Murray State University Athletics
Runnin’ with the Racers Podcast – Team Whitaker Familiar Faces In MSU Athletics
6/14/2023 2:59:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball
Together Bill and Cheryl Whitaker helped shape Racers Athletics for more than two decades
Bill and Cheryl Whitaker were guests on the Runnin' with the Racers Podcast to reminisce about their 50 or so combined years of experience in working with Murray State Athletics in the areas of academics and administration.
The Runnin' with the Racers Podcast posts each week to GoRacers.com, Spotify, iTunes and Soundcloud.
The Whitaker duo marked the 51st and 52nd Murray State hall of famers to be featured on the program, hosted by Dave Winder. Bill and Cheryl were inducted into the Hall of Distinction wing of the MSU Hall of Fame in 2013 and 2022.
Willing to take a leap of faith, the Whitaker's left their native southern Michigan and moved to Murray, Kentucky in 1975.
For more than 100 years, the stories of families finding Murray State and falling in love with the area are too many to count. The Whitaker's arrival was much like that of MSU Football Coach Frank Beamer and his family who came to MSU at about the same time. Murray beckoned and the Whitaker's packed up and went.
"After my interview, I went back and told Cheryl that I had a great time and met Ken Winters and the most wonderful people," Bill Whitaker remembers. "Ken, Dr. George Oakley and his wife, made me feel just like I was at home."
"We got the map out and he showed me where Murray was," Cheryl Whitaker said. "Bill went down to Murray that September, but our children and I did not move to Murray until November of 1975. Very quickly, Murray felt like home. Raising our children here was the best part of moving to Murray. They could not have had a better education and couldn't have had a better life."
As Bill Whitaker began teaching in the burgeoning MSU engineering program, another opportunity appeared. Longtime MSU NCAA Faculty Representative, Carl Hussung, was looking for someone to hand the job off to. In 1998, Carl approached Whitaker with the idea.
"I really followed the legend," Whitaker said. "Carl Hussung had done the job since 1969 and a lot of what he did was by hand. It is amazing how much the field has grown as far as the relationship between the universities and NCAA of the expectations in academics. Carl was on the front lines and led the NCAA academic reps committee for almost a decade. He was quite a mentor for me and now Dr. Dave Gesler has been doing a great job for more than a decade after myself. It all changes through the years, but the main thing is to make sure student-athletes are gaining their degrees in the end."
Being immersed into Racer Nation has also been a love of the Whitaker's as Bill conducted his duties and Cheryl worked in the Murray State athletics office from 1996-08. Cheryl Whitaker worked with seven MSU men's basketball coaches. She was a part of the winning program efforts for coaches Steve Newton, Scott Edgar, Mark Gottfried, Tevester Anderson, Mick Cronin, Billy Kennedy and Steve Prohm, who is currently in his second run as MSU head coach and was an assistant on Kennedy's staff.
While Whitaker worked with many of the sports teams and coaches, she was involved in the men's basketball areas of budget, recruiting visits, team travel, summer camps and the day to day calendar for the head coach.
"Walking into that office most of those days was the ultimate experience because everybody's in a good mood," Whitaker recalls. "There were so many good players and coaches and those good times and all of that winning never leaves me. I just tried to be someone that kind of held the basketball department together, because you're trying to take a lot of stuff off the coach so they can concentrate on coaching and recruiting."
It was a Racer family, as much as it is in 2023. Cheryl Whitaker speaks fondly of her time working alongside Claire Benton, Janet Futrell, Sharon Russell, Sandra Edwards, as the group had a special bond around the Racers.
"Cheryl was right there in the middle of this amazing period of Murray State Basketball," Bill Whitaker said. "Our love of Murray State and the sports teams is something our children and now our grandchildren have also known. It's something that stays with us always."
