It is named in honor of former Oklahoma Governor William H. "Alfalfa Bill" Murray.

It was named after William H. Murray (known as "Alfalfa Bill") who had served as legal advisor to Governor Douglas H. Johnston of the Chickasaw Nation, was his delegate to the 1905 convention to draft a constitution for the proposed State of Sequoyah, and was the president of the constitutional convention to draft a document to create the state of Oklahoma, admitted to the union in 1907.

At first they had to board with families in town, but Murray, then a US Representative, in 1916 gained approval for Federal funding to construct two dormitories for Native American students.

[2] On March 17, 1924, the Oklahoma Legislature approved a measure to authorize the institution to expand its curriculum to college-level course: it became a community college, granting its first associate degrees in 1924.

It was renamed again in 1967, as Murray State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, reflecting its expanded programs.