Murray State University in Kentucky has one of the best ranges in collegiate rifle competition. Beneath the Roy Stewart Stadium, just past the football offices, is the entrance to Murray State’s Pat Spurgin Rifle Range. The range has served as the host of eight NCAA championships.
Pat Spurgin (later Pitney) was inducted into the USA Shooting Hall of Fame in 2013. Now a Fairbanks, AK, resident, she was an 18-year-old Engineering Physics major at Murray State University when she won a gold medal in air rifle at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
Why is this a top-notch rifle range? From the Murray State athletics website:
With adjustable targets and electric carriers, the permanent range features a roomy 16 shooting points. The range also houses an arms room and lockers for convenient storage of shooting equipment.
For special matches such as the NCAA Championships, the range can be expanded to allow simultaneous 16-shooter smallbore and air rifle competition. Media and hospitality rooms are located nearby, with match scoring provided by a custom-made computer program that offers competitors timely scoring results.
Later on in her career as the Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Pat Pitney volunteered as an assistant rifle coach for over 20 years, helping the team to win the NCAA Rifle Championships nine times since 1994. She was also a torch bearer for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. At the end of 2014, Pitney was appointed as director of the Alaska Office of Management and Budget, ending her career as vice chancellor for administrative services at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
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