Much like Murray State University, Austin Peay State University has experienced its own share of changes in the last two years — shifting conferences while pushing for new growth opportunities.
During Tuesday’s Rotary Club of Hopkinsville meeting, Governors President Michael Licari clearly described what’s been happening in Clarksville, including a jump from the Ohio Valley Conference to the Atlantic Sun, a move from the historic Dunn Center to the brand-new F&M Bank Arena and a host of new academic experiences available on campus.
Members of the OVC for 60 years until their 2022 departure, Licari called moving leagues “no easy thing,” because of the disruption it can cause in rivalries and relationships.
He noted APSU would still play the Racers in basketball and football because “that’s fun,” but a change to the ASUN was first and foremost a “business decision.” When he was brought on board as school president in 2020, “the numbers were just clear.”
And eyeballs, he said, bring more advertising revenue, improved television and other media contracts, and better recruitment opportunities to the college.
Licari noted the southeast part of the country is where most of their students, student-athletes and alumni reside — in what may end up being a better pipeline of past, present and future Governors.
The Dunn Center, meanwhile, will no longer be home to the Governors basketball squads, but its uses will be many in the coming years. As hoops transitions to a new atmosphere, familiar education programs — as well as club sports, Governors volleyball and general fitness — will remain in the legendary location.
It’s a building Licari called already “oversubscribed,” with F&M set to host not just home basketball events, but concerts, miscellaneous shows, and youth/adult hockey leagues through support from the NHL’s Nashville Predators and Montgomery County.
Scheduled for its hard opening July 1, 2023, the venue will annually host 60-to-100 events while seating 6,000, and Licari said there’s anticipation of it becoming a premier location for musical acts and similar productions.
Licari turned congestion into comedy, quipping that Clarksville officials are going to let traffic get so bad that “people will just get out of their cars and walk” in town.
But Licari said congestion, indeed, is a massive concern not just for the Clarksville area — bur for all of middle Tennessee. He said that I-24’s upgrade remains at the top of congressional discussions, and that alternate routes need to be created in Clarksville to alleviate the logjam.
Licari is the second university president hosted by the club this spring, as University of Kentucky’s Dr. Eli Capiluto stopped by in early February.
FULL DISCUSSION:
