CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Longtime Austin Peay State University rival Murray State University will join the Govs in leaving the Ohio Valley Conference. But they’re headed north instead of south.
Murray State University has accepted an invitation to join the Missouri Valley Conference, the MSU Board of Regents announced today during a meeting at the campus in Murray, Kentucky.
The Murray State Racers will become the 11th member of the MVC beginning July 1. Belmont University in Nashville is also leaving the OVC to join the MVC, which includes mainly schools from Illinois, Iowa and Indiana.
“We are very excited as we advance Murray State University and Racer Athletics into our second century,” Murray State President Bob Jackson said in a news release. “The Missouri Valley Conference is one of the premier conferences in Division-I athletics and we look forward to continuing our long record of success in this conference.”
OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche issued a statement today acknowledging Murray State’s departure.
“The OVC has a rich history, and memories and friendships developed over the years are not forgotten, yet the focus of our unified membership is on the OVC’s future,” she said. “As all of us have seen this past year, the landscape of intercollegiate athletics continues to change, and the Ohio Valley Conference has not stood still. In the last two months, the OVC has added a member, has created a new partnership, and has continued its focus on membership growth.”
Austin Peay announced in September that it will leave the OVC, also starting July 1, to join the ASUN Conference.
Murray State is the fifth school to announce it’s leaving the OVC in the last year, joining APSU, Belmont, Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State in stepping away.