Making Our Move - Athletics Launches Facility Master Plan

Murray State Athletics launches its Facility Master Plan, a visionary step forward to maximize player development, recruiting and position the Racers' facility portfolio competitively within the Ohio Valley Conference.

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.

In the coming weeks on GoRacers.com, the Facility Master Plan will take a closer look at the plan for each venue.

The guiding principals for the Facility Master Plan included these guiding principles.

Enhance the day-to-day student-athlete experience.
Provide first-class facilities to maximize player development and recruiting
Design an integrated and cohesive facility portfolio for cross-functional use by multiple sports programs.
Create an athletic village that maximizes the fan experience, enhances campus life and better serves the local community.

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 were all studied and evaluated. A new Athletics Performance Center is included in the plan.

"Since June of 2019, we have engaged in a process guided by two premier architects, HNTB and RossTarrant," said Kevin Saal, Director of Athletics. "This process has included our head coaches, sport administrators, Murray State University Facilities Management, two engineering firms and a general contractor. We've already had the opportunity to visit with several generous donors and supporters who share our excitement of this vision."

With approximately 130 female student-athletes on the rosters of nine Murray State women's teams, the Facility Master Plan will create greater opportunities for participation and development. The Racers have women's teams for basketball, cross country, golf, rifle (Coed), soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball.

"We are proud to play a significant role in Murray State University's service area and it is very important that we continue to perform at an elite level academically and athletically." said Velvet Milkman, Senior Woman Administrator. "We excel in women's sports; the championships and academic performance are among the best in our league and region. Addressing our facility portfolio in a first-class manner will ensure greater levels of success in the years to come. We look forward to hosting girls – who will one day be Racers - at our camps, clinics and competitive events. These young women dream of competing in college athletics and will want to align themselves with the Racers and a first-class facility portfolio."

The Murray State Athletics facility portfolio has evolved over the last 100 years. This new plan intends to capture the Racers historic tradition and align it with safe, efficient and productive resources to advance all 15 sports programs and the young people who develop within them. Cutchin Stadium hosted Racer Football from 1924 before the Racers moved into Roy Stewart Stadium in 1973. Wilson Hall, Lovett Auditorium and Carr Health Building were the home of Racer Basketball until Racer Arena opened in 1954 and later the Regional Special Events Center (now CFSB Center) opened in 1998 as MSU advanced the cause of intercollegiate athletics. Now it's time to advance again and the positive impact the plan will have on future student-athletes will be significant.

"We desire to become the centerpiece athletics destination in western Kentucky," Saal said. "Not only for our teams, but also for other events, camps, clinics, student programming and showcases. This plan is associated with the upcoming 2022 capital campaign for Murray State University. We haven't taken this process lightly. This facility master plan has been a collective effort and we're eager to develop the resources necessary to achieve this important initiative for Murray State."

Murray State University Athletics

Making Our Move - Athletics Launches Facility Master Plan

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