Morehead State University

What Morehead State University does

Morehead State University (MSU) is a public, state-funded university founded in 1922 and headquartered in Morehead, Kentucky, operating with 501–1,000 employees and serving a primarily regional student base in Kentucky and West Virginia. It offers academic programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels across traditional disciplines, and runs an active NCAA athletic program in the Ohio Valley Conference — including a 2025–26 shared OVC regular-season championship and a home stadium named after NFL Super Bowl MVP alumnus Phil Simms. The university delivers workforce and continuing education through regional centers in Louisville, Hazard, Bowling Green, and Owensboro via the Community Learning Network consortium with the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and the Department for Community-Based Services, training more than 5,000 human services professionals across 120 Kentucky counties.

MSU's core technology and research assets are concentrated in its Space Science Center, which is one of the select institutions NASA has tapped to track the Artemis II crewed lunar mission and which is expanding payload operations capabilities for government and commercial space stations. Research activity includes a published LSTM neural network collaboration for mining process prediction. The university has secured substantial federal and state grant funding — $7.54M in Community Project Funding, prior $10M federal support, ~$4M from the Appalachian Regional Commission, and $3.98M through the ARISE program — to expand the SpaceTrek and SpacePrep aerospace workforce development initiatives targeting approximately 3,000 girls across Kentucky and West Virginia, with partnerships including TMC Technologies, West Virginia University, West Virginia Wesleyan College, and the WV Public Education Collaborative. Additional applied-learning partnerships include a Veterinary Technology Program collaboration with Saving the Animals of Rowan (STAR) for clinical training.

MSU's revenue mechanics combine tuition and state appropriations (not publicly disclosed) with a layered grant-based model that funds research, workforce development, and program expansion. GTM is community-led and event-driven: service-learning programs like EngageEagles and the Kentucky Hunger Dialogue Junior Fellows generate engagement, while intercollegiate athletic events (e.g., a $100,000 appearance fee from Louisville men's basketball) provide visibility and modest revenue. Customer segments span traditional undergraduates, female Appalachia-focused STEM cohorts, veterinary technology students, and the broader human-services workforce. As a public state university, MSU has no external equity ownership, is governed by the Kentucky CPE, and is funded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky alongside federal earmarks and private alumni endowments.

Name

Morehead State University

Legal name

Morehead State University

Website

https://moreheadstate.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1922

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Morehead State University is a public Kentucky university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs, with notable space-science research (NASA Artemis II tracking), statewide healthcare workforce training, and NCAA athletics in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Research Universities with Multi-Campus Systems (EDAHAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

STEM-Focused Public Research Universities (EDAHAAAE), Veterinary Medicine Universities (EDAHAGAG)

Keywords

• Higher education services
• Aerospace workforce training
• Space science research
• Veterinary technology education
• Intercollegiate athletics

Headquarters

HQ city

Morehead

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal and State Grants: The university receives significant federal funding including $7.54 million in Community Project Funding for the Space Science Center and $10 million secured for space program development, as well as state grants for healthcare workforce training.
2. Service Learning Grants: Morehead State receives grants exceeding $36,000 to expand student service learning programs supporting community projects, faculty development, and student engagement initiatives.
3. Athletic Appearance Fees: The university earns appearance fees of $100,000 for basketball games against visiting programs like Louisville, generating revenue from intercollegiate athletics.
4. Endowment and Scholarship Funding: Alumni donations create scholarship endowments supporting students from specific regions and high schools, providing financial support through private contributions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Morehead State University is a public state university that delivers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs across academic disciplines, complemented by specialized workforce development programs such as the SpaceTrek aerospace initiative, the Veterinary Technology Program, NCAA intercollegiate athletics, and grant-funded research and workforce training partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undergraduate Degree Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• 20 wins, Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship shared
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Saving the Animals of Rowan (STAR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2026MSU's Veterinary Technology Program partnered with STAR to provide students with hands-on clinical experience while caring for rescued animals. Students assist with patient care from admission through discharge, including wellness care, diagnostic procedures, and medically necessary surgeries under licensed veterinarian supervision.
• TMC TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026TMC Technologies collaborates with MSU and West Virginia Public Education Collaborative on the SpaceTrek residential summer program in space systems engineering. TMC manages programmatic operations and provides engineering expertise for the $3.98 million ARISE-funded initiative.
• West Virginia Public Education CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026WV Public Education Collaborative partners with MSU and TMC Technologies on SpaceTrek, a residential summer program in space systems engineering expanding to West Virginia Wesleyan College for 2026.
• West Virginia Wesleyan CollegeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2026SpaceTrek residential summer program in space systems engineering expanding to West Virginia Wesleyan College for its 2026 session (July 12-25), accommodating 24 students. Part of $3.98 million ARISE-funded program.
• NASAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026NASA selected MSU to track the historic Artemis II mission, the first human lunar mission in 50 years. The Space Science Center will expand payload operations capabilities for government and commercial space stations using $7.54 million in federal funding.
• EngageKYminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Statewide initiative led in partnership with EngageKY brings together students, campus leaders, and community organizations to develop solutions to food insecurity. MSU's Hunter McGlone selected for Kentucky Hunger Dialogue Junior Fellows cohort.
• West Virginia UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025WVU's Small Satellite Center is part of MSU's SpaceTrek expansion, implementing SpaceTrek and SpacePrep programs for approximately 3,000 girls in Kentucky and West Virginia, significantly boosting female enrollment in aerospace education.
• Kentucky Council on Postsecondary EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025CPE partnered with MSU as one of three universities in the Community Learning Network consortium to modernize workforce training for over 5,000 human services professionals across 120 Kentucky counties.
• Kentucky Department for Community-Based ServicescoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2025DCBS partnered with CPE and consortium universities including MSU to launch Community Learning Network, transitioning workforce training from single vendor at Eastern Kentucky University to regional centers including Morehead.
• Brescia UniversityminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2025Brescia University joined MSU and Northern Kentucky University in the Community Learning Network consortium for healthcare workforce training across Kentucky.
• Northern Kentucky UniversityminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2025Northern Kentucky University joined MSU and Brescia University in the Community Learning Network consortium for healthcare workforce training across Kentucky.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• University of North Dakota: Public university with established aerospace education programs including UAS operations and space studies. Comparable as a regional public institution building aerospace workforce differentiation, particularly in unmanned aircraft and space operations.

Direct peers

• Kentucky State University: Kentucky public university serving similar student demographics and competing for the same state appropriations pool. Comparable as a smaller-scale public institution with workforce development emphasis.
• Eastern Kentucky University: Regional public university in Kentucky offering similar undergraduate, graduate, and workforce training programs. Directly comparable as a Kentucky regional state institution competing for the same Appalachian student population and state appropriations.
• Murray State University: Kentucky regional public university and fellow Ohio Valley Conference member. Directly comparable in size, mission, athletics conference membership, and rural Kentucky service area.
• Northern Kentucky University: Kentucky regional public university and partner in the Community Learning Network consortium alongside MSU. Comparable as a state-funded institution delivering workforce training and undergraduate programs across Kentucky.
• Western Kentucky University: Kentucky regional public university with comparable undergraduate, graduate, and applied research programs. Competitor for state appropriations and out-of-state students within the Kentucky higher education ecosystem.
• Brescia University: Partner in the Community Learning Network consortium alongside MSU. Comparable as a Kentucky institution delivering workforce training under the CPE/DCBS partnership, though smaller and private rather than public.

Broad incumbents

• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University: Larger specialized aerospace and aviation university with established NASA relationships. Comparable in aerospace education and space science focus but operates as a private specialized institution at substantially larger scale.
• University of Kentucky: Kentucky's flagship research university with substantially larger engineering and aerospace programs. Comparable as a Kentucky higher education institution but operates at a much larger scale with broader research portfolio.
• West Virginia University: Larger flagship research university partnering with MSU on SpaceTrek through its Small Satellite Center. Comparable as an aerospace/STEM education provider with overlapping workforce development programs but substantially larger scale and research portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/moreheadstate
• Facebookfacebook.com/53225933241
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/morehead-state-university

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Morehead State University