Joan C . Edwards Stadium The Joan C . Edwards Stadium is a football stadium located on the campus of Marshall University in Huntington , West Virginia . It can hold 38 , 019 spectators and includes twenty deluxe , indoor suites , 300 wheelchair - accessible seating , a state - of - the - art press - box , fourteen concession areas , and sixteen separate restrooms . It also features . of artificial turf and 1 , 837 tons of structural steel . It also houses the Shewey Athletic Center , a fieldhouse and a training facility . The new stadium replaced Fairfield Stadium , a condemned off - campus facility built in 1927 in the Fairfield Park neighborhood . Marshall has a 118 - 19 overall record at Joan C . Edwards stadium for a winning percentage of . 866 . That is the highest home winning percentage in NCAA Division 1 FBS . The University of Alabama ranks second with an . 825 winning percentage at Bryant - Denny Stadium . History . The Joan C . Edwards Stadium was first proposed in 1986 to replace Fairfield Stadium . On January 16 , then - Governor Arch A . Moore Jr . met with Huntington and University leaders , stating that " money is available " if the plans for the stadium were put together . On June 15 , the Board of Regents gives the green light to the new stadium project ; on September 9 , the University begins purchasing property east of the central campus for the proposed stadium . On January 15 , 1987 , Governor Moore asks the Board of Regents to approve funding for the sale of bonds that would help finance the new stadium . On June 8 of the following year , the state Legislature passes a state budget which has the inclusion of a new 30 , 000 - seat stadium if the Board of Regents can secure funding . A little over one month later on June 9 , the Board of Regents passes a resolution that endorsed the construction of a new football stadium . On October 4 , 1988 , a rendering of the new stadium was unveiled . The designers of the new facility was Stafford Consultants of Princeton , West Virginia and Rosser Fabrap of Atlanta , Georgia . Soon after , the Board of Regents were given . of property by the Greater Huntington Area Chamber of Commerce . On November 1 , the Board of Regents purchases additional property and hired investment bankers who helped decide the optimal financing method for the project . On January 11 , 1989 , the Board of Regents approved of a $ 70 million bond sale , $ 30 million of which was for the new Marshall stadium . Demolition of the existing structures for the new stadium began on December 9 . A contract for the new stadium was awarded on June 13 , 1990 to River Cities Construction of Huntington and the Frank Irey Company of Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . Groundbreaking ceremonies took place one month later on July 18 . By October 6 , 1990 , steel beams were being erected for the new stadium . Marshall ' s " Thundering Herd " played their last game at Fairfield Stadium against Eastern Kentucky University on November 10 , losing 12 - 15 . On January 19 , 1991 , the designers admitted there was only room for 28 , 000 seats , not the original 30 , 000 due to an error in calculating the size of the chairback seats . The remaining 2 , 000 was to be added to the south end zone after the 1991 season . It would be the sixth largest stadium in NCAA Division I - AA football . By May 3 of that year , it was announced that the stadium was two - thirds complete and on August 9 , the " Thundering Herd ' s " freshmen and transfers held their first practice in the new stadium . On September 7 , 1991 , the new Marshall Stadium was unveiled before a crowd of 33 , 116 . The opening game was against New Hampshire , which Marshall won , 24 - 23 . One year later in July , Marshall football staff and administrators relocated into a new facilities structure at the north end of the stadium adjacent to 3rd Avenue . On September 4 , 1993 , the playing surface was named in honor of James F . Edwards , a donor to Marshall University . On November 28 , 2003 , the Marshall Stadium was renamed to the Joan C . Edwards Stadium in honor of her contributions and that of James who had donated $ 65 million to the university . The Shewey Athletic Center was named for Fred and Christine Shewey who were also major donors . The expansion of the additional 2 , 000 seats was completed in July 1995 . Five years later in August , another seating expansion brought the total number of seats to 38 , 016 . The record attendance was set on September 10 , 2010 at 41 , 382 in a 24 - 21 overtime loss to West Virginia University . Today . The stadium is one of only two in NCAA Division I named exclusively for a woman . The other is Williams - Brice Stadium at South Carolina . ( Several other stadiums are named after husband - and - wife pairs . ) In 2005 , the stadium underwent a change in the playing surface as the AstroTurf surface , in place since 1998 , was removed , and a new FieldTurf surface was installed . The stadium hosted the MAC championship game in 1997 , 1998 , 1999 , 2000 and 2002 . The NCAA Division I - AA national championship game was held at then - Marshall University Stadium several times in the 1990s , including in 1992 and 1996 — the years when the Thundering Herd won the national championship . In 2000 , a bronze memorial to the 1970 plane crash that killed most of the football team was placed on the front of the stadium to the left of the main tower , and the road the stadium is on was renamed " Marshall Memorial Boulevard . " In 2010 , Kentucky Christian University will play three of its home football games at the stadium .