Murray State University Athletics
From The Stables - Notes From the Desk of Director of Athletics Nico Yantko
7/19/2023 4:40:00 PM | General
Racer Nation!
A LOT has happened since we last checked in.
Marnie, Chaney, Gino and I are loving being back home! The kids are enjoying their first summer in Murray and life is good!
Happy #4thofJuly , Racer Nation!
— Nico Yantko (@NicoYantko) July 5, 2023
Great job by @MurrayKentucky & @TheMurrayBank for a tremendous fireworks show! pic.twitter.com/DxJ6OkXmSu
We would also like to take a moment to recognize the new From The Stables presenting sponsor, Window World!
It has been an incredible eleven months since we have returned home, and we are so excited with the progress that we are making TOGETHER!
Key Athletics Accomplishments Since September:
- More than Doubled Fundraising
- Athletics Sponsorships Increased 30%
- Highest GPA in Racer History & 38 Straight Semesters with a 3.0+ GPA
- Over $1M in Capital Projects Underway
- MVC Transition - Each program made their respective MVC Post-Season Tournament
- More than Doubled Community Service Hours of Impact
- Top-Ranked Football Recruiting Class in Program History
- Created & Implemented Dennis Jackson Leadership Program
- Created Winner's Circle as Official Student Organization
- Created NIL Partnerships with Brandr and INFLCR
- Increased Social Media Impressions & GoRacers.com Traffic by more than 600%
With the 2022-23 academic and competitive year behind us, we wanted to shine a light on the great things that went on as we made our transition into the Missouri Valley Conference, as well as share some insights on what's next to come for Murray State Athletics!
ACADEMIC SUCCESS
For the 38th-straight semester, our student-athletes achieved a departmental 3.0 cumulative GPA, earning a 3.27 in Spring 2023. This was a SCHOOL RECORD GPA during the 38-semester streak, which dates back to 2004. We are beyond proud of each and every one of our scholars and are greatly appreciative of our entire staff for their tireless efforts in helping continue this streak.
📚 The most important streak at Murray State Athletics continues in record-breaking fashion!
— Murray State Racers Athletics (@MSURacers) June 9, 2023
3️⃣8️⃣ straight semesters of a departmental GPA of 3.0 or higher!
🔗: https://t.co/zO0wMJ9NLr#GoRacers🏇 pic.twitter.com/4680lHIIyH
RECORD-SETTING FUNDRAISING
We are thrilled to announce that we saw an incredible jump in fundraising this year and more than DOUBLED our productivity from a year ago. We cannot thank Racer Nation enough for the incredible support! Check out the full story HERE.
The record fundraising has allowed the department to begin work on numerous capital projects, including the Baseball/Softball Performance Center, upgrades to football team spaces, new LED lights in the CFSB Center and more. In total, the Racers have more than $1 million in projects currently underway.
CAPITAL PROJECTS
We have been surgical to address some key facility priorities to create a transformational experience for our student-athletes, while prioritizing recruiting and revenue generation. Below is a snap show on our recent announcements, funded through private donations.
Additionally, we are making significant investments in branding around the complex, including the Gene Ray Center, and are working on building some new recruiting spaces for our programs to utilize when prospect student-athletes come to visit.
We cannot wait to tell you what we are working on next!!
TICKETING
After testing the K-12 Free Attendance model this season, we worked hand-in-hand with CFSB to create a free attendance model for ALL for home women's basketball games.
We are thrilled to continue to create family-friendly events for Murray State.
STUDENT-ATHLETE EXPERIENCE & NIL
This past semester we had 38 of our student-athletes earn their degrees from Murray State. We are extremely proud of each of them and know they will do outstanding things in their future endeavors.
The Dennis Jackson Leadership Program is off and running and has already given our student-athletes plenty of opportunities to learn from members of our community.
In April, we welcomed representatives from CFSB to teach a financial literacy course. We cannot wait to share what else we have planned for our student-athletes in the months to come!
Recently, we announced a new partnership with The Brandr Group, which will allow our more than 350 student-athletes to profit off their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). With this agreement, our student-athletes will be able to opt in to the group licensing program and use their NIL in licensing and marketing programs, co-branded with the logos and marks of Murray State University.
Custom apparel coming soon 👀
— Murray State Racers Athletics (@MSURacers) May 17, 2023
Murray State announces exciting new partnership with @tbgusa!
🔗: https://t.co/ixOsJPUU4q#GoRacers🏇 pic.twitter.com/gUx296xtQx
CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
We have relaunched The Winner's Circle, the official student supporter's organization of Murray State Athletics. For just $25 a year, our student body can be part of an exclusive student organization that prides itself in making our home venues the most intimidating in The Valley!
We encourage all of our students SIGN UP before next season begins!
SPORT PROGRAM SUCCESS
As we close the book on our first year in the Missouri Valley Conference and enter our first year in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, it is important we list some exciting accomplishments from our sport programs:
- Men's Basketball
- Picked up a win over Valparaiso in the Missouri Valley Tournament
- Led the Valley in attendance with 5,218 fans per game
- Defeated Texas A&M in the Myrtle Beach Invitational
- Women's Basketball
- Earned a win over Evansville in the Missouri Valley Tournament
- Announced Free Attendance for 2023 with CFSB Sponsorship
- Saw a 30% Attendance Increase during the 2022-23 season
- Earned a road win over Kentucky, their first win over the Wildcats since 1973 and first win over a Power 5 program since 1988
- Soccer
- Played in the Championship Game of the Missouri Valley Tournament in their first year
- Has received commitments from two student-athletes with multiple Power 5 offers
- Football
- Put together the highest ranked recruiting class in school history (31 stars per 247Sports)
- Saw a Homecoming record crowd of 15,122, the largest since 1994
- Was ranked No. 36 in the nation (FCS) in average attendance, an 11% increase from 2021
- Will play 1000th Game vs Presbyterian on Sept. 2, 2023
- Rifle
- Competed in the NCAA National Championship for the 35th time and finished ranked No. 8 in the country
- Secured the programs 17th OVC Championship
- Head coach Alan Lollar was named the OVC Coach of the Year for the eighth time in his career
- Matias Kiuru, Paola Paravati, and John Blanton were all named CRCA All-Americans
- Softball
- Earned the No. 4 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
- Head Coach Kara Amundson earned her 300th career victory on April 22 in a win over Indiana State
- Defeated Mississippi State on the road, the third victory over an SEC opponent in school history
- Hannah James was named a NFCA First Team All-Region and MVC First Team performer
- Baseball
- Secured its third-straight 30-win season, marking just the second time in school history the Racers have achieved that feat
- Head Coach Dan Skirka earned his 100th career victory in a win over Northern Kentucky on March 4, 2023
- Coach Skirka's contract was extended two seasons and now runs through 2025
- Track & Field/Cross Country
- Placed second as a team at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship Meet both indoor and outdoor
- Had five qualifiers for the NCAA East Preliminaries
- Kayla Bell and Meghan Fletcher qualified for NCAA National Championships, where Bell finished 10th overall in the 800-meter run to earn Second Team All-American honors and Fletcher finished 24th in the high jump
- Women's Golf
- Finished fourth as a team in first-ever MVC Tournament
- Payton Carter named MVC Golfer of the Year
- Payton Carter, Alma Garcia, Eliza Mae Kho, McKenna Stahl and Kaitlyn Zieba all earned Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholars Team honors
- Men's Golf
- Finished fifth in first MVC Tournament Appearance
LOOKING AHEAD
We have been working hard on enhancing each of our sport programs this summer by giving them competitive and modern resources to boost our student-athlete experience and roster management. The best is yet to come and we cannot wait to tell you about what is next!
Next week, we are excited welcome home our men's basketball alumni, donors and fans when we host Hoopalooza on July 28-29. We will be making some MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS during the event.
With the 2023-24 athletics season on the horizon, we cannot wait to begin our first season in the Missouri Valley Football Conference on Saturday, Sept. 2, when the Racers host Presbyterian in what is also our program's 1,000th game. It will be a great celebration at Roy Stewart Stadium that you will not want to miss!
We are also greatly looking forward to our second full season in the Missouri Valley Conference and are excited for soccer, volleyball and cross country to begin competition in the next month.
We hope everyone has had an enjoyable summer and has a chance to get out and enjoy the lake! We cannot wait to see you all back on campus soon to begin the 2023-24 season!
Go Racers!
Nico
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