Murray State University Athletics
Runnin’ With The Racers Podcast – Glory Days Remembered By Mike Cherry
4/5/2023 9:11:00 AM | Football, Hall of Fame
Cherry was inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame in 2022
Mike Cherry, a 2022 inductee to the Murray State Hall of Fame, was Dave Winder's guest on the Runnin' with the Racers Podcast. The Runnin' with the Racers Podcast posts each week to GoRacers.com, Spotify, iTunes and Soundcloud.
As we make our way through the 2022 MSU Hall of Fame class, the stories and memories of days gone by are rich and satisfying to the hear.
You can find all of Murray State Athletics' podcasts at GoRacers.com, Spotify, iTunes and Soundcloud.
The Hall of Fame Experience
Cherry was part of an impressive 2022 class to the MSU Hall of Fame. He joined Reggie Swinton (Football), Melissa Spencer (Tennis), Michelle Wenning (Women's Basketball), Paul King (Men's Basketball), Jessica Twaddle (Softball), Dianne Woodside (Women's Track & Field) and Cheryl Whitaker, long time administrative assistant in the athletics department.
"I believe that we are we are always a Racer," Cherry said. "I just tell people it's still means something no matter how long it's been since you played. It was great to hear stories that weekend in November when we all got together. The different sports, whether it was tennis, softball or basketball, it was just great. All of us in that class bonded as we texted each other leading up to the big weekend."
Life with Swinton
Mike Cherry and Reggie Swinton did so much together in two seasons, it was very fitting for them to be inducted into the Murray State Hall of Fame together in 2022.
In 1995 and 96, Cherry and Swinton hooked up for 99 pass completions for more than 1,400 yards with nine touchdowns. In an era when offenses were more balanced and MSU had the best back in the country in 1996 when Derrick Cullors led the nation with 1,842 rushing yards.
"Back then, it wasn't like we were going to throw it 50 times," Cherry said. "So for Reggie and I to hit on 99 passes in that era of football, it was remarkable. Reggie ran great routes first of all and he could catch anything. He could read defenses really well and because of that, he could change his route midstream at the snap. He was next level and we saw that when he played in the NFL."
"I'm so proud of Reggie for the man he is and for what he does for his family and for the community in Little Rock," Cherry said. "He's pouring his life into kids in his hometown and that's awesome. I've seen SEC receivers, I've been on the field with them and Reggie was as special as any of them."
Imagine for a moment if Mike Cherry and Reggie Swinton could've played together for four seasons! MSU's opponents from back in the day would rather not.
The GOAT – Coach Houston Nutt
When Coach Houston Nutt arrived in 1993, the Murray State Football program was a real fixer upper.
Coach Frank Beamer's OVC championship in 1986 was the last time MSU won a title and MSU had won only seven games in the last four seasons.
Nutt had two rebuilding seasons of 4-7 (1993) and 5-6 (1994). Then the Racers exploded with the best two seasons in program history in 1995 and 1996 when MSU won a total of 22 games and twice won back-to-back undefeated OVC championships. MSU was 22-3 overall and 16-0 in OVC play. The 1995 team was MSU's second undefeated team in the regular season at 11-0 as they joined the 1933 team who was the only other perfect team in MSU history in going 9-0. Nutt is the only MSU coach to have two double-digit winning streaks.
Great coach? Of course, but there is more to it than that. Coach Nutt remains revered by his players. Mike Cherry included.
"He hasn't changed a bit, he's still got it," Cherry remarked. "We stay in touch more. He is just east of me in the Dallas area. When I talk to him, it makes my day. What a tremendous, tremendous human being, number one and a Hall of Famer in every right."
"When we start talking about that period of time at Murray State, it's his open door policy that stands out to me. 24/7. If you had a problem Coach Nutt and his staff were there for you. We felt free to walk in at any time and just strike up a conversation. There was always an opportunity to share something that was on your chest, you know? Coach Nutt was a father figure that made the program a place of comfort that we all enjoyed."
"Coach always told is the definition of class is doing what's right when no one's looking," Cherry said. "When you look at those teams and all the players that have played for Coach Nutt. We were learning under a great leader."
We Knew On This Night
The Racers had not won at Middle Tennessee since 1979 when they traveled to Murfreesboro for a game at Floyd Stadium on Sept. 23, 1995.
There was a buzz about the Racers as quarterback Mike Cherry had transferred from Arkansas and Coach Houston Nutt's third team had assembled the kind of defensive unit that was going to be very good.
The 34-0 win for the Racers silenced the crowd of 12,500 as MSU won in Murfreesboro for the first time since 1979 and by shutout for the first time since 1934.
The Murray State defense didn't allow the Blue Raiders to get past the 50-yard line in the entire game, a feat that has not been matched by any Murray State team through the 2022 season. MSU held MTSU to a measly 58 yards and two first downs in the first half and William Hampton scored on a pick-6 interception. The Racers front seven completely dominated by allowing MTSU only eight pass completions.
"James Butts was yelling, who's field is that? 'That's our field', we chanted that all the way out of Nashville down I-24," Cherry said. "But, yes, we knew we had something special from that point. I've never seen a defense do what ours did that day to Middle. We had a streak of 13-straight scoreless quarters at that point, so we knew our defense was going to be a big asset to our chances."
Winning at EKU – Nothing Easy About It
In going 16-0 over the 1995 and 1996 seasons to win two OVC championships, the Racers won their share of big games. However, nobody waltzed into Roy Kidd Stadium and scored a win against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels who were legendary good under the hall of fame coach whose name was already on the stadium.
The Racers had defeated the Colonels in 1995 in Murray to win the OVC championship and they were as confident as ever going into the 1996 game. But the fact remained, in the 15 OVC games in Richmond leading up to the 1996 clash, Murray State had won only once and the last was 11 years earlier in 1972 under Coach Bill Fergerson.
The day of Nov. 9, 1996 was a cold, raw and snowy day and EKU had vanquished OVC opponents in Richmond to the tune of a 60-2 record since 1978.
With 3:12 remaining, the Racers had the ball on their own 11 yard line with the game tied 14-14.
A pass play to Reggie Swinton for nine yards was followed by another 3rd & 9 completion to Sam Greer. Cherry hit Swinton again for 16 yards to the MSU 34 and a face mask penalty against EKU moved the Racers past mid-field with less than a minute on the clock. On 2nd & 5 from the 45, Cherry hit Swinton for the 10th time in the game and the speedy receiver took it all the way to the EKU 20 with 23 seconds left. Anthony downs was tackled for no gain on the next play and the Racers let the clock run down to 5-seconds and called timeout.
Rob Hart, the barefoot English kicker, booted the game winner from 37 yards and tied the OVC single-season record with his 19th field goal of the season.
Dynasty complete. The Racers were OVC champions in back-to-back seasons. The first since EKU in 1993 and 1994.
"Reggie did a great job on that play of running a route where he noticed that EKU had no safety help," Cherry recalled. "And boom, he bit and Reggie beat the guy across his face and this little skinny post play was money!"
"We knew how good EKU was and how good we had to play the year before to beat them," Cherry said. "It was snowing that day and we loved it. I mean, it was just a great game and we found a way to win."
Cherry's famous drive was something that even John Elway would've been impressed with.
The Murray State Factor
"Murray State is a hidden gem," Cherry said. "Attending school there, I learned so many critical things that still help me today in my career in health sales. Setting goals, short term and long term, learning how to achieve goals. Being able to continue to get better. If you lose on some goals, pick yourself up off that loss and get to working on how you're going to make yourself better. But the most critical thing is to believe in yourself, trust and believe in others. You'll have great relationships with your colleagues. I learned all of this and more from my time at Murray State."
As we make our way through the 2022 MSU Hall of Fame class, the stories and memories of days gone by are rich and satisfying to the hear.
You can find all of Murray State Athletics' podcasts at GoRacers.com, Spotify, iTunes and Soundcloud.
The Hall of Fame Experience
Cherry was part of an impressive 2022 class to the MSU Hall of Fame. He joined Reggie Swinton (Football), Melissa Spencer (Tennis), Michelle Wenning (Women's Basketball), Paul King (Men's Basketball), Jessica Twaddle (Softball), Dianne Woodside (Women's Track & Field) and Cheryl Whitaker, long time administrative assistant in the athletics department.
"I believe that we are we are always a Racer," Cherry said. "I just tell people it's still means something no matter how long it's been since you played. It was great to hear stories that weekend in November when we all got together. The different sports, whether it was tennis, softball or basketball, it was just great. All of us in that class bonded as we texted each other leading up to the big weekend."
Life with Swinton
Mike Cherry and Reggie Swinton did so much together in two seasons, it was very fitting for them to be inducted into the Murray State Hall of Fame together in 2022.
In 1995 and 96, Cherry and Swinton hooked up for 99 pass completions for more than 1,400 yards with nine touchdowns. In an era when offenses were more balanced and MSU had the best back in the country in 1996 when Derrick Cullors led the nation with 1,842 rushing yards.
"Back then, it wasn't like we were going to throw it 50 times," Cherry said. "So for Reggie and I to hit on 99 passes in that era of football, it was remarkable. Reggie ran great routes first of all and he could catch anything. He could read defenses really well and because of that, he could change his route midstream at the snap. He was next level and we saw that when he played in the NFL."
"I'm so proud of Reggie for the man he is and for what he does for his family and for the community in Little Rock," Cherry said. "He's pouring his life into kids in his hometown and that's awesome. I've seen SEC receivers, I've been on the field with them and Reggie was as special as any of them."
Imagine for a moment if Mike Cherry and Reggie Swinton could've played together for four seasons! MSU's opponents from back in the day would rather not.
The GOAT – Coach Houston Nutt
When Coach Houston Nutt arrived in 1993, the Murray State Football program was a real fixer upper.
Coach Frank Beamer's OVC championship in 1986 was the last time MSU won a title and MSU had won only seven games in the last four seasons.
Nutt had two rebuilding seasons of 4-7 (1993) and 5-6 (1994). Then the Racers exploded with the best two seasons in program history in 1995 and 1996 when MSU won a total of 22 games and twice won back-to-back undefeated OVC championships. MSU was 22-3 overall and 16-0 in OVC play. The 1995 team was MSU's second undefeated team in the regular season at 11-0 as they joined the 1933 team who was the only other perfect team in MSU history in going 9-0. Nutt is the only MSU coach to have two double-digit winning streaks.
Great coach? Of course, but there is more to it than that. Coach Nutt remains revered by his players. Mike Cherry included.
"He hasn't changed a bit, he's still got it," Cherry remarked. "We stay in touch more. He is just east of me in the Dallas area. When I talk to him, it makes my day. What a tremendous, tremendous human being, number one and a Hall of Famer in every right."
"When we start talking about that period of time at Murray State, it's his open door policy that stands out to me. 24/7. If you had a problem Coach Nutt and his staff were there for you. We felt free to walk in at any time and just strike up a conversation. There was always an opportunity to share something that was on your chest, you know? Coach Nutt was a father figure that made the program a place of comfort that we all enjoyed."
"Coach always told is the definition of class is doing what's right when no one's looking," Cherry said. "When you look at those teams and all the players that have played for Coach Nutt. We were learning under a great leader."
We Knew On This Night
The Racers had not won at Middle Tennessee since 1979 when they traveled to Murfreesboro for a game at Floyd Stadium on Sept. 23, 1995.
There was a buzz about the Racers as quarterback Mike Cherry had transferred from Arkansas and Coach Houston Nutt's third team had assembled the kind of defensive unit that was going to be very good.
The 34-0 win for the Racers silenced the crowd of 12,500 as MSU won in Murfreesboro for the first time since 1979 and by shutout for the first time since 1934.
The Murray State defense didn't allow the Blue Raiders to get past the 50-yard line in the entire game, a feat that has not been matched by any Murray State team through the 2022 season. MSU held MTSU to a measly 58 yards and two first downs in the first half and William Hampton scored on a pick-6 interception. The Racers front seven completely dominated by allowing MTSU only eight pass completions.
"James Butts was yelling, who's field is that? 'That's our field', we chanted that all the way out of Nashville down I-24," Cherry said. "But, yes, we knew we had something special from that point. I've never seen a defense do what ours did that day to Middle. We had a streak of 13-straight scoreless quarters at that point, so we knew our defense was going to be a big asset to our chances."
Winning at EKU – Nothing Easy About It
In going 16-0 over the 1995 and 1996 seasons to win two OVC championships, the Racers won their share of big games. However, nobody waltzed into Roy Kidd Stadium and scored a win against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels who were legendary good under the hall of fame coach whose name was already on the stadium.
The Racers had defeated the Colonels in 1995 in Murray to win the OVC championship and they were as confident as ever going into the 1996 game. But the fact remained, in the 15 OVC games in Richmond leading up to the 1996 clash, Murray State had won only once and the last was 11 years earlier in 1972 under Coach Bill Fergerson.
The day of Nov. 9, 1996 was a cold, raw and snowy day and EKU had vanquished OVC opponents in Richmond to the tune of a 60-2 record since 1978.
With 3:12 remaining, the Racers had the ball on their own 11 yard line with the game tied 14-14.
A pass play to Reggie Swinton for nine yards was followed by another 3rd & 9 completion to Sam Greer. Cherry hit Swinton again for 16 yards to the MSU 34 and a face mask penalty against EKU moved the Racers past mid-field with less than a minute on the clock. On 2nd & 5 from the 45, Cherry hit Swinton for the 10th time in the game and the speedy receiver took it all the way to the EKU 20 with 23 seconds left. Anthony downs was tackled for no gain on the next play and the Racers let the clock run down to 5-seconds and called timeout.
Rob Hart, the barefoot English kicker, booted the game winner from 37 yards and tied the OVC single-season record with his 19th field goal of the season.
Dynasty complete. The Racers were OVC champions in back-to-back seasons. The first since EKU in 1993 and 1994.
"Reggie did a great job on that play of running a route where he noticed that EKU had no safety help," Cherry recalled. "And boom, he bit and Reggie beat the guy across his face and this little skinny post play was money!"
"We knew how good EKU was and how good we had to play the year before to beat them," Cherry said. "It was snowing that day and we loved it. I mean, it was just a great game and we found a way to win."
Cherry's famous drive was something that even John Elway would've been impressed with.
The Murray State Factor
"Murray State is a hidden gem," Cherry said. "Attending school there, I learned so many critical things that still help me today in my career in health sales. Setting goals, short term and long term, learning how to achieve goals. Being able to continue to get better. If you lose on some goals, pick yourself up off that loss and get to working on how you're going to make yourself better. But the most critical thing is to believe in yourself, trust and believe in others. You'll have great relationships with your colleagues. I learned all of this and more from my time at Murray State."
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