Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the United States. The university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
We Are Marshall is a 2006 American biographical sports drama film directed by McG. It depicts the aftermath of the 1970 plane crash that killed 75 people: 37 players of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team, five coaches, two athletic trainers, the athletic director, 25 boosters, and the airplane crew of five.
The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization to promote amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and develop "the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the drive for academic excellence in America's young people." It was founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, longtime Army Black Knights football coach Earl Blaik and journalist Grantland Rice.
Southern Airways Flight 932 was a chartered Southern Airways Douglas DC-9 domestic United States commercial jet flight from Stallings Field (ISO) in Kinston, North Carolina, to Huntington Tri-State Airport/Milton J. Ferguson Field (HTS) near Kenova and Ceredo, West Virginia. At 7:36 pm on November 14, 1970, the aircraft crashed into a hill just short of the Tri-State Airport, killing all 75 people on board, including 37 members of the Marshall University football team, eight members of the coaching staff, 25 boosters, two pilots, two flight attendants, and a charter coordinator. The team was returning home after a 17–14 loss to the East Carolina Pirates at Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina. The accident is the deadliest tragedy to have affected any sports team in U.S. history.
The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level. The football team competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference while most other teams compete in the Missouri Valley Conference. The fight song is Go, You Redbirds.
George Clayton Stapleton was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator.
Rickey Dale Tolley was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Marshall University during the 1969 and 1970 seasons. He died in the 1970 plane crash that killed all of the crew and passengers, including most of the Marshall football team and coaching staff and several team boosters.
The Akron Zips football team is a college football program representing the University of Akron in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Akron plays its home games on InfoCision Stadium on the campus of the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. The Zips compete in the Mid-American Conference as a member of the East Division.
Dick Bestwick was an American football coach, scout, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach of the University of Virginia from 1976 to 1981, compiling a record of 16–49–1. A native of Grove City, Pennsylvania, he played college football at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating from the school in 1952. Bestwick received his Masters in Education from Pennsylvania State University. Prior to his tenure at Virginia, Bestwick spent 1954 to 1962 as a high school football coach at three different schools including his alma mater, Grove City High School, and 1967 to 1975 as an assistant coach at Georgia Institute of Technology. Bestwick was hired as the head football coach at Marshall University in 1971 after the 1970 plane crash that took the lives of most of the university's football team and coaching staff. He left the position after two days on the job and returned to Georgia Tech.
Joe H. McMullen was an American college football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He serve as the head football coach at Stetson University from 1950 to 1951, Washington & Jefferson College from 1952 to 1953, the University of Akron from 1954 to 1960, and San Jose State University from 1969 to 1970, compiling a career head coaching record of 58–46–5.
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. The school's official colors are kelly green and white. The Marshall Thundering Herd have won 3 NCAA national championships and one NAIA national championship.
Marshall University: Ashes to Glory is a 2000 documentary film about the November 14, 1970 Marshall University plane crash that killed 75 people, and the efforts of new head coach Jack Lengyel and the coaching staff, to rebuild the team and help heal the city of Huntington, West Virginia.
James L. Dennison is a former American football and baseball coach and college athletics administrator. On November 11, 2012, Dennison retired as the head football coach at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio. He had held that position since February 11, 1994, the year before the school's football team began play in 1995. From 1973 to 1985, Dennison was the head football coach at the University of Akron. He was also the head baseball coach at Akron in 1966. Dennison served as the athletic director at Akron (1986–1993) and Walsh (1993–2007). He played college football and college baseball at the College of Wooster, from which he graduated in 1960.
William Alfred "Red" Dawson is a former American football player and assistant coach for Marshall University. He was nicknamed "Red" for his red hair.
Thomas James Hamilton was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and naval aviator who rose to the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy. He was the head coach at the United States Naval Academy from 1934 to 1936 and again from 1946 to 1947 and at the University of Pittsburgh in 1951 and 1954, compiling a career college football record of 28–32–1.
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 Sun Belt Conference East Division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, playing at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level.
John Lewis "Stub" Brickels was a high school, college and professional football coach who served as a backfield coach for the Cleveland Browns between 1946 and 1948. Brickels began his coaching career in 1930, after graduating from Wittenberg University in Ohio, where he was a standout as a halfback on the school's football team. He coached high school football and basketball teams in Ohio and West Virginia in the 1930s and early 1940s before becoming the head basketball coach at the West Virginia University in 1944. He held that post until 1945, when Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown hired him to recruit players for the Browns, a team under formation in the All-America Football Conference, while Brown served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
The 1971 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University as an independent during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Led by first-year head coach Jack Lengyel, the Thundering Herd compiled a record of 2–8. Nate Ruffin was the team captain. Marshall played home games at Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.
Desireé Don Reed-Francois is an American attorney and college athletics administrator who became the athletic director at the University of Arizona on March 3, 2024. She has more than two-and-half decades of experience in intercollegiate athletics, including overseeing the external operations for several institutions.
The 1970 Wichita Shockers football team was an American football team that represented Wichita State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. The team compiled a 0–9 record, finished last out of five teams in the MVC, and was outscored by a total of 381 to 99. The team played its home games at Cessna Stadium in Wichita, Kansas.
