Murray State head men’s basketball coach Ryan Miller announced hiring of Ernie Kuyper as the Racers’ General Manager, a first for the team as it builds a new program heading into the 2025-26 season.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ernie Kuyper as the inaugural General Manager of Murray State Men’s Basketball, a newly created role to navigate the evolving landscape of college athletics,” said Coach Miller. “With his extensive experience in the business of grassroots basketball, particularly in the realms of revenue sharing and NIL, Ernie is uniquely equipped to guide our program in the modern NCAA model. His proven success in developing youth leagues and his vision for fostering young talent make him the ideal leader to elevate our program to new heights.”
This strategic addition to Murray State Basketball brings in Kuyper, who has two decades of experience in the game including organizing, coaching and promoting programs at the prep level.
“I am thrilled to join the Murray State Racer basketball program as General Manager,” Kuyper said. “In today’s college basketball landscape, success demands a personalized approach, empowering each player to excel on the court while building their brand and preparing for future opportunities. Our mission is clear: relentlessly pursue elite talent to compete at the highest level and deliver championship-caliber results.”
A 2007 graduate from the University of Memphis, Ernie Kuyper is well known in youth basketball circles in the mid-south and beyond. In 2005, he founded and nurtured Hoop City Basketball, an organization that has offered prep basketball opportunities for youth of all ages for 20 years. In 2016, Kuyper led the effort to launch the Sports Network, an organization that operates collegiate and high school basketball events such as the Jack Jones Classic and Hoop City Classic. Since 2009. Kuyper has been active with Memphis’ Youth Athletic Foundation as it’s president and board of directors and he also directed camps for the Memphis Grizzlies for three years.
