Marshall Thundering Herd
The Marshall Thundering Herd is the intercollegiate athletic collection of teams that collectively represent the Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Thundering Herd athletic teams compete in the Sun Belt Conference, which are members of the NCAA Division I.[3] The school's official colors are kelly green and white.[4] The Marshall Thundering Herd have won 3 NCAA national championships and one NAIA national championship.
| Marshall Thundering Herd | |
|---|---|
| University | Marshall University |
| Conference | Sun Belt Conference[a] |
| NCAA | Division I (FBS) |
| Athletic director | Christian Spears |
| Location | Huntington, West Virginia |
| Varsity teams | 15 |
| Football stadium | Joan C. Edwards Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Cam Henderson Center |
| Baseball stadium | GoMart Ballpark / Kennedy Center Field |
| Softball stadium | Dot Hicks Field |
| Soccer stadium | Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex |
| Other venues | Frederick A. Fitch Natatorium Brian David Fox Tennis Center Guyan Golf & Country Club |
| Mascot | Marco the Bison |
| Nickname | Thundering Herd |
| Fight song | "Sons of Marshall" |
| Cheer | "We Are... Marshall" |
| Colors | Kelly green and white[2] |
| Website | www |
Sports sponsored
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Cross country |
| Cross country | Golf |
| Football | Soccer |
| Golf | Softball |
| Soccer | Swimming and diving |
| Track and Field† | Tennis |
| Track and field† | |
| Volleyball | |
| † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor | |
Baseball
- Head Coach: Greg Beals
- Stadium: Kennedy Center Field
- Conference Championships: 9 (1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1978, 1981)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (1973, 1978)
- First Season Played: 1896
Early Marshall baseball teams played on what is now Buskirk Field on campus, but has long since been handicapped by a lack of on-campus facilities.[5] Currently, the program uses Kennedy Center Field for home games in Huntington, Appalachian Power Park in Charleston (home of the West Virginia Power). A new on-campus facility is currently being planned to open in 2024.[6]
Basketball
Men's basketball
- Head Coach: Dan D'Antoni
- Arena: Cam Henderson Center
- Conference Championships: 11 - (Regular Season: 1937, 1938, 1939, 1956, 1984, 1987, 1988; Tournament: 1984, 1985, 1987, 2018)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 6 (1956, 1972, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2018)
- NIT Tournament Appearances: 5 (1967, 1968, 1973, 1988, 2012)
- NAIA National Championship: 1 (1947)
- All-Americans: 4
- Best Final Ranking: No. 12 (1972 Associated Press)
- First Season Played: 1907
Marshall men's basketball gained notoriety under Cam Henderson, inventor of the fast break and the 2-3 zone defense who coached the team from 1935 to 1955. As head coach of the Herd men's basketball team, Henderson compiled a record of 362-159 and won the 1947 NAIA National Championship. His Marshall teams produced 2 All-Americans, Jule Rivlin and Andy Tonkovich - the latter was selected as the #1 overall pick in the 1948 NBA draft. Henderson also recruited the first African-American to play at the formerly all-white colleges of West Virginia when he signed Hal Greer in 1954. His 1947 championship basketball team spurred the move into the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse, a 6,500-seat arena that was Marshall's basketball home from 1950 to 1980. The Fieldhouse was replaced in 1981 with the Cam Henderson Center named in his honor.
Women's basketball
- Head Coach: Kim Stephens
- Arena: Cam Henderson Center
- Conference Championships: 7 - (Regular Season: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989; Tournament: 1976, 1997)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1 (1997)
- Postseason Invitational Tournament Appearances: 4 (1971,[7] 2015, 2016, 2019)
- All-Americans: 1
- First Season Played: 1969
Football
- Head Coach: Charles Huff
- Stadium: Joan C. Edwards Stadium
- Conference Championships: 13 - (1925, 1928, 1931, 1937, 1988, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2014)
- Post-Season Bowl Appearances: 19 (1947, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
- NCAA Division I FCS National Championships: 2 (1992, 1996)
- Best Final Ranking: FBS No. 10 (1999 Associated Press, 1999 Coaches' Poll) / FCS No. 1 (1996 Sports Network)
- First Season Played: 1895
Historically, the Herd played on Central Field through 1928, at Fairfield Stadium from 1928 until 1990, and at Joan C. Edwards Stadium since 1991.
On November 14, 1970, Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed near Kenova, West Virginia and killed all 75 passengers on board, including 37 members of the Thundering Herd football team. The plane disaster and rebuilding of the program was the subject of the documentary Marshall University: Ashes to Glory, and these events were depicted in the 2006 Warner Brothers motion picture, We Are Marshall, starring Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox.
Golf
Men's golf
Men's Golf
- Head Coach: Matt Grobe
- Home Course: Guyan Golf and Country Club
- Conference Team Championships: 2 (1962, 1966)
- Conference Individual Champions: 10
- NCAA Tournament Team Appearances: 5 (1955, 1957, 1962, 1976, 1993)
- NCAA Tournament Individual Appearances: 11
- All-Americans: 1
- Best Final Ranking: 11th (1962 NCAA Golf Championships)
- First Season Played: 1949
Since its inception in 1968, the Marshall Invitational held at the Guyan Golf and Country Club has become one of the top collegiate golf tournaments in the Eastern United States. It had been held annually in April until being moved to September in 2010.[8] It was renamed the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational in 2013 in honor of the Herd's longtime coach who led the program from 1972 to 2012.
Women's golf
- Head Coach: Brooke Burkhammer
- Home Course: Guyan Golf and Country Club
- AIWA Tournament Appearances: 1 (1981)
- First Season Played: 1974–1983, restarted 2002
Marshall initially fielded a women's golf team from 1974 to 1983 and competed in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women championships. The program relaunched in 2002 competing in the NCAA.
Soccer
Men's soccer
- Head Coach: Chris Grassie
- Stadium: Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex
- National Championships: 1 (2020)
- Conference Championships: 4 - (Regular Season: 2000, 2019, 2020; Tournament: 2019)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4 (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
- All-Americans: 4
- Best Final Ranking: No. 1 (2020 United Soccer Coaches, Top Drawer Soccer, College Soccer News)
- First Season Played: 1979
The team plays its home games at Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex in Huntington. The Thundering Herd have made 4 straight NCAA Tournament appearances 2019-2022, including winning the national championship in the 2020 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament.
Women's soccer
- Head Coach: Michael Swan
- Stadium: Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex
- First Season Played: 1998
Softball
- Head Coach: Megan Smith
- Stadium: Dot Hicks Field
- Conference Championships: 5 - (Regular Season: 2003, 2005, 2017; Tournament: 1995, 2013)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (2013, 2017)
- All-Americans: 5
- Best Final Ranking: No. 24 (2017 USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll)
- First Season Played: 1994
Tennis
- Head Coach: John Mercer
- NCAA Tournament Team Appearances: 4 (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
- NCAA Tournament Doubles Appearances: 6 (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011)
- NCAA Tournament Individual Appearances: 4
- Conference Team Championships: 12 (Regular Season 1971, 1976, 1977, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2004; Tournament 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
- All-Americans: 2
- First Season Played: 1970
Volleyball
- Head Coach: Ari Aganus
- Arena: Cam Henderson Center
- Conference Championships: 6 - (Regular Season: 1996, 2005, 2007 Tournament: 1988, 1995, 2005)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (1995, 2005)
- First Season Played: 1970
Cross Country
- Head Coach: Caleb Bowen
- NCAA Tournament qualifiers: 2 - (Kim Nutter 1979, Matt Schiffbauer)
Track and Field
- Head Coach: Jeff Smalls
- Cross Country Coach: Caleb Bowen
- Facility: Chris Cline Indoor Athletic Facility
Swimming and Diving
- Head Coach: Ian Walsh
- Diving Coach: Megan Siford
- Facility: Frederick A. Fitch Nataorium
Traditions
Mascot
Initially, Marshall athletic teams used the nickname "Big Green" for much of its early history.[9] However, Huntington sportswriter Duke Ridgley first used the phrase "Thundering Herd" in 1925 to describe the football team. The headlines of that football season, coupled with the popularity of Zane Grey's novel at the time, "The Thundering Herd", saw the nickname stick.[10]
As early as the 1930s, buffalo mascots appearances on the sideline of Marshall sporting events. However, the mascot would remain nameless and sporadic in appearances until 1954, when the editors of the Marshall University yearbook created a buffalo character roaming through the pages and named their character "Marco", derived from the term "Marshall College" as the school was known at the time.[11] A buffalo costume was purchased for a booster club in 1965, and Marco would return to sporting events that year. In 1970, a live buffalo was introduced as Marco the mascot and was trained to perform at halftime for football games. However, after halftime during a game against Xavier in 1971, the live buffalo refused to return to its trailer and kickoff of the second half was delayed as handlers attempted to control the buffalo. The live mascot performances were discontinued afterward.[12]
School songs
Marshall school songs are typically performed by the Marshall University Marching Thunder at home sporting events.
"Sons of Marshall"
Marshall University's fight song is "Sons of Marshall", referring to the students of the institution, and was written by Marshall alum Ralph A. Williams in 1935.[13]
Alma Mater
The Marshall University Alma Mater was written in 1906[14] by C.E. and James Haworth[15]
Championships
NCAA team championships
Marshall University has won 3 NCAA team national championships.[16]
Other national team championships
Below are national team titles in current and former NCAA sports that were not bestowed by the NCAA:
- Men's (1):
- Basketball (1): 1947
Rivalries
Marshall's biggest rivalries are out of conference with Ohio University, East Carolina University, and West Virginia University. In the Sun Belt Conference, Marshall has a budding rivalry with Appalachian State University which is a carry-over from both teams' days in the SoCon.
Facilities
Joan C. Edwards Stadium
Marshall plays football at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, which seats 38,019. The stadium, which opened for the 1991 season as Marshall University Stadium with a then-record crowd of 33,116 for a 24–23 win over New Hampshire, hosted a record crowd of 41,382 on September 10, 2010, when the Thundering Herd played the in-state rival West Virginia Mountaineers. On a façade on the stadium's west side is a bronze memorial dedicated to the 1970 plane-crash victims.
In 2003, Marshall renamed its stadium, honoring a major donor, Joan C. Edwards to the university and its athletic program. The facility became the first football stadium in Division I-A to be named after a woman; Mrs. Edwards' husband, James F. Edwards, has his name on the actual playing field.
Cam Henderson Center
Men's basketball, women's basketball, and volleyball teams play their home games at the 9,048-seat Cam Henderson Center, named for the innovative Cam Henderson who guided the school's basketball team from 1935 to 1955 and football from 1935 to 1949. Henderson won 358 games against just 158 losses as a basketball coach. The facility opened in 1981 and saw a major renovation in 1998. The Henderson Center is a 213,000 square-foot facility which houses much of Marshall University's athletic department staff offices, the ticket office, an 800-seat natatorium, a state of the art training room, a basketball-specific weight room, and spacious locker rooms.[17] The single game attendance record at the Cam Henderson Center was set on February 18, 1984, against The Citadel when 10,705 fans witnessed the 85-71 Marshall victory.
Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex
Hoops Family Field at Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex is a 1,006-capacity soccer-specific stadium and is home to the Herd's men's and women's soccer teams. It was built on the former site of the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse, which was demolished in order to build the stadium at a cost of $8 million. An inaugural double-header took place on August 23, 2013. The men's team held a scrimmage against Marshall alumni from past years resulting in a 2–0 victory. The women's team faced the Campbell University Fighting Camels and won 3–0.[18] The largest crowd in the stadium's history occurred on September 17, 2021, when 3,033 witnessed Marshall and West Virginia draw, 2–2.
Chris Cline Indoor Athletic Facility
In 2012, Marshall University announced a multi-facility expansion project known as the Herd Vision campaign. The university accepted ownership of the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse located five blocks from campus, which was demolished and replaced by the Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex, a soccer specific stadium which opened in August 2013. MU's former soccer facility next to Joan C. Edwards Stadium, Sam Hood Field, was replaced by the Chris Cline Indoor Athletic Facility, a $25 million project which included an indoor football practice facility, an indoor track, the Marshall University Athletic Hall of Fame, and a physical therapy research center, known as the Marshall Sports Medicine Institute, available for both student-athletes and anyone from inside or outside of MU who needs help with sports medicine or work related rehab or training. The Chris Cline Indoor Athletic Facility opened in September 2014. MU legends Chad Pennington, a former NFL quarterback with the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, and the current head coach of the Houston Rockets of the NBA, Mike D'Antoni headed up fund raising for the effort for Marshall Director of Athletics Mike Hamrick.
Dot Hicks Field
The Marshall softball team has played its games at Dot Hicks Field since the facility opened in 2008. The $2.5 million facility features a clubhouse, grandstands, pressbox and concession building, warmup areas, and the playing field.[19] The field is named after Dorothy "Dot" Hicks, a pioneer of the women's sports program at Marshall University who led the school's female student-athletics drom a time of intramural activities into the era of organized intercollegiate competition. At various times, she served as coach of Marshall's volleyball, badminton, women's tennis and women's golf teams.[20]
Guyan Golf and Country Club
The Guyan Golf and Country Club has served as the home course for Marshall's golf teams since the late 1940s. The Huntington course is 6,446 yards and a par-71. It has also served as the site of numerous tournaments throughout the years including the Marshall Invitational and Lady Herd Fall Classic. The golf pro of the course is Paul Bailey, a former Marshall University golfer.[21]
Herd Rises
In October 2019, Marshall announced a $150 million fundraising initiative. The Herd Rises campaign aims to raise money for Marshall with the primary goal of building an on-campus baseball stadium at the site of the old Flint Group Pigments industrial property on 5th Avenue. Other goals of the campaign include improvements to Gullickson Hall, erecting a statue of legendary Marshall basketball player Hal Greer outside of the Cam Henderson Center, and additional funds towards student-athlete scholarships.
Future Baseball Stadium
In October 2022, Marshall officially broke ground on a new baseball stadium that will be constructed on 3rd Avenue and 22nd Street next to Dot Hicks softball field and across the street from Joan C. Edwards Stadium. West Virginia Governor Jim Justice donated $13.8 million towards the project with the City of Huntington and Marshall University also contributing nearly $10 million to help fund the stadium - projected to cost approximately $23 million overall. Completion is tentatively set for March 2024.
See also
Notes
- ^ Marshall Thundering Herd teams compete in the Sun Belt for all sports excluding women's swimming and diving, which currently competes in the Missouri Valley Conference as an affiliate member.[1]
- ^ Due to COVID-19, the NCAA moved its Division I championships in fall sports, including men's soccer, from fall 2020 to spring 2021. It labeled the tournament as the "2020" edition, but the season as the "2020–21" season.
References
- ^ "Marshall Joins MVC As Women's Swimming & Diving Affiliate Member". Missouri Valley Conference. September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
- ^ Marshall University Brand Guidelines (PDF). Retrieved November 16, 2020.
- ^ "Marshall now third from C-USA to join Sun Belt". ESPN.com. October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
- ^ "Symbols". marshall.edu. May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "McGill: Baseball stadium unveil sets up crucial next step". herdzone.com. February 21, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "Marshall baseball: Stadium project delayed, but moving forward". wvgazettemail.com. June 8, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "CIAW - National Invitational Intercollegiate Tournament". Retrieved June 1, 2021.
- ^ "2012 Marshall Men's Golf Media Guide by Marshall Sports Information". Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- ^ "The Definitive History of Marco: The Mascot of Marshall University". Marshall.edu. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "The Definitive History of Marco: The Mascot of Marshall University". Marshall.edu. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "The Definitive History of Marco: The Mascot of Marshall University". Marshall.edu. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "The Definitive History of Marco: The Mascot of Marshall University". Marshall.edu. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ Studwell, W. E., & Schueneman, B. R. (2001). College Fight Songs II: A Supplementary Anthology. New York: Haworth Press.
- ^ ""History and Traditions"". Marshall.edu. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "Alma Mater - History and Traditions". Marshall.edu. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "Summary–(NCAA) All Divisions/Collegiate Total Championships" (PDF). Retrieved February 2, 2015.
- ^ "Cam Henderson Center - Marshall University Athletics", accessed May 25, 2021.
- ^ "Women's Soccer Blanks Campbell at The Vet's Debut, 3-0". Herdzone. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
- ^ "Dot Hicks Field - Marshall University". Herdzone. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ "Dorothy "Dot" Hicks (1990) - Marshall University". Herdzone. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ "Marshall Golf Facilities", accessed May 25, 2021.
External links
- Official website