Marshall Thundering Herd The Marshall Thundering Herd are the intercollegiate athletic teams that collectively represent the Marshall University in Huntington , West Virginia . Thundering Herd athletic teams compete in Conference USA , which are members of the NCAA Division I . Sports at the school include women ' s softball , swimming & diving , tennis , track & field , and volleyball ; men ' s baseball and football ; and teams for both genders in basketball , cross country , golf , and soccer . Overview . There are six men ' s varsity athletic teams and nine women ' s varsity teams : Marshall also fields club teams , not affiliated with the Athletic Department , in rugby union for both women and men , and a men ' s lacrosse team . Football . Crash . The November 14 , 1970 , plane crash that killed all 75 passengers on board , including 37 members of the Thundering Herd football team , is well documented . The event and its aftermath were depicted in the 2006 Warner Brothers motion picture , " We Are Marshall , " starring Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox . Men ' s basketball . Marshall Thundering Herd Basketball is led by head coach Tom Herrion . Baseball . Baseball at Marshall has long been handicapped by a lack of facilities , being the only sport at the university without a proper facility on or near campus . Rivalries . Marshall ' s biggest rivalries out of conference are with Ohio University , Miami University and West Virginia University , while East Carolina University and University of Central Florida have been the biggest rivals in Conference USA so far . 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 facade 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 . Also in 2003 , Marshall University , under much scrutiny , disbanded its men ' s track & field program , expressing financial concerns with the school ' s 2005 move from MAC to Conference USA . Since that time it has been demonstrated that men ' s track paid for itself due to the students paying for the majority of their schooling . In May 2007 , the track on campus was closed to make way for the new recreation center , and since that time the women ' s track and field team has trained and competed without a track of its own . Cam Henderson Center . Both men ' s and women ' s basketball are played at the 9 , 048 - seat Cam Henderson Center , named for the innovative coach who guided the school ' s basketball team from 1935 to 1955 and football from 1935 – 49 . Henderson is the coach who developed the fast break , the zone defense and even the " King Drill " warm - up made famous by the Harlem Globetrotters . Henderson won 358 games against just 158 losses as basketball coach . Henderson ' s 1946 - 47 team finished that season with a school - record 32 - 5 mark , and captured the 1947 NAIB ( today ' s NAIA ) National Championship in Kansas City , Kansas . In football , he coached the Herd to the Buckeye Conference title in 1937 and then to the second - ever Tangerine Bowl on Jan . 1 , 1948 , falling to Catawba College 7 – 0 . Henderson won 68 games as football coach . 2012 expansion project . In 2012 MU announced a multi - step expansion project , contingent on fund raising . MU accepted ownership of the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse located five blocks from campus . The facility will be demolished and replaced by a soccer specific stadium . MU ' s current soccer facility , Sam Hood Field , will then be replaced by a $ 25 million indoor practice facility , track , and physical therapy research center . MU legends Chad Pennington and Mike D ' Antoni are heading up fund raising for the effort .