WASHINGTON, D.C. — Friday is Game Day for Marshall University.
The Thundering Herd (9-4) will take the field on Friday afternoon for the 2013 Military Bowl against the Maryland Terrapins (7-5) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
It’s the first Military Bowl appearance for Marshall.
Members of the Herd arrived in Washington, D.C. back on Monday and have been working in sightseeing trips around daily practices and the Christmas holiday. “There’s plenty of things to do when you’re in Washington, D.C. to educate and entertain,” said Steve Cotton, Marshall play-by-play announcer.
Cotton was a guest on Thursday’s “Morning News.” “You have, on the Marshall team, several guys from the D.C., Maryland, northern Virginia area and they were the center of attention,” he said. “They were telling others, ‘Here’s how we’re going to go this. Here’s something we want to go check out.'”
The Military Bowl, now in its sixth year, is presented by Northrop Grumman and benefits the USO along with other organizations that support members of the Armed Forces and their families. At least $100,000 from the Military Bowl will be donated to the USO.
Active duty military members and their family members are eligible for free tickets to the game.
This is the first year the game is being played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. Up until Friday, the bowl activities had been focused on Washington, D.C. but were shifting to Annapolis for Game Day.
The Military Bowl Parade, led by the Budweiser Clydesdales, was scheduled to step off at 11 a.m. Friday at Annapolis’ City Dock and end at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium where an official tailgate party will be held ahead of kickoff at 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN.
Marshall’s Honorary Captains for the game will be Jack Lengyel, the coach of the Young Thundering Herd from 1971-1974, and Hershel “Woody” Williams, a Medal of Honor recipient. Marshall won Conference USA’s East Division this year.