Kentucky State Thorobreds and Thorobrettes  The Kentucky State Thorobreds and Thorobrettes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kentucky State University, located in Frankfort, Kentucky, in NCAA Division II sports championships. The Thorobreds and Thorobrettes are members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. KSU has been a member of the SIAC since 1997. The Exum Center, the university's athletic and recreational complex, was named after William Exum, the first African-American varsity football player at the University of Wisconsin. Exum was hired as head of KSU's Physical Education department in 1949, and later made head of the Athletics department. He then became manager of the United States Track and Field teams at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. Exum retired from KSU in 1980. Men's sports (7)  Women's sports (6)  In 1970-1972 the Thorobreds won three straight NAIA National Titles (1970, 1971, 1972). As of 2017, they are still only the second team to do so, joining Tennessee State (1957, 1958, 1959).