Joan C. Edwards Stadium, formerly Marshall University Stadium, is a football stadium located on the campus of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It currently can hold 30,475[3] spectators and includes twenty deluxe, indoor suites, 300 wheelchair-accessible seating, a state-of-the-art press-box, 14 concession areas, and 16 separate restrooms.[4] It also features 90,000sqft (8,000m2) of artificial turf and 1,837 tons of structural steel. It also houses the Shewey Athletic Center (Marshall University), a fieldhouse and a training facility. The new stadium opened in 1991 and replaced Fairfield Stadium, a condemned off-campus facility built in 1927 in the Fairfield Park neighborhood.
Marshall has a 176-39 overall record at Joan C. Edwards Stadium for a winning percentage of .819, one of the top home winning percentages in the nation.
History
The Joan C. Edwards Stadium was first proposed in 1986 to replace Fairfield Stadium.[4] 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 asked the Board of Regents to approve funding for the sale of bonds that would help finance the new stadium.[4] 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.[4] The designers of the new facility were Stafford/Rosser Fabrap, a joint venture between Stafford Consultants of Princeton and Rosser Fabrap International of Atlanta. Soon after, the Board of Regents were given 1,800sqft (170m2). of property by the Greater Huntington Area Chamber of Commerce. On November 1, the Board of Regents purchased 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 a $70 million bond sale, $30 million of which was for the new Marshall stadium.[4] 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 RC-Irey, a joint venture between River City Construction Company of Huntington and the Frank Irey, Jr. Company of Monongahela, 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.[4]
Joan C. Edwards Stadium as seen from Third Avenue.
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.[4] The remaining 2,000 were to be added to the south end zone after the 1993 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.[4] 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.
In 2000, a bronze memorial to the 1970 plane crash that killed all 75 passengers, which included players, coaches, and other staff members and community members, 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."
The record attendance was set on September 10, 2010, at 41,382 in a 24–21 overtime loss to West Virginia University.[5]
On June 28, 2017, the University Board of Governors approved the sale of beer throughout the stadium.[6]
Renovations
The expansion of the additional 2,000 seats was completed in July 1994. Six years later, in August 2000, another seating expansion brought the total number of seats to 38,019. The new expansion was completed before the 2000 season opener against SE Missouri St. In 2013, Marshall added four new skyboxes which raised the capacity to 38,227[3]
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.
In July 2022, new turf was installed in preparation for Marshall's conference realignment to the Sun Belt. The new field features black end zones with the word Marshall in white outlined in Kelly green. The new field also includes the Sun Belt logo and the number 75 at each 20 yard line, a tribute to the 75 people who died in the Marshall plane crash on November 14, 1970.
Along with new turf, newly appointed Marshall athletic director Christian Spears announced several planned renovation projects for the football stadium, including: a new scoreboard, an expanded concourse area, beer garden, and bathroom renovations. These projects have not been given a completion timeline. For the Fall 2022 football season, seating sections 221, 223, 225, 227, 229, 236, 234, 232, 230, and 228 of the stadium are being covered with a massive tarp and will be unavailable for fan use. These sections are planned for removal from the stadium entirely to make room for concourse expansion.
In April 2023, Marshall began demolition of the South Endzone seating, making room for a new videoboard and concourse area to be completed by the Fall 2023 season.
Naming
On September 4, 1993, the playing surface was named in honor of James F. Edwards, a donor to Marshall University. In November 2003, the stadium itself was renamed to the Joan C. Edwards Stadium,[8] after James Edwards' wife, Joan C. Edwards. The renaming honored the couple, whose combined donations to the university exceeded $65 million. The Shewey Athletic Center on the north side of the stadium on Third Avenue was named for Fred and Christine Shewey, also major donors. The Shewey Athletic Center houses the stadium's locker room facilities as well as offices for both the football team and the athletic department.
The stadium is one of two in NCAADivision I named exclusively for a woman (Several other stadiums are named after husband-and-wife pairs.).
Tenants
In addition to hosting Marshall football, 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. The stadium also hosted the MAC championship game in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002 as well as the 2014 and 2020 Conference USA championship games.
Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium is the on-campus football facility at East Carolina University for the East Carolina Pirates in Greenville, North Carolina. The official capacity of the stadium is 51,000, tying it for the second largest college stadium in North Carolina. The record attendance for the stadium was on September 3, 2022, against North Carolina State University with 51,711 in attendance. The stadium is also the site of Spring Commencement exercises for the university. The field itself was commemorated as Bagwell Field in 1997.
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 in what has been recognized as "the worst sports-related air tragedy in U.S. history".
Fairfield Stadium was a stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. It was primarily used for football, and was the home field of the Marshall University football team between 1928 and 1990, prior to the opening of Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
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.
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.
The 2015 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season as members of the East Division of Conference USA. They were led by sixth-year head coach John "Doc" Holliday and played their home games at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. They finished the season 10–3, 6–2 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for second place in the East Division. They were invited to the St. Petersburg Bowl where they defeated UConn.
The 2016 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Thundering Herd played their home games at the Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by seventh-year head coach Doc Holliday. They finished the season 3–9, 2–6 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for sixth place in the East Division.
The 2017 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Thundering Herd played their home games at the Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by eighth-year head coach Doc Holliday. They finished the season 8–5, 4–4 in C-USA play to finish in a three-way tie for third place in the East Division. They were invited to the New Mexico Bowl where they defeated Colorado State.
The 2019 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Thundering Herd played their home games at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (CUSA). They were led by tenth-year head coach Doc Holliday. They lost to UCF in Gasparilla bowl.
The 2020 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Thundering Herd played their home games at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (CUSA). They were led by eleventh-year head coach Doc Holliday.
The 1973 Marshall Thundering Herd football team was an American football team that represented Marshall University as an independent during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. In its third season under head coach Jack Lengyel, the team compiled a 4–7 record and was outscored by a total of 288 to 212. The team played its home games at Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.
The 2021 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Thundering Herd played their home games at the Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (CUSA). The team was coached by first-year head coach Charles Huff.
The 2021 North Carolina Central Eagles football team represented North Carolina Central University as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Trei Oliver, the Eagles compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 4–1, placing second in the MEAC. North Carolina Central played home games at O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.
The 2022 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Thundering Herd played their home games at the Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, and competed in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference. The team was coached by second-year head coach Charles Huff.
The 2022 Norfolk State Spartans football team represented Norfolk State University as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Spartans, led by second-year head coach Dawson Odums, played their home games at William "Dick" Price Stadium.
The Appalachian State–Marshall football rivalry, known colloquially as The Old Mountain Feud, is a college rivalry between the Mountaineers of Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, and the Thundering Herd of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. The rivalry is significant for the competitiveness of the contests, as well as its place in contemporary Appalachian culture. Both campuses residing in the Appalachian Mountains, the two public universities both were once teacher's academies.
The 2023 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Thundering Herd played their home games at the Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, and competed in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference. The team was coached by third-year head coach Charles Huff.
The Chris Cline Athletic Complex, an athletic center for Marshall University, is located in Huntington, West Virginia. The Chris Cline Athletic Complex opened in 2014 next to the Joan C. Edwards Stadium to develop future and current Marshall Thundering Herd athletes. It is named after donor, Chris Cline.
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