Marshall University#Athletics

File:Marshall University Old Main Building.jpg is the oldest building on campus and home to many of the university's administrative offices.]]

Marshall University was founded in 1837 as a private subscription school by residents of Guyandotte and the surrounding area. The landmark Old Main, which now serves as the primary administrative building for the university, was built on land known as Maple Grove, at the time the home of the Mount Hebron Church in what was then the state of Virginia.Brown, Lisle, ed.[http://www.marshall.edu/library/speccoll/virtual_museum/old_main/1837-building.asp "Marshall Academy, 1837."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628095350/http://www.marshall.edu/library/speccoll/virtual_museum/old_main/1837-building.asp |date=June 28, 2014 }} Marshall University Special Collections. September 1, 2004, Dec 20. 2006. John Laidley, a local attorney, hosted the meeting which led to the founding of Marshall Academy, which was named after Laidley's friend, the eminent John Marshall who had served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from January 1801 until his death in July 1835.

On March 30, 1838, the institution was formally dedicated by the Virginia General Assembly as Marshall Academy; however this institution was not a college level institution as that was understood at that time.Lewis, Virgil A.

[http://www.marshall.edu/library/speccoll/virtual_museum/old_main/ms069-lewis-transcript.pdf "A history of Marshall Academy, Marshall College and Marshall College State Normal School."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705130045/http://www.marshall.edu/library/speccoll/virtual_museum/old_main/ms069-lewis-transcript.pdf |date=July 5, 2007 }} Marshall University. December 20, 2006 In 1858, the Virginia General Assembly changed the name to Marshall College,{{Cite web |url=http://www.marshall.edu/muhistory/REAL/REAL.asp |title=Becoming A Real College: 1910–1929 |access-date=March 3, 2008 |archive-date=January 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107011025/http://www.marshall.edu/muhistory/REAL/REAL.asp |url-status=dead }} but this change still did not reflect its status as a true college. The Civil War closed the often financially challenged school for much of the 1860s.[http://www.marshall.edu/muhistory/EARLY/EARLY.asp "The Early Years."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115234600/http://www.marshall.edu/muhistory/EARLY/EARLY.asp |date=January 15, 2016 }} Marshall University. 1997. December 20, 2006

On June 20, 1863, Cabell County, Virginia, was one of the 50 counties separated from Virginia at the height of the American Civil War to form the state of West Virginia, and the college fell within the new state. In 1867, the West Virginia Legislature re-established the institution as a teacher training facility and renamed it State Normal School of Marshall College.Brown, Lisle, ed. [http://www.marshall.edu/library/speccoll/virtual_museum/old_main/1856-building.asp "Marshall Academy, 1856."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628035327/http://www.marshall.edu/library/speccoll/virtual_museum/old_main/1856-building.asp |date=June 28, 2014 }} Marshall University Special Collections. September 1, 2004, Dec 20. 2006

File:John Marshall Statue 2020.jpg statue in front of Drinko Library]]

With the exception of the Old Main building, expansion of the facilities and the college itself did not begin until 1907, when the West Virginia Board of Regents allowed the creation of new college-level departments. At that time, enrollment surpassed 1,000 students. The school began offering four-year degrees for the first time in 1920.

In 1937, the college suffered the effects of a devastating flooding by the Ohio River.[http://www.marshall.edu/muhistory/grow/27.htmlx "100 years and growing."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061219000104/http://www.marshall.edu/muhistory/grow/27.htmlx |date=December 19, 2006 }} Marshall University. 1997. December 20, 2006 Numerous structures were extensively flooded. Much of Huntington was also heavily damaged.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

The West Virginia Board of Education authorized Marshall College in 1938 to offer the master's degree in six programs: chemistry, education, history, political science, psychology, and sociology, as the institution underwent another expansion. In that year the school was accredited as a "university level institution"; however, elevation to university status would remain a contentious political issue for decades to come. Further expansion accelerated after World War II.{{Cite web |url=http://www.marshall.edu/muhistory/GROW/GROWING.asp |title=100 Years and Growing: 1930–1939 |access-date=March 3, 2008 |archive-date=March 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080311011053/http://www.marshall.edu/muhistory/GROW/GROWING.asp |url-status=dead }}

On March 2, 1961, West Virginia Legislature elevated the college to university status, thus becoming Marshall University.{{Cite web |url=http://www.marshall.edu/muhistory/UNI/59.asp |title=A University at Last: 1960–1969 |access-date=March 3, 2008 |archive-date=March 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080311011310/http://www.marshall.edu/muhistory/UNI/59.asp |url-status=dead }} Also in 1961, WMUL-FM began operations; it claims to be the first public radio station in West Virginia.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

In 1969, the university's athletic program faced a number of scandals regarding recruiting violations and giving cash to athletes. Both the football and basketball coaches were fired; the teams were suspended from the Mid-American Conference.{{cite news|title=Marshall University Suspended from Mid-American Conference|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87382684/mac-suspends-marshall/ |newspaper=Philadelphia Daily News|date=July 24, 1969|page=57|via =Newspapers.com|access-date = July 21, 2024}} {{Open access}}

{{See also|Southern Airways Flight 932}}

File:Marshall University Memorial Fountain 2020.jpg on the Student Center Plaza]]

On the evening of November 14, 1970, the Thundering Herd football team, along with coaches and fans, were returning home to Huntington from Kinston, North Carolina. The team had just lost a game 17–14 against the East Carolina University Pirates at Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina. The chartered Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed on approach to the Tri-State Airport after clipping trees just west of the runway and impacting, nose-first, into a hollow. All 75 people on board were killed, including 37 team members and five coaches. Thirteen members of the team, as well as the members of the freshman football team, who were not eligible to play varsity under NCAA rules at that time, were not passengers.{{Cite web|last=Schroeder|first=Jessa|title=A look at the 1970 Marshall University plane crash — and the aftermath still being felt|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/1970-marshall-university-plane-crash-aftermath-article-1.2879203|access-date=April 28, 2021|website=New York Daily News|date=November 20, 2016 }}

The following season a new head coach, Jack Lengyel, was hired. The leaders of the "Young Thundering Herd" (to which the team officially changed its name for the 1971 season) were the few players who did not make the trip due to injury or disciplinary action. Fifteen sophomores from the previous year's freshman team were included, as well as a group of freshmen who were allowed to play at the varsity level after the NCAA granted a waiver to its rule barring them from doing so. Three years later, the NCAA would waive the rule for all schools. Completing the squad were players from other Marshall sports programs. They won only two of their 10 games in 1971: a 15–13 victory against the Xavier Musketeers in the season's first home game, and a 12–10 homecoming game victory against the Bowling Green Falcons.{{Cite web|title=1971 Marshall Thundering Herd Schedule and Results|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/marshall/1971-schedule.html|access-date=June 24, 2021|website=sports-reference.com}}

A fountain and plaza at the center of the school campus is dedicated to the victims of the crash. The water does not flow from November 14 until the first day of spring football practice the following year. The tragedy and its aftermath were the subject of several documentaries, including the award-winning Marshall University: Ashes to Glory.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

On February 22, 2023, West Virginia governor Jim Justice signed House Bill 2412 into law, making November 14 an official Memorial Day in remembrance of the Marshall football plane crash across the state.{{Cite web|last=Bolden|first=Joshua|url=https://www.wvva.com/2023/02/22/bill-2412-passes-memorializing-marshall-university-plane-crash/|title=Bill 2412 passes memorializing the Marshall University plane crash|website=wvva.com|language=en|date=February 22, 2023|access-date=July 21, 2024}}

File:Marco the Bison Statue 2020.jpg, the university mascot, stands at Hodges Field.]]

In 1971 the Williamson and Logan campuses of Marshall University were combined by the West Virginia Legislature to form Southern West Virginia Community College (now Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College).[http://southernwv.edu/history History: Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724014129/http://southernwv.edu/history |date=July 24, 2008 }}

In 1977 the university founded its School of Medicine, the first professional school and the first doctoral program. Over the next 20 years the school would add doctoral programs in many fields. Twenty years later, in 1997, the West Virginia Graduate College became the graduate college of Marshall University. Its campus is in South Charleston, West Virginia. In 1998, the John Deaver Drinko Library opened on campus. In 1997, Marshall merged with the West Virginia University College of Graduate Studies (COGS),[https://archive.today/20071025011857/http://www.marshall.edu/muhistory/90/110.asp Moving Forward: 1990–1999] with the latter being renamed Marshall University Graduate College.{{Cite web |url=http://www.marshall.edu/academic-affairs/The%20Greenbook/TheGreenbookAugust2006.pdf |title=The Greenbook: Faculty Handbook-Policy, Governance, Procedure August 2006 |access-date=March 3, 2008 |archive-date=April 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413232153/http://www.marshall.edu/academic-affairs/The%20Greenbook/TheGreenbookAugust2006.pdf |url-status=dead }} In 2010 the university was authorized to begin offering undergraduate classes in South Charleston and renamed the facility Marshall University - South Charleston Campus.

Marshall's enrollment was 16,500 in 2004. In addition to the main campus in Huntington and the branch campus in South Charleston, West Virginia, the school maintains undergraduate centers in Gilbert, Point Pleasant, and Hurricane, West Virginia.

File:Brad Smith Building 2024.png]]

In 2005, Stephen J. Kopp took over as Marshall University's president. Kopp died suddenly in 2014, with Gary G. White, former chairman of the Board of Governors, serving as interim president.{{cite web|url=http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/Marshall-University-Board-of-Governors-to-Meet-Thursday-286246881.html|title=UPDATE: Marshall BOG Meets to Discuss Steps to Name Interim President|access-date=November 14, 2016|archive-date=February 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209152041/http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/Marshall-University-Board-of-Governors-to-Meet-Thursday-286246881.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.marshall.edu/ucomm/university-communications-press-release-2/?pressid=3808 |title=Board of Governors Name White Interim President |access-date=November 14, 2016 |archive-date=January 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107011025/http://www.marshall.edu/ucomm/university-communications-press-release-2/?pressid=3808 |url-status=dead }} Mississippi State University provost Jerome A. Gilbert was named the 37th president on October 20, 2015.{{Cite web|url=https://wvmetronews.com/2015/10/20/marshall-selects-jerome-gilbert-as-37th-president/|title=Marshall announces Dr. Jerome Gilbert as 37th president|website=WV Metro News|language=en|date=October 20, 2015|access-date=July 28, 2024}}

In August 2021, Marshall opened the Bill Noe Flight School at Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia. The Bill Noe Flight School features a 12,000 sq ft. academic building, a hangar, and an aircraft parking apron. The school of aviation offers two undergraduate programs: commercial pilot: fixed wing and aviation maintenance. These programs began accepting students starting in Fall 2021, with additional programs being added in the future.{{Cite web|date=August 10, 2021|title=Marshall University Bill Noe Flight School opens|url=https://www.wsaz.com/2021/08/10/marshall-university-bill-noe-flight-school-opens-tuesday/|access-date=May 2, 2022|website=wsaz.com|language=en}}

Other new programs offered by the university include a physician assistant program offered through the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, which accepted students in its inaugural class in January 2021.{{Cite web|date=April 30, 2020|title=Physician Assistant program now accepting applications|url=https://www.marshall.edu/news/2020/04/30/school-of-medicine-physician-assistant-program-now-accepting-applications/|access-date=May 2, 2022|website=marshall.edu|language=en}}

On October 28, 2021, Brad D. Smith was appointed the university's 38th president, succeeding the retiring President Jerome Gilbert. Smith, retired CEO of financial software company Intuit, was already a major benefactor of the university.{{Cite web|last=Flatley|first=Jake|url=https://wvmetronews.com/2021/10/28/brad-smith-selected-as-next-president-of-marshall-university/|title=Brad Smith selected as next president of Marshall University|website=WV Metro News|language=en|date=October 28, 2021|access-date=April 23, 2022}}

In early 2022, after the first attacks during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Marshall University professors and staff Victor Fet, Anara Tabyshalievaand, Stefan Schoeberlein, and Kateryna Schray start the weekly podcast MUkraine, has been hosted every week since March 2nd, 2022 within a panelist Q&A format.{{cite web|url=https://www.wvnstv.com/video/marshall-university-on-ukraine/7490687/|title=Marshall University On Ukraine|publisher=WVNS|date=March 2, 2022|access-date=January 19, 2025}} The podcast has hosted over 120 guests that include university professors, philanthropists, charity organizations and Ukrainian refugees, volunteers and soldiers.{{cite web|url=https://wchstv.com/news/local/marshall-faculty-members-to-host-panel-discussion-on-russias-invasion-of-ukraine|title=Marshall faculty members to host panel discussion on Russia's invasion of Ukraine|last=Stowers|first=Shannon|publisher=WCHS-TV|date=March 2, 2022|access-date=January 19, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://marshallparthenon.com/29177/news/urgent-panel-war-in-ukraine-discussion/|title=‘Urgent Panel: War in Ukraine’ Discussion features MU Professors|last=Robinson|first=Isabella|publisher=The Parthenon|date=March 3, 2022|access-date=January 19, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/marshall-university-groups-discuss-ukraine-war-honor-those-affected/article_7810c85a-ae41-5bb7-b2c4-ac95d617d22a.html|title=Marshall University groups discuss Ukraine war honor those affected|last=Hessler|first=Courtney|publisher=Herald Dispatch|date=March 2, 2022|access-date=January 19, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.wvnstv.com/news/marshall-university-holds-panel-on-war-in-ukraine/

|title=Marshall University holds panel on war in Ukraine|last=Eagle|first=Skyler|publisher=WVNS|date=March 2, 2022|access-date=January 19, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://harriman.columbia.edu/masha-udensiva-brenner-gives-talk-about-voices-of-ukraine-at-marshall-university/|title=Masha Udensiva-Brenner Gives Talk about Voices of Ukraine at Marshall University|publisher=Columbia University|date=October 31, 2022|access-date=January 19, 2025}}

In May 2024 Marshall broke ground on a new 80,000 sq ft. Institute for Cyber Security building. The new facility will be a four-story building that will house cybersecurity technology and is scheduled to open by Fall 2026.{{Cite web|date=May 17, 2024|last=Saunders|first=Anna|title=Marshall breaks ground on cyber security institute, 'East Coast hub' for national security|url=https://www.wchstv.com/news/local/marshall-breaks-ground-on-cyber-security-institute-east-coast-hub-for-national-security|access-date=July 14, 2024|website=wchs.com|language=en}}

{{See also|List of buildings at Marshall University}}

File:Marshall University Memorial Student Center 2021.jpg]]

File:Marshall University President House 2023.jpg]]

Old Main is a collection of five buildings joined at the center of the university's campus and has been seen as a symbol of the university."Old Main." Marshall University. December 20, 2006 [http://www.marshall.edu/campus/old_main/]. The original structure was completed in 1868, with four other additions that were completed at various intervals until 1907.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}} Old Main is also home to the college's autism program first founded in 2002.{{Cite web |last=Hood |first=Grace |date=April 13, 2011 |title=Autistic Kids Learn To Survive, And Thrive, In College : NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/04/13/135345982/colleges-address-autistic-students-struggles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415030106/https://www.npr.org/2011/04/13/135345982/colleges-address-autistic-students-struggles |archive-date=2011-04-15 |access-date=2025-06-09 |website=www.npr.org}}

The Brad D. Smith Center for Business and Innovation opened in 2024 near Old Main to develop business ideas and projects created by Marshall University students.{{Cite web |last=Pace |first=Fred|title=Marshall dedicates Brad D. Smith Center for Business and Innovation|date=April 11, 2024|url=https://www.herald-dispatch.com/business/marshall-dedicates-brad-d-smith-center-for-business-and-innovation/article_61968c1c-503d-5283-8bb4-1a00ce1f2598.html|access-date=July 22, 2024 |publisher=Herald Dispatch}}

The Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center is named after longtime U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, who was a proponent of the project and helped receive funding for its construction. The first floor contains two auditoriums, six teaching laboratories, numerous lecture rooms, and other research appendages."New schools, businesses expected in Tri-State." Herald-Dispatch [Huntington] January 1, 2007. January 2, 2007 [http://www.heralddispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070101/NEWS01/701010337]{{dead link|date=April 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}.

In 2024, Marshall University accepted 96.9% of undergraduate applicants, with those admitted having an average 3.68 high school GPA. The university does not require submission of standardized test scores, Marshall being a test optional school. Those accepted that submitted test scores had an average 930-1150 SAT score or an average 19-25 ACT score.{{cite web |title= Marshall University Admission Requirements |url=https://www.collegesimply.com/colleges/west-virginia/marshall-university/admission/ |website=collegesimply.com |publisher=CollegeSimply {{!}} U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics |access-date=22 September 2024}}

{{Infobox US university ranking

| USNWR_NU = 315

| Wamo_NU = 261

| Forbes = 496

}}

Marshall University is organized into 11 degree-granting colleges or schools in addition to an honors college:{{cite web|title=Marshall University Colleges and Schools |url=https://www.marshall.edu/academics/colleges/ |access-date=September 7, 2024 }}

• College of Arts and Media
• Division of Aviation
• Elizabeth McDowell Lewis College of Business
• College of Education and Professional Development
• College of Engineering and Computer Sciences
• College of Health Professions
• College of Liberal Arts
• Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine File:RCB_BioTechCenter.JPG]]
• College of Science
• School of Pharmacy
• Honors College
• University College

In 2021, Marshall formed an aviation program which includes the Bill Noe Flight School, awarding a B.S. in commercial aviation as a professional pilot; and an A.A.S. in aviation maintenance technology. The flight school is based at the Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia; the aviation maintenance program is based at Tri-State Airport in Huntington. In 2024, the flight school opened a second location at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and a cooperative program with West Liberty University using the Wheeling Ohio County Airport. All schools are FAA-certified.{{cite web | url=https://www.marshall.edu/aviation/professional-pilot-b-s/ | title=Professional Pilot, B.S. }}

The school's general engineering program was closed in 1970 but was re-established with a graduate program in 1993, and a general engineering undergraduate program in 2006.{{cite web |url=http://www.marshall.edu/cite/academics/Programs/PDescBSECur.htm |title=CITE Undergraduate Civil Engineering Program |website=www.marshall.edu |access-date=January 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060513063006/http://www.marshall.edu/cite/academics/Programs/PDescBSECur.htm |archive-date=May 13, 2006 |url-status=dead}}

Marshall has granted master's degrees since 1938. The university began granting doctoral degrees in 1994. Marshall now offers a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences, an EdD in Educational Leadership or Curriculum and Instruction, and professional doctorates in Nurse Anesthesia, Pharmacy, Psychology, and Physical Therapy.{{cite web|url=http://www.marshall.edu/graduate/degreeprograms.asp |title=Select Your Degree or Certificate Program | MU Graduate College |publisher=Marshall.edu |access-date=September 28, 2015}}

File:WV- Erma Byrd Center front.JPG, located on the Beckley Campus]]

Marshall has three divisional campuses.{{cite web|url=https://www.marshall.edu/locations/|title=Marshall University - Out locations|access-date=September 7, 2024}}

• Marshall University – Beckley Campus
• Marshall University – Point Pleasant Campus
• Marshall University – South Charleston Campus

The Society of Yeager Scholars is the highest academic scholarship offered at Marshall University, named in honor of Chuck Yeager, the first recorded pilot to break the sound barrier.{{Cite web |last=Walker |first=Jim |date=March 31, 2024 |title=D-B senior named as Yeager Scholar |url=https://www.irontontribune.com/2024/03/31/d-b-senior-named-as-yeager-scholar/ |access-date=September 7, 2024 |website=The Tribune |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=August 13, 2024 |title=Chuck Yeager {{!}} Biography, Test Pilot, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chuck-Yeager |access-date=September 7, 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}} Members of the society are selected through a competitive application and interview process from high school seniors. The core curriculum is designed to assist each Yeager Scholar in developing skills in analysis, synthesis, and critical thinking. Each scholar will be expected to demonstrate superior skills in written and oral communication. To remain in the program, each student must maintain a cumulative 3.5 grade point average. Those who complete all academic requirements are awarded a Yeager medallion containing flecks of the same metal as the Bell X-1.{{Cite web |title=Society of Yeager Scholars |url=https://www.marshall.edu/yeager/ |access-date=September 7, 2024 |website=Society of Yeager Scholars |language=en-US}}

The John Marshall Scholars Program is an academic scholarship program that covers a majority of the cost of education for member students at Marshall. The program affords a rigorous academic program and provides a full tuition/fee waiver and stipend to students with a composite ACT score of 30 or higher who have been accepted to the university. Students must maintain a 3.5 grade point average to retain their scholarship.{{Cite web |title=Incoming Freshmen Merit-based Scholarships for West Virginia Residents |url=https://www.marshall.edu/sfa/types-of-aid/marshall-university-scholarships-for-wv-applicants/incoming-freshmen-scholarships/ |access-date=September 7, 2024 |website=Student Financial Assistance |language=en-US}}

{{main|Marshall Thundering Herd}}

File:MU Athletics Collage 2021.jpg

Marshall's athletic teams are known as the Thundering Herd. The school colors are kelly green and white. Marshall participates in NCAA Division I (FBS for football) as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The name Thundering Herd came from a Zane Grey novel released in 1925, and a silent movie of the same name two years later. It was originally used by The Herald-Dispatch sports editor Carl "Duke" Ridgley, but many other nicknames were suggested over the next thirty years including Boogercats, Big Green, Green Gobblers, Rams, and Judges. In 1965, students, alums and faculty settled on Thundering Herd in a vote, and Big Green was given to the athletic department's fund-raising wing.{{cite web |url=http://www.herdzone.com/trads/mars-trads.html |title=Official Athletic Site of Marshall Thundering Herd :: Traditions |publisher=Herdzone.Com |access-date=September 28, 2015 |archive-date=June 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613145304/http://www.herdzone.com/trads/mars-trads.html |url-status=dead }}

Marshall is home to 15 NCAA Division I teams that compete within the Sun Belt. Sports at the school include women's softball, swimming and diving, tennis, volleyball, and track and field; men's football, baseball; and teams for both genders in basketball, cross country, golf, and soccer.{{cite web |url=http://herdzone.cstv.com/s-finder/mars-s-finder.html |title=HERDZONE.COM :: Official Athletic Site of Marshall Thundering Herd :: Sports Finder |publisher=Herdzone.cstv.com |access-date=September 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929115343/http://herdzone.cstv.com/s-finder/mars-s-finder.html |archive-date=September 29, 2011 |url-status=dead }}

Marshall began playing football in 1895{{Cite web |url=http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/mars/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2013-14/prospectus/prospectus.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=July 21, 2014 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304101413/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/mars/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2013-14/prospectus/prospectus.pdf |url-status=dead }} and has a long tradition as a football school. The plane crash on November 14, 1970, whose 75 victims included most of the 1970 Thundering Herd football team, continues to have a lasting impact on the university and Huntington community.

In 2020, the men's soccer team won the National Championship after defeating Indiana, 1–0, in the 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer championship game.{{cite press release|url=https://conferenceusa.com/news/2021/5/17/mens-soccer-msoc-national-champions-marshall-beats-indiana-1-0-in-ot-for-college-cup-title.aspx |title=National Champions! Marshall Beats Indiana 1-0 In OT For College Cup Title |publisher=Conference USA |date=May 17, 2021 |access-date=May 29, 2021}}

Marshall is home to over 200+ student organizations and clubs.

Student media includes an on-campus radio station WMUL-FM 88.1, and The Parthenon, the student newspaper.

There are 15 chapters of fraternities and sororities on campus. Disciplinary problems became national news in 2014 when The Atlantic published an article about drug and alcohol abuse in Greek chapters on campus.{{Cite web |last=Flanagan |first=Caitlin |date=September 9, 2019 |title=The Dark Power of Fraternities |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/03/the-dark-power-of-fraternities/357580/ |website=The Atlantic}} In 2021, the university closed all of them temporarily after allegations of violations of COVID-19 measures.{{Cite web |date=March 8, 2021 |title=Marshall Puts Halt On Greek Life Activities Over Alleged Health Violations |url=http://www.huntingtonnews.net/174786 |website=Huntington News}}

The student-run Campus Activities Board organizes free campus-wide events. Also available to students is the Marshall Artists Series, which brings Broadway, dance, music, comedy, and opera to the university, and two international film festivals. Students can obtain free tickets to athletics, Marshall Artists Series productions and to theater productions at the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

File:MUreccenter crop.jpg]]

Nicknamed The Rec, the {{cvt|123000|sqft|m2}} recreation center opened in 2009. The facility features an aquatic center with a spa, 3 lap lanes, a vortex whirlpool, and a leisure area. There are ten residence halls located on the main campus, with additional housing on the Health Science campus.

{{main|List of notable faculty and alumni of Marshall University}}

File:Robert Byrd official portrait.jpg|Robert C. Byrd, longest serving United States Senator in history, former U.S. representative for West Virginia{{cite web |date=November 20, 2008 |title=Frater Robert Byrd Celebrates 91st Birthday |url=http://www.tke.org/news/2008/11/20/frater-robert-byrd-celebrates-91st-birthday |publisher=Tau Kappa Epsilon |location=Indianapolis, IN |access-date=December 23, 2022}}

File:Billy Crystal by Gage Skidmore.jpg|Billy Crystal, 6x Emmy winner, 1x Tony winner 9x host of the Oscars, played as Jodie Dallas in Soap{{cite web|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/billy-crystal |title=Billy Crystal |publisher=Hollywood Walk of Fame |access-date=April 10, 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/college_summary/1965~MAC |title=1965 MAC Baseball Season |publisher=The Baseball Cube |access-date=December 21, 2022}}

File:Hal Greer 1969.jpeg|Hal Greer, member of NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, Basketball Hall of Famer{{cite web |url=http://www.herdzone.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/020912aaa.html |title=Greer Still Fond of Marshall, Field House :: Marshall Thundering Herd Athletic Site :: Men's Basketball |publisher=Herdzone.Com |date=February 9, 2012 |access-date=April 17, 2018 |archive-date=April 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417023441/http://www.herdzone.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/020912aaa.html |url-status=dead }}

File:Randy Moss 2016.jpg|Randy Moss, NFL record holder for most receiving touchdowns in a season, NFL Hall of Famer{{Cite news |date=April 13, 1998 |title=War Room Value Board: Randy Moss |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/events/1998/nfldraft/topplayers/5.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502050443/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/events/1998/nfldraft/topplayers/5.html |archive-date=May 2, 2008 |access-date=April 29, 2008 |publisher=CNNSI}}{{Cite web |last=Redd |first=Derek |date=2018-08-01 |title='When Randy played, nobody had to tell you that was Randy Moss' |url=https://www.herald-dispatch.com/sports/marshall_sports/when-randy-played-nobody-had-to-tell-you-that-was-randy-moss/article_df5b24a6-d1d9-5a6c-b5f0-dcb38e3c2d8a.html |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=The Herald-Dispatch |language=en}}

File:Michael W. Smith by Gage Skidmore.jpg|Michael W. Smith, 3x Grammy winner, 54x Dove Award winner, artist behind Place in This World{{cite journal|last=Long|first=Jim|title=Michael W. Smith Looks Back|journal=Christianity Today|date=March 1988|volume=46|issue=8|page=56}}

File:M. G. Burnside (West Virginia Congressman).jpg|Maurice G. Burnside, former professor of political science, former United States House of Representatives

File:RuthChristSullivan 1991.jpg|Ruth C. Sullivan, founded and ran the West Virginia Autism Training Center, founder of ASA

File:Ken Hechler.jpg|Ken Hechler, former professor of political science, former United States House of Representatives

File:Evan Jenkins official congressional photo.jpg|Evan Jenkins, former professor of commercial law, former United States House of Representatives

File:Brad D. Smith at Web Summit 2014.jpg|Brad D. Smith, current president of Marshall University, former CEO of Intuit, current Amazon board of directors

• Buildings at Marshall University
• Marshall University – South Charleston Campus

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