[2] Before the 2022–23 school year, the Governors were members of another FCS league, the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).

[3][4] The Austin Peay mascot is The Governor, and the school colors are red and white.

Athletics began at Austin Peay almost as soon as the school opened for classes in 1929 as Austin Peay Normal School; men's and women's basketball teams were organized that first year.

[5] A member of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) since July 1, 2022, Austin Peay State University sponsors teams in six men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports.

Shortly after the 2022 football season, the ASUN and Western Athletic Conference (WAC), which had been partners in a football-only alliance in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, announced a full merger of their football leagues, creating what eventually became the UAC.