Murray High School (Kentucky)

Murray High School is a public high school located in Murray, Kentucky, United States. Currently, the school is on Sycamore Street, but from 1872 to 1971 it was located at 801 Main Street, in the building now used for Murray Middle School.

Athletics
The Murray High Lady Tiger Basketball team is currently the most successful sport at the school. During former head coach Rechelle Turner's 21-year tenure from 1997 to 2017, the team had unprecedented success. Perhaps the most notable accomplishments of the Lady Tigers are their two back to back KHSAA Final Four appearances in 2016 and 2017, along with a Class A state championship in 2016 and 2018. Additionally, the Lady Tigers were Region 1 champions in 1997, 2010, 2016, and 2017. Turner is now the head women's basketball coach at NCAA Division I Murray State University.

Murray's football team is well known across Kentucky to be one of the best in Class AA. Murray High School had undefeated regular seasons in 2009 and 2010. The program has reached the third or fourth round of KHSAA Class AA Playoffs each year from 2009 to 2014. Prior to moving to Class AA, Murray High School won the Class A state championship in 1961 and 1974.

The Murray girls' track and field team won the KHSAA Class A state championship in 2016 and 2017.


 * Archery
 * Baseball
 * Basketball
 * Cheerleading
 * Cross country
 * Dance
 * Football
 * Golf
 * Marching Band
 * Soccer
 * Softball
 * Swimming
 * Tennis
 * Track and field
 * Volleyball-Ladies

Murray Tiger Band
Murray High School's band has arguably been the most successful activity at the school. The marching band has won two BOA Grand National Class A Championships in 1977 and 2021, as well as four KMEA state championships in 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2023. The band has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, and Walt Disney World in Florida. The Murray Tiger Band is currently under the direction of Tim Zeiss.

Accomplishments

 * BOA Grand National Champion - 1977
 * BOA Class A National Champion - 2021
 * KMEA State Champion
 * Class A - 2017, 2018
 * Class AAA - 2021, 2023
 * KMEA 2nd Place
 * Class A - 1997, 2009, 2013, 2015
 * Class AA - 2007, 2019
 * Class AAA - 2022
 * KMEA 3rd Place
 * Class A - 1987, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016
 * KMEA 4th Place
 * Class AA - 2001
 * KMEA State Finalist - 1987, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
 * KMEA West Regional Champion
 * Class A - 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
 * Class AA - 2001, 2004, 2007, 2019
 * Class AAA - 2021, 2022, 2023
 * BOA Class A Super Regional Champion (Indianapolis) - 2016
 * BOA Class A Super Regional Champion (St. Louis) - 2006
 * Murray State Festival of Champions Grand Champion - 1976, 1977, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
 * Murray State Festival of Champions Reserve Grand Champion - 1978, 1979, 2002, 2005, 2011
 * MTSU Contest of Champions Finalist - 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979

Notable performances

 * Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - 1980
 * Orange Bowl Parade - 1975, 1977

Notable alumni

 * Shane Andrus, football placekicker
 * Gordon Cooper, Mercury-Atlas 9 astronaut
 * Tim Masthay, punter for the Green Bay Packers
 * Mel Purcell, tennis player
 * Molly Sims, model and actress

Historical timeline

 * 1872: Community leaders raise money to build the Murray Male and Female Institute, recognized as "the finest school in the Jackson Purchase"
 * 1900: The Institute catches fire (in "some unaccountable way," according to a contemporary account) and burns to the ground. The new "Murray Graded School Building" is built with state funds. It houses grades 1–12 in the Murray Independent School District. However, this second school building catches fire in 1919 during the Christmas break and also burns to the ground. It is believed that the fire was caused by students smoking and gambling in the boiler room.
 * 1922: A new three-story schoolhouse is completed. It includes an auditorium, a large library, and several classrooms.
 * 1930: The west wing, with several classrooms, a gymnasium and locker rooms, a home economics lab, and an unfinished third floor, is added onto the building.
 * 1939: Ty Holland Stadium is built by Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps and named for the Murray City School's highly respected teacher and coach.
 * 1953: With the construction of Austin Elementary (named for A.B. Austin, long-time member of the Murray Board of Education), the Murray school building becomes Murray High School.
 * 1958: The "Band and Manual Arts" building is added onto the Murray High campus to house band, music, and industrial arts.
 * 1971: The new Murray High School is built on Doran Road, and the school system is reorganized to include four years of elementary school, five years of middle school, and four years of high school.