A varsity intercollegiate sport at Marshall University is the Marshall Thundering Herd, football team. The squad competes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level and represents the university as a part of the Sun Belt Conference Eastern division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Joan C. Edwards Stadium, which has a capacity of 38,227 and an additional 55,000 seats, is where Marshall plays. Marshall had a 148-26 record at Joan C. Edwards Stadium at the conclusion of the 2015 football season, good for an.851 winning percentage. When Marshall University Stadium first opened in 1991, it hosted 33,116 spectators for a 24-23 victory over New Hampshire.
A record crowd of 41,382 watched Marshall plays the West Virginia Mountaineers on September 10, 2010, in Huntington. One of the two Division I stadiums named for a woman is Joan C. Edwards Stadium. James F. Edwards Field is the name of the playing field in honor of Joan Edwards' late husband, a successful businessman, and philanthropist.
Marshall Thundering Herd football History
Early history:- (1895–1967)
From 1909 to 1916, Boyd Chambers served as Marshall's head football coach. During the 1915 season, he is best known for calling the "Tower Play," in which one receiver pulled another up on his shoulders to complete a pass.
Rick Tolley era:- (1968–1970)
Rick Tolley, who spent two seasons as the head football coach at Marshall after serving as Wake Forest's defensive line coach, had two losing seasons (3-7) and two winning seasons (3-6). Tolley was one of 75 people who died in a plane crash on November 14, 1970, returning to West Virginia from a game versus East Carolina. Among the victims were 37 players, five coaches, administrators, family, friends, and the five-person Southern Airways crew.
Jack Lengyel era:- (1971–1974)
In 1971, Marshall's Joe McMullen recruited Jack Lengyel as their head coach. Lengyel enlisted players from the basketball and baseball clubs to help the community bounce back after the plane tragedy. As Marshall's head coach, Lengyel had a 9-33 record.
Frank Ellwood era:- (1975–1978)
Frank Ellwood, an Ohio native from Dover who ran the program for four seasons, was hired by Marshall as an assistant at Ohio University. The squad finished 2-9 in his first season and 5-6 in the following one. On September 12, 1976, at Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, the Thundering Herd defeated Miami (Ohio), which was rated 20th. Miami had not been defeated by The Herd since 1939. In 1977 and 1978, Marshall had respective records of 2-9 and 1-10, failing to claim a Southern Conference victory in each campaign.
Sonny Randle era:- (1979–1983)
After the 1978 season, Sonny Randle assumed the position of head coach. Randle had previously served as the Virginia and East Carolina's head coach. In his five years at Huntington, he had a 12-42-1 record, including a 5-26-1 mark in Southern Conference competition. Carl Lee, a member of the Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame, was a protégé of Randle's.
Jim Donnan era:- (1990–1995)
Marshall won the Division I-AA national championship in 1992 over Youngstown State (31-28) under the direction of head coach Jim Donnan, who joined Marshall from his position as Oklahoma's offensive coordinator. Marshall also finished in second place in 1991, 1993, and 1995. From 1991 to 1996, Marshall established an I-AA record by reaching the semifinals of the I-AA playoffs five times in a row. During his time at Marshall, Donnan twice received the NCAA Division I-AA Coach of the Year award. He left the school following the 1995 football season to take the head coaching job at Georgia.
Bob Pruett era:- (1996–2004)
Bob Pruett resigned from his position as Florida's defensive coordinator to take the head coaching job at Marshall, where he remained from 1996 to 2004. [9] The Thundering Herd amassed a 94-23 record during his time at Marshall, had two undefeated seasons, won six conference titles, triumphed in five of seven bowl games, and won the I-AA National Championship in 1996. In 1997, Marshall switched to all-sports Division I-A and the Mid-American Conference. The No. 1 squad in 1996 went 15-0 and won every game by a margin of more than two touchdowns. Future NFL players Chad Pennington, Randy Moss, John Wade, Chris Hanson, Eric Kresser, and Doug Chapman were on the 1996 squad. Before switching to Conference USA in 2005, Marshall won the MAC championship five times in its first eight seasons (1997–2000, 2002) and finished second in the league in 2001.
Marshall has four Top 25 finishes since returning to Division I-A, in 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2014. Marshall participated in the Motor City Bowl from 1997 to 2000, losing to Ole Miss in 1997 before triumphing against Louisville, BYU, and Cincinnati in the next three bowl contests. In a double-overtime contest at the 2001 GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, Marshall defeated East Carolina 64–61. At halftime, Marshall was down 38-8 before coming back thanks to five touchdown throws from Byron Leftwich. In Pruett's final game as head coach before his retirement, Marshall lost 32-14 to Cincinnati in the 2004 Plains Capital Fort Worth Bowl at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Mark Snyder era:- (2005–2009)
Mark Snyder, a former Marshall football player, left his post as Ohio State's defensive coordinator to take the head coaching job. During his tenure as Marshall's head coach, Snyder coached Ahmad Bradshaw, Lee Smith, Vinny Curry, Albert McClellan, and Cody Slate. 2009 was Snyder's greatest season, going 6-6. After five seasons, including one bowl appearance (the 2009 Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl), he announced his resignation.
Doc Holliday era:- (2010–2020)
After agreeing to a five-year deal for $600,000 each season, West Virginia University assistant coach Doc Holliday took over as Marshall's head coach on December 17, 2009. In 2013, Holliday guided Marshall to a 10-4 record that included a Military Bowl triumph. He guided the group to a 13-1 record in 2014, leading them to their first C-USA title and the inaugural Boca Raton Bowl victory over Northern Illinois (52–23). Marshall began the 2020 season 7-0 under Holliday, who also guided them to a No. 15 Associated Press rating. The squad went on a three-game losing streak after that and finished 7-3. Prior to falling to the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the 2020 Conference USA Championship game, Marshall won the East Division of the Conference USA. Conference USA honored Holliday with the title of Coach of the Year in 2020. Doc Holliday's contract did not get renewed in January 2021.
Charles Huff era:- (2021–present)
Charles Huff, the running backs coach at Alabama, was hired by Marshall as their head coach on January 17, 2021. Huff guided Marshall to a 7-6 record in his debut year. In the 2021 New Orleans Bowl, No. 23-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns defeated Marshall 36–21. The football team will play in the Sun Belt conference during the 2022 season as a result of the school's official joining of the conference in June 2022.
Conclusion
The Thundering Herd have been on top for four of the last six years and have a chance to win their fifth title since 2013 in 2018. The momentum is definitely with the Herd as they are sitting atop the league after starting out undefeated. With a few key additions, Marshall can clinch an unprecedented 4th straight bowl game for this season.
The crunch time is approaching but still no predictions from us. So what will it be? Stay tuned.
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