future. The 14-month evaluation process was meticulous and thorough and it provides a vision for a pathway to accomplish the largest advancement of athletics facilities in the history of Murray State University. An in-depth study of each athletic facility was done in consultation with university leadership, architects, engineers and construction professionals to determine the current viability, create a needs assessment and outline scope of work for each venue. The plan is part of the larger capital campaign for Murray State University. The athletics venues that will be touched include the CFSB Center, Roy Stewart Stadium, Bennie Purcell Courts, Pat Spurgin Range, Cutchin Field, Johnny Reagan Field, Marshall Gage Track, Miller Memorial Golf Course, Racer Arena and Racer Field. A new Athletics Performance Center is included in the plan.

Murray State University Athletics

Making Our Move - Athletics Facilities Master Plan Focuses on Basketball

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