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 2011 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Thundering Herd were led by second-year head coach Doc Holliday and played their home games at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. They are a member of the East Division of Conference USA. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in C-USA to finish in second place in the East Division. They were invited to the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl where they defeated FIU 20–10.
The 2011 Beef 'O'Brady's Bowl, the fourth edition of the game formerly known as the St. Petersburg Bowl, was a post-season American college football bowl game, held on December 20, 2011 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, and telecast at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN as part of the 2011–12 NCAA Bowl season. Marshall defeated Florida International, 20–10.
The 2013 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Doc Holliday and played their home games at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. They were a member of the East Division of Conference USA. They finished the season 10–4, 7–1 in C-USA play to win the East Division title. As East Division champions, they played West Division champions Rice in the C-USA Championship Game, losing to the Owls 24–41. They were invited to the Military Bowl where they defeated Maryland 31–20.
The 2013 Military Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on December 27, 2013, at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. It was one of the 2013–14 bowl games that concluded the 2013 FBS football season. The sixth edition of the Military Bowl, it featured the Marshall Thundering Herd of Conference USA against the Maryland Terrapins from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The game began at 2:30 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It was sponsored by aerospace and defense technology company Northrop Grumman, and was officially known as the Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman. Marshall defeated Maryland by a score of 31–20.
The 2014 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team represented Louisiana Tech University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Skip Holtz and played their home games at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, Louisiana. They were in their second season as a member of Conference USA, competing in the West Division. They finished the season 9–5, 7–1 in C-USA play to win the West Division title. As West Division Champions, they played East Division Champion Marshall in the C-USA Championship Game, losing to the Thundering Herd 23–26. They were invited to the Heart of Dallas Bowl where they defeated Illinois.
The 2014 Conference USA football season was a part of the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season and was played from August 2014 through January 2015. The 2014 football season marks the 20th season of the Conference USA's existence and 19th of football competition; although C-USA was established in 1995, it did not begin football competition until 1996.
The 2014 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Doc Holliday and played their home games at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. They were a member of the East Division of Conference USA. They finished the season 13–1, 7–1 in C-USA play to win the East Division title. As East Division champions, they played West Division champion Louisiana Tech in the C-USA Championship Game, defeating the Bulldogs 26–23 to become C-USA Champions. They were invited to the inaugural Boca Raton Bowl, where they defeated MAC champion Northern Illinois, 52–23.
The 2014 Boca Raton Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game that was played on December 23, 2014 at FAU Stadium on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. The first edition of the Boca Raton Bowl, it featured the Conference USA champion Marshall Thundering Herd against the Mid-American Conference champion Northern Illinois Huskies. The game began at 6:00 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season. Marshall beat Northern Illinois by a score of 52–23.
The East Carolina–Marshall football rivalry is a college football rivalry game between two public universities, East Carolina University Pirates and the Marshall University Thundering Herd. The current winner is Marshall, who won, 31–13, on September 9, 2023. East Carolina leads the all-time series, 11–6.
The 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the UConn Huskies of the American Athletic Conference and the Marshall Thundering Herd of Conference USA, played on December 26, 2015 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The game was the final contest of the 2015 FBS football season for both teams. It ended in a 16–10 victory for Marshall.
The 2016 North Texas Mean Green football team represented University of North Texas in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mean Green played their home games at the Apogee Stadium in Denton, Texas, and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by first-year head coach Seth Littrell. They finished the season 5–8, 3–5 in C-USA play to finish in fourth place in the West Division. Because there were not enough 6-win bowl eligible teams, they received a bowl invitation as a 5–7 team with the highest APR score. They were invited to the Heart of Dallas Bowl where they lost to Army in overtime.
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 2018 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2018 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 ninth-year head coach Doc Holliday. They finished the season 9–4, 6–2 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for second place in the East Division. They were invited to the Gasparilla Bowl where they defeated South Florida.
The 2018 Gasparilla Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 20, 2018, with kickoff scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EST. It was the 11th edition of the game originally known as the St. Petersburg Bowl and renamed before its 2017 playing as the Gasparilla Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by lawn mower manufacturing company Bad Boy Mowers, the game was officially known as the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl.
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 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 New Orleans Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 18, 2021, with kickoff at 9:15 p.m. EST and broadcast on ESPN. It was the 21st edition of the New Orleans Bowl, and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Sponsored by freight shipping company R+L Carriers, the game was officially known as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
