The Mountain State derby is the name given to the men's soccer games between the Marshall Thundering Herd and the West Virginia Mountaineers, the only NCAA Division I programs in the state of West Virginia. [1]
In 2019, the teams met in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament as 11th seed Marshall defeated WVU, 2-1, in front of a then-record crowd of 2,126 fans at the Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex. [2] The 2021 edition of the Mountain State Derby set a then-record for highest-attended soccer game ever in West Virginia with 3,033 in the crowd. In the 2022 matchup, #4 Marshall defeated unranked West Virginia 1-0 before a crowd of 2,735 in Huntington. [3]
In 2022, both schools joined the Sun Belt Conference, Marshall as a full member and West Virginia as a men's soccer member, and the rivalry became an annual conference game. [4]
The 2023 regular season edition of the Mountain State Derby set a new record for the largest crowd to ever watch a soccer game in the state of West Virginia at that time with 3,147 people in attendance. The record was reset less than a month later in the Sun Belt Championship in Huntington with 3,151 in attendance.
Marshall victories | West Virginia victories | Tie games |
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† = Conference Tournament game (Sun Belt since 2022)
↑ = NCAA Tournament game
¶ = 0–0 game in knockout tournament decided on penalties. The official score is Marshall 0 (5), West Virginia 0 (6).
The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The 14 member institutions of the Sun Belt are distributed across the Southern United States.
The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champion. The tournament was formally held in 1959, when it was an eight-team tournament. Since then, the tournament has expanded to 48 teams, in which every Division I conference tournament champion is allocated a berth. Among the most successful programs, Saint Louis won 10 titles during dynasty years between 1959 and 1973. Indiana has won 8 titles beginning in 1982, whereas Virginia has won 7 titles beginning in 1989. Syracuse won its first national title in its first appearance in 2022.
The Backyard Brawl is an American college sports rivalry between the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the West Virginia University Mountaineers. While historically a rivalry between the two schools' football programs, the term "Backyard Brawl" has also been used to refer to college basketball games played annually or semi-annually and may also be used to refer to other athletic competitions between the two schools. It is a registered trademark for both universities, and refers to the close proximity of the two universities, separated by 75 miles (105 km) along Interstate 79.
The Cam Henderson Center is the primary indoor athletics complex at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, USA. The basketball and volleyball teams of the Marshall Thundering Herd use the venue for their home games. The first basketball game played in the facility was a varsity match between Marshall and Army on November 27, 1981. The venue is named for Cam Henderson, who coached football and basketball at the school from 1935 to 1955.
The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. The Mountaineers have been a member of the Big 12 Conference since 2012. The men's soccer team now competes as an affiliate member in the Sun Belt Conference.
The Friends of Coal Bowl is the name given to the Marshall–West Virginia football rivalry. It is an American college football rivalry game played by the Marshall Thundering Herd football team of Marshall University and the West Virginia Mountaineers football team of the West Virginia University. The game was sponsored by the Friends of Coal, a coal industry trade group. Planned to be a seven-year series, the Friends of Coal Bowl was organized by the West Virginia Coal Association at the urging of West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin.
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.
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team is an NCAA Division I college soccer team composed of student-athletes attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gauchos play their home matches at Harder Stadium. Like most of the other UC Santa Barbara Gauchos athletic teams, the men's soccer team competes in the Big West Conference.
The West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represents West Virginia University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. WVU has won 13 conference tournament championships, and has 31 appearances in the NCAA tournament, including two Final Fours, most recently in 2010. The Mountaineers have also appeared in 16 National Invitation Tournaments (NIT), and have won the tournament twice, in 1942 and 2007. The 1942 NIT Championship is claimed by West Virginia as a National Championship.
The Virginia Tech Hokies men's soccer team represents the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. The Hokies are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference and play their home matches at Sandra D. Thompson Field.
The Marshall Thundering Herd baseball team represents the Marshall University in NCAA Division I college baseball and competes in the Sun Belt Conference. The current head coach of the Herd is Greg Beals. Marshall plays its home games at Jack Cook Field, a 3,500 seat on-campus facility which opened for the 2024 season.
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 Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic is the name of the in-state rivalry between the Marshall University and West Virginia University basketball teams, the Marshall Thundering Herd and West Virginia Mountaineers. Chesapeake Energy is the title sponsor of the game. The game was last played during the 2015–2016 season and no further games are currently scheduled.
The West Virginia Mountaineers men's soccer team is the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I soccer team of West Virginia University (WVU). Beginning with the 2012 season, the team was an affiliate member of the Mid-American Conference because WVU is the only school in its primary conference, the Big 12 Conference, that has a varsity men's soccer team. For the 2022 season, West Virginia joined in-state rival Marshall in the Sun Belt Conference, and the Mountain State Derby will become an annual conference game. WVU had been scheduled to leave the MAC for Conference USA but this plan was changed when Marshall changed conferences from CUSA to the SBC.
The Kentucky Wildcats men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of the University of Kentucky (UK).
The Marshall Thundering Herd men's soccer team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. The Thundering Herd plays its home games at Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex in Huntington and competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Sun Belt Conference (SBC). Marshall fielded its first intercollegiate men's soccer team in 1979. The Herd are coached by Chris Grassie, who has a record of 67–32–18 and a national championship during his six previous seasons at Marshall.
Hoops Family Field at Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex is a 1,256-capacity soccer-specific stadium in Huntington, West Virginia where it is the home of Marshall University's men's and women's soccer teams. It was built on the former site of the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse, which was demolished in order to build the stadium. An inaugural double-header took place on August 23, 2013. The men's team held a scrimmage against Marshall alumni from past years resulting in a 2–0 victory. The women's team faced the Campbell University Fighting Camels and won 3–0.
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 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 2022 Sun Belt Conference men's soccer tournament was the 27th edition of the Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Tournament. The tournament ran from November 6 to November 13, 2022. Kentucky won the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) tournament and with it the SBC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I National Tournament.