Marshall Thundering Herd football The Marshall Thundering Herd football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports program of Marshall University . The team represents the university as a member of the Conference USA Eastern division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association , playing at the Division I Bowl Subdivision level . Marshall plays at Joan C . Edwards Stadium , which seats 38 , 019 and is expandable to 55 , 000 . Marshall has an impressive 118 - 19 overall record at Joan C . Edwards stadium for a winning percentage of . 866 . The University of Alabama ranks second with an . 825 winning percentage at Bryant - Denny Stadium . The stadium opened in 1991 as Marshall University Stadium with a crowd of 33 , 116 for a 24 - 23 win over New Hampshire . On September 10 , 2010 , the Thundering Herd played the in - state rival West Virginia Mountaineers in Huntington in front of a record crowd of 41 , 382 . Edwards Stadium is the only Division I stadium named solely for a woman , and Mrs . Edwards husband , James F . Edwards , has his name on the actual playing field . South Carolina ' s Williams - Brice Stadium is named in part for a woman . History . Marshall is a football school with a rich tradition , winning conference titles in 1925 , 1928 , 1931 , 1937 , 1988 , 1994 , 1996 , 1997 , 1998 , 1999 , 2000 and 2002 , as well as I - AA National Championships in 1992 and 1996 and I - AA finalists in 1987 , 1991 , 1993 and 1995 . Marshall is also known for being victims of a tragic plane crash on November 14 , 1970 , where all 75 passengers , including 37 members of the Marshall football team were killed . In the wake of the crash , Marshall was given special permission by the NCAA to play incoming freshmen at the varsity level for the 1971 season . Marshall spent a full decade recovering from the crash , and was the nation ' s worst football program in the 1970s , and did not have another winning season until 1984 . Including the year of the crash , Marshall was 23 - 83 from 1970 – 79 , changing head coaches four times during that period . Marshall had a winless streak of 0 - 26 - 1 from 1965 – 1969 , and began Southern Conference play in 1977 with the exact record through 1981 , 0 - 26 - 1 . Marshall tied Western Carolina on a 59 - yard field goal by freshman Barry Childers in 1980 , still a NCAA freshman record , and finally broke through with a 17 - 10 win at Appalachian State in November 1981 . Marshall ' s first winning season since 1964 came in 1984 under first - year head coach Stan Parrish , clinched with a 31 - 28 win over East Tennessee State in the Bucs ' " Mini Dome " . 90s Dynasty . The Thundering Herd began a resurgence in the late 1980s , winning its first conference title in 51 years in 1988 . The Herd later went on to become the nation ' s winningest NCAA Division I program in the 1990s , winning 114 games against 25 losses . Marshall won Division I - AA national championships in 1992 over Youngstown State ( 31 - 28 ) and in 1996 over Montana ( 49 - 29 ) , as well as being national runner - up in 1987 , 1991 , 1993 and 1995 . Marshall had 6 regular season conference championships ( 3 MAC and 3 SOCON ) , 9 consecutive ten win season , 3 bowl appearances , and 1 top 10 finish all in the 1990s . Marshall set a I - AA record with five straight seasons making at least the semi - finals of the I - AA Playoffs from 1991 - 96 . The 1996 team , with Moss , Wade , Hanson , Eric Kresser , Doug Chapman and many other players who played professional football , was 15 - 0 , had no game closer than a two touchdown win and was ranked No . 1 all - season . Bob Pruett Era . Bob Pruett is best known as the former head football coach of the Marshall University Thundering Herd for nine seasons from 1996 to 2004 . During his tenure at Marshall , the Thundering Herd compiled a record of 94 - 23 ( . 803 winning percentage ) , featured two undefeated seasons , won six conference championships , won 5 of 7 bowl games , and captured the I - AA National Championship in 1996 . MU moved to Division I - A and the Mid - American Conference in 1997 . Marshall won the MAC title five of its eight seasons ( 1997 - 98 - 99 - 2000 - 2002 ) and were runners up in 2001 in the conference before moving to Conference USA in 2005 . Since moving to Division I - A , Marshall has finished in the Top 25 three times : 1999 ( 10th AP / 10th coaches ' poll ) , 2001 ( 21st coaches poll ) , 2002 ( 24th AP / 19th coaches poll ) . Marshall fell to Ole Miss in the 1997 Motor City Bowl , 34 - 31 , but won the next three games in Michigan ' s Pontiac Silverdome , beating Louisville 48 - 29 in 1998 , beating No . 25 BYU 21 - 3 in 1999 to finish 13 - 0 and beating Cincinnati in 2000 , 25 - 14 . Marshall and East Carolina matched - up in one of college football ' s greatest bowl games in 2001 at the GMAC Bowl in Mobile , Alabama , a 64 - 61 double overtime win by the Herd over the Pirates of Conference USA . It is the highest scoring bowl game of all - time , and MU rallied from an 38 - 8 halftime hole behind Byron Leftwich ' s five touchdown passes . Marshall would fall to the Bearcats in the 2004 Plains Capital Fort Worth Bowl at TCU ' s Amon G . Carter Stadium , 32 - 14 , in Bob Pruett ' s final game as head coach . Mark Snyder Era . Former Thundering Herd defensive back and Ohio State defensive coordinator Mark Snyder resigned as head coach at the end of the 2009 regular season . He was 22 - 37 through his five seasons , failing to rebuild the program after NCAA sanctions limited scholarships . Marshall has been at the full 85 scholarships since 2008 for the first time in five seasons . In Snyder ' s final season , he led the Thundering Herd to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl . Assistant coach Rick Minter was named interim coach for the bowl game in which they defeated the Ohio Bobcats 21 - 17 . On Saturday November 28 , 2009 the Herd suffered an embarrassing 52 - 21 loss to UTEP at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso , Texas , thus finishing the season 6 - 6 . On Sunday November 29 , 2009 it was announced that Snyder had resigned as head football coach . Doc Holliday Era . On December 17 , 2009 , Marshall officially named Holliday as the next head coach for the Thundering Herd football team . Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick said Holliday had signed a five - year contract and would be paid $ 600 , 000 per season . Top 25 Finishes . 1 - AA Polls . Sources : 1 - A / FBS Polls . Sources : Hall of Fame . Marshall University Hall of Fame . Established in 1984 , members from the football team are listed below . We Are Marshall . 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 . It was also depicted in the 2000 documentary . Marshall University was given special permission by the NCAA to play incoming freshmen at the varsity level for the 1971 season . This team was dubbed the Young Thundering Herd and led by the few upperclassmen who didn ' t make the trip . Several players from other Marshall sports programs rounded out the team ' s roster . There is a plaque at the College Football Hall of Fame in honor of those lost in the 1970 crash and on a facade on the stadium ' s west side is a bronze memorial dedicated to the plane - crash victims .