Murray State, as it is most often referred to, is particularly renowned for its basketball program, which has made several
appearances in the NCAA Division I tournament in recent years. Its athletic teams are known as the Racers, with the exception of
the baseball team which is known as the Thoroughbreds. All of its athletic teams compete in the Ohio Valley Conference, whose conference roster includes seven
other regional public universities and one private university as all-sports members and two other regional public universities as
basketball-only members. Its student newspaper,
The Murray State News, has been awarded two Pacemaker awards in the last
decade, the highest award given to collegiate newspapers.