The Austin Peay Governors men's basketball team represents Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Governors play in the United Athletic Conference starting in 2022–23, following 61 seasons in the Ohio Valley Conference. Austin Peay has qualified for the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament seven times, most recently in 2016, making the field of 68 by virtue of having won the 2016 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament. The Governors' head coach is Corey Gipson.

The 2022–23 season was not only Peay's first in the ASUN Conference, but also was its last at Winfield Dunn Center. After that season, the Governors moved to the new F&M Bank Arena in downtown Clarksville. The new arena was originally intended to open for the 2022–23 season, but was delayed to July 2023.

Historically, the "Governors" nickname applied only to Peay's men's teams; women's teams were known as "Lady Govs". However, since the mid-2010s, all Peay teams have used "Governors".

Rivalries The Governors' main rival has historically been Murray State University. The two schools are separated by about and consistently vied for Ohio Valley Conference championships. ESPN The Magazine featured the Austin Peay–Murray State rivalry in a February 2009 issue. However, the two schools are now in separate conferences, with Peay having joined the ASUN and Murray State the Missouri Valley Conference in July 2022.

Year-by-year results +YearCoachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason1942–43Fred Brown9–101943–44WWIIn/a1944–45WWIIn/a1945–46Bee Low2–191946–47David Aaron23–51947–48David Aaron16–91948–49David Aaron17–131949–50David Aaron14–111950–51David Aaron13–121951–52David Aaron11–171952–53David Aaron14–121953–54David Aaron14–131954–55David Aaron7–171955–56David Aaron16–111956–57David Aaron24–91957–58David Aaron17–91958–59David Aaron17–91959–60David Aaron 22–51960–61David Aaron22–9(9–1) VSAC1961–62David Aaron14–12(8–2) VSAC1962–63George Fisher18–11(9–1) VSAC1963–64George Fisher14–9(7–7) OVC1964–65George Fisher4–17(2–12) OVC1965–66George Fisher 7–14(3–11) OVC1966–67George Fisher14–9(7–7) OVC1967–68George Fisher8–16(2–12) OVC1968–69George Fisher10–14(3–11) OVC1969–70George Fisher5–21(2–12) OVC1970–71George Fisher10–14(5–9) OVC1971–72Lake Kelly10–14(5–9) OVC1972–73Lake Kelly21–5(11–3) OVCLost Regional semifinal1973–74Lake Kelly17–10(10–4) OVCLost First round1974–75Lake Kelly 17–10(10–4) OVC1975–76Lake Kelly20–7(10–4) OVC1976–77Lake Kelly24–4(13–1) OVC1977–78Ed Thompson15–12(8–6) OVC1978–79Ed Thompson8–18(3–9) OVC1979–80Ron Bargatze8–18(2–10) OVC1980–81Ron Bargatze14–13(7–7) OVC1981–82Ron Bargatze6–20(4–12) OVC1982–83Ron Bargatze11–16(4–10) OVC1983–84Howard Jackson11–16(5–9) OVC1984–85Howard Jackson8–19(4–10) OVC1985–86Lake Kelly14–14(8–6) OVC1986–87Lake Kelly20–12(8–6) OVCLost Second Round1987–88Lake Kelly17–13(10–4) OVC1988–89Lake Kelly18–12(8–4) OVC1989–90Lake Kelly10–19(2–10) OVC1990–91Dave Loos15–14(6–6) OVC1991–92Dave Loos11–17(6–8) OVC1992–93Dave Loos7–20(4–12) OVC1993–94Dave Loos11–16(10–6) OVC1994–95Dave Loos13–16(8–8) OVC1995–96Dave Loos19–11(10–6) OVCLost First round1996–97Dave Loos17–14(12–6) OVC1997–98Dave Loos17–11(11–7) OVC1998–99Dave Loos11–16(9–9) OVC1999–2000Dave Loos18–10(11–7) OVC2000–01Dave Loos22–10(10–6) OVC2001–02Dave Loos14–18(8–8) OVC2002–03Dave Loos23–8(13–3) OVCLost First round 2003–04Dave Loos22–10 6–0) OVC2004–05Dave Loos13–19(9–7) OVC2005–06Dave Loos17–14(11–9) OVC2006–07Dave Loos21–12(16–4) OVC2007–08Dave Loos24–11(16–4) OVCLost First round2008–09Dave Loos 19–14(13–5) OVCLost CIT Quarterfinals2009–10Dave Loos17–15(11–7) OVC2010–11Dave Loos20–14(13–5) OVC2011–12Dave Loos12–20 (8–8) OVC2012–13Dave Loos8–23(4–12) OVC2013–14Dave Loos12–18(6–10) OVC2014–15Dave Loos8–22(3–13) OVC2015–16Dave Loos18–18(7–9) OVCLost First round2016–17Dave Loos11–19(7–9) OVC2017–18Matt Figger19–15(12–6) OVCLost CIT Quarterfinals2018–19Matt Figger22–10(13–5) OVC2019–20Matt Figger21–12(14–4) OVC2020–21Matt Figger14–13(10–10) OVC2021–22Nate James12–17(8–10) OVC2022–23Nate James9–22(3–15) ASUN2023–24Corey Gipson19–16(10–6) ASUNLost CIT Quarterfinals2024–25Corey Gipson14–18(8–10) ASUN2025–26Corey Gipson22–9(15–3) ASUN

Postseason

NCAA Division I tournament results The Governors have appeared in the NCAA Division I tournament seven (officially, six) times. Their combined record is 2–8, 1–6 without their 1973 NCAA tournament appearance (1 win, 2 losses), which was vacated by the NCAA.

1973* Regional QuarterfinalsRegional semifinalsMideast Regional third place JacksonvilleKentuckyMarquette W 77–75L 100–106 OT L 73–88 1974 Regional Quarterfinals Notre Dame L 66–108 1987 First roundSecond Round IllinoisProvidence W 68–67L 87–90 OT 1996 First round Georgia Tech L 79–90 2003 First round Louisville L 64–86 2008 First round Texas L 54–74 2016 First round Kansas L 79–105

NCAA Division II tournament results The Governors have appeared in the NCAA Division II tournament four times. Their combined record is 3–6.

1958 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game AkronWabash L 61–76L 69–72 1960 Regional semifinalsRegional Finals Belmont AbbeyKentucky Wesleyan W 74–63L 69–83 1961 Regional semifinalsRegional FinalsElite Eight ChattanoogaBelmont AbbeyMount St. Mary's W 77–69W 70–63L 78–96 1963 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game Tennessee StateBellarmine L 94–119L 86–96

NIT results The Governors have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) two times. Their combined record is 1–2.

2004 Opening RoundFirst round BelmontGeorge Mason W 66–60L 100–106 2007 First round Air Force L 51–75

CBI results The Governors have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) one time. Their record is 0–1.

2011 First round Boise State L 80–83

CIT results The Governors have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) two times. Their combined record is 1–3.

2009 First round Bradley L 74–81 2018 First roundQuarterfinals Louisiana–MonroeUIC W 80–66L 81–83 2024 Quarterfinals Alabama A&M L 71–81

NAIA results The Governors have appeared in the NAIA tournament once, with a loss in its only game.

1957 First Round (5) Portland (OR) L 65-77

Notable players

Retired numbers

Austin Peay Governors retired numbers No.PlayerPos.CareerNo. ret.Ref. 10 Tom Morgan F1974–1978 1999 13 Bubba Wells F1993–1997 1998 21 Terry Taylor F2017–2021 2023 30 Howie Wright G1967–1970 1992 35 Fly Williams G1972–1974 2009 44 Trenton Hassell F1997–2001 2002

Retired jerseys

45 L.M. Ellis F 1962–1965 2022 Austin Peay's L.M. Ellis, first Black basketball player to sign with OVC school, dies at 79 by George Robinson at Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle, 3 Jun 2022420 Dave Loos Head coach 1990–2017 2022 L.M. Ellis, Gerlonda Hardin-Fite and Dave Loos to have jerseys retired, Saturday at letsgopeay.com, 8 Feb 2022 Notes

Professional international players Eli Abaev (born 1998), American-Israeli basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Israeli Basketball Premier League Chris Horton (born 1994) – basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League

References

External links