Murray State Racers football The Murray State Racers football team represents Murray State University in the sport of American football . The Racers competes in the Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) of the National Collegiate Athletics Association ( NCAA ) Division I and the Ohio Valley Conference ( OVC ) . History . Johnson era ( 1997 - 1999 ) . Denver Johnson was hired as head coach of the Racers prior to the 1997 season . Johnson had previously served as an offensive line coach for the Oklahoma Sooners during the 1996 season . Due to a late hiring process and the loss of several key Murray State players from the previous season , the Racers were not expected to perform well under Johnson ' s first year as head coach . The Racers exceeded expectations by achieving a record of 7 - 4 and 5 - 2 in OVC play in Johnson ' s first season . The four losses included a hard fought two point overtime loss at Western Kentucky in the Battle for the Red Belt rivalry game . In 1998 , the Racers went 7 - 4 overall and 5 - 2 in Ohio Valley Conference play , including a win over the rival Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in the Battle for the Red Belt and a victory over the Southern Illinois Salukis . The only home loss of the season was a 44 - 46 loss to Tennessee State on November 14 in the final game of conference play . The Racers would have won the 1999 OVC championship had it not been for the loss . At the conclusion of the game , Tennessee State tore down Murray State ' s home field goalposts at Roy Stewart Stadium and took the goalposts back to Tennessee State . The 1999 season ended in a similar fashion as Tennessee State once again deprived the Racers of a conference championship by narrowly defeating the Racers in the final game of conference play in the 1999 season . The Racers fell to Tennessee State on the road in Nashville by a score of 41 - 42 . Murray State finished the 1999 season with an overall record of 7 - 4 and an OVC record of 5 - 2 once again . The Racers were undefeated at home in the 1999 season . After three seasons at Murray State , Johnson was hired in January 2000 as the new head coach of the Illinois State Redbirds . In his three years at Murray State , Denver Johnson ' s overall record as head coach was 21 - 12 . Johnson ' s . 636 winning percentage is fifth best all time among Murray State head football coaches . After Johnson began coaching at Illinois State , Johnson alleged that a former assistant under him at Murray State gave a copy of his playbook from Murray State to Northern Illinois University prior to a game between Northern Illinois and Illinois State on September 9 , 2000 . The game , a 52 - 0 loss , was the worst defeat for Illinois State in 40 years . Johnson alleged that the assistant was angry he was not asked to come to Illinois State when Johnson left Murray State . Northern Illinois coach Joe Novak denied having the Murray State playbook . Pannunzio era ( 2000 - 2005 ) . In November 2002 , the Racers won a share of the Ohio Valley Conference championship with a 37 - 35 win over an Eastern Illinois University squad led by future NFL quarterback Tony Romo . Murray State kicker Shane Andrus kicked the 52 - yard game - winning field goal as time expired . Murray State finished the season 7 - 4 - 0 and 5 - 1 - 0 in conference , and the Racers received the OVC ' s automatic bid to the Division I - AA playoffs . In the first round of the NCAA Division I playoffs , the Racers faced off against the arch rival Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on the road in Bowling Green , Kentucky . The Hilltoppers won the rivalry game 59 - 20 and went on to win the Division I - AA national championship . In January 2003 , former Florida State Seminoles quarterback Adrian McPherson announced that he had transferred to Murray State . As a sophomore at Florida State , McPherson started four games and appeared in nine games total , completing 80 - of - 155 passes for 1 , 017 yards with 12 TD passes and only one interception . McPherson had been removed from the Florida State team in November 2002 after being arrested and charged with stealing and forging a signature on a blank check . McPherson began attending classes at Murray State and planned to play football for the Racers . He was initially not expected to lose any college eligibility by transferring from Florida State to Murray State . As the ongoing investigation began to bring additional charges against McPherson , Murray State informed him that he would not allow him to play until his legal problems were resolved . McPherson dropped out of Murray State in early February 2003 , less than a month after he transferred to the school . Murray State Athletic Director E . W . Dennison commented , " I think he realized his football career would be put on hold indefinitely . He ' s been at home for two weeks attending to legal matters , which has kept him away from classes and put him behind academically . " On April 29 , 2005 , Murray State coach Joe Pannunzio was placed on paid administrative leave following the arrest of a Murray State football player and a former player on drug trafficking and weapons charges . Ron Lane , a junior running back , and Terrence Biggers , a former wide receiver , were charged with trafficking in a controlled substance within 1 , 000 yards of a school and possession of drug paraphernalia . Following the incident , Athletic Director Allen Ward stated , " charges of this severity and magnitude demand stepped - up review of our football program . " Ron Lane was removed from the team and both students were banned from campus . Murray State finished the 2005 season with a winless conference record of 0 - 7 - 0 and an overall record of 2 - 9 - 0 . In November 2005 , Joe Pannunzio was notified that his contract would not be renewed . According to an interview several years later with former Murray State president F . King Alexander , Alexander explained Pannunzio ' s departure by stating , " I fired our football coach , Joe Pannunzio , because of numerous incidents that occurred in our program under him that were quite bad . " Murray State ' s overall record under Pannunzio was 30 - 37 - 0 ( . 448 ) , which left him as one of five Racer football coaches with overall losing records . Griffin era ( 2006 - 2009 ) . Matt Griffin was named head coach of the Racers on December 12 , 2005 . Shortly after he was announced as the new head coach at Murray State , Griffin was honored by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association as Tennessee ' s College Football Coach of the Year after making considerable improvement as head coach of the University of Tennessee at Martin . The Skyhawks had not won a conference game in six years prior to Griffin ' s arrival . Under Griffin , the Skyhawks improved to 4 - 4 in OVC play and a 6 - 5 overall record by his third season in 2005 . This was the first winning season for the Skyhawks since 1993 . Murray State hoped for similar improvement under Griffin , but instead the football program reached a low point under his leadership as head coach of the Racers . Griffin brought his entire coaching staff from UT - Martin to join him at Murray State . Griffin was faced with many challenges inherited from the previous Murray State coaching staff , including few returning players and APR penalties imposed by the NCAA . In Griffin ' s first season , the Racers went 1 - 10 - 0 overall and 0 - 8 - 0 in OVC play . In 2007 the Racers minimally improved to 2 - 9 - 0 overall and 1 - 7 - 0 in conference play . Griffin ' s third season was his best , leading the Racers to a 5 - 7 - 0 overall record and a 4 - 4 - 0 record in conference . In Griffin ' s fourth season , the Racers slipped back to 3 - 8 - 0 overall and 2 - 6 - 0 in OVC play . While Griffin was able to make improvements to stabilize and rebuild the program and restore academic integrity , he was ultimately unable to stop the decline that had started under previous coach Joe Pannunzio . Following four straight losing seasons and an overall record of 11 - 34 - 0 , the lowest winning percentage in Murray State history ( . 244 ) , Matt Griffin was fired on November 16 , 2009 . Hatcher era ( 2010 - present ) . In December 2009 Chris Hatcher was introduced as the new head football coach at Murray State . Hatcher brought his spread offense , known as the ‘ Hatch Attack ’ , to Murray State after a three - year run at Georgia Southern . In his first year as head coach , Hatcher led the Racers to their first winning season in seven years by going 6 - 5 in 2010 . A highlight of the season was the October 9 , 2010 Homecoming game in which Murray State beat the Missouri State Bears by a score of 72 - 59 . The show of offense led by quarterback Casey Brockman set the modern - day scoring record for the Racers , surpassing the previous modern - day record of 71 set against Iowa Wesleyan on Homecoming in 1967 . Brockman went 32 - for - 41 in the game for a school record 570 yards and seven touchdowns . Brockman also rushed for 16 yards and an additional touchdown . With a victory over Tennessee State in the final game of the 2010 season , Chris Hatcher earned his 100th career win . Hatcher became the fifth youngest coach in college football history , youngest in the 21st century , to reach 100 coaching victories . During the 2011 season , Murray State quarterback Casey Brockman made NCAA history by throwing for an FCS - record 422 yards in the first half of the game against Tennessee State . He went on to throw for 600 yards and seven touchdowns , becoming the fifth player in FCS history to throw for 600 yards in a game . On September 17 , 2011 , Murray State defeated Tennessee State 58 - 27 at home in front of 10 , 031 fans . The game against Tennessee State marked the largest crowd at a home game since 2000 and the largest crowd for a home opener since 1996 . Following the 2011 season , Murray State quarterback Casey Brockman was selected as a Third - Team AP All - American . Murray State finished the 2011 season with a 7 - 4 record , marking the first time the Racers posted back - to - back winning seasons since 1999 - 2000 . As a result of the success , head coach Chris Hatcher was rewarded with a two - year contract extension in January 2012 . Prior to the 2012 season , Murray State quarterback Casey Brockman was named OVC Preseason Player of the Year for the second straight season . Championships . Conference Championships . The Racers have won eight conference championships in the Ohio Valley Conference . Murray State ranks 4th in total conference championships among OVC schools . Future Coaching Success . The Murray State football program has become a steppingstone to major - college coaching success . Five former Murray State coaches have gone on to head coaching positions at BCS schools . In addition to the success of former Racer football coaches , former players have also gone on to achieve major coaching successes . Rivalries . Western Kentucky . In 1922 , the Murray State Normal School was chartered as a state - supported teacher training institution , because the Western Kentucky State Normal School and Eastern Kentucky State Normal School could no longer produce a sufficient number of teachers to support the growing demand in the state . Located only 120 miles away from one another , and both in the western portion of the state , Murray State and Western Kentucky quickly became known as sister institutions as well as fierce competitors . In 1941 , prior to a SIAA championship game between the Racers and Hilltoppers , Murray State President James H . Richmond remarked , " We are always happy when we can defeat our chief rival and greatest friend . " The football rivalry with Western Kentucky began with a Hilltopper victory on October 24 , 1931 . In 1939 , both institutions strengthened the rivalry by scheduling the match up as the final game of their regular seasons . This tradition continued , with only four interruptions , for the next 46 years . In 1948 both schools joined together to form the Ohio Valley Conference , where Murray won the first championship in football . The football rivalry was cemented as an annual trophy game in 1978 known as the Battle for the Red Belt . The Red Belt originated in 1978 when WKU athletic trainer Bill Edwards attended a district trainers ' meeting in Atlanta with Murray State trainer Tom Simmons . Simmons forgot to bring a belt , and borrowed a red one from Edwards . After the meeting , Edwards asked for the return of his belt , but Simmons responded that WKU would have to battle Murray State in football to get it back . Simmons had the belt mounted on a large plaque with brass plates to record the annual game scores of the annual rivalry game . The annual meetings between the two teams ended in 2000 , but the Battle for the Red Belt is still played on in intermittent basis . The last game was played in 2008 when a record crowd of 22 , 297 in Bowling Green watched the Hilltoppers beat the Racers 50 - 9 and maintain possession of the Red Belt . The Racers and Hilltoppers have met 67 times in football , with Western Kentucky leading the series 36 - 24 - 7 .