CABELL COUNTY, W.Va. — Zero tailgating was allowed outside Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington on Saturday prior to the delayed opening of the Herd’s 2020 Football Season against Eastern Kentucky.
Kickoff on ESPN was scheduled for 1:03 p.m.
“Our players have been here since May 20th and haven’t had the opportunity to leave Huntington, so you’ve got to give a lot of credit to our players and everybody to get to this point,” said Doc Holliday, Marshall head football coach.
Stadium ticket booths were scheduled to open at 11 a.m. along with stadium parking lots ahead of gate openings at 11:30 a.m.
Tailgating was prohibited.
Because of COVID-19 guidelines, fans were not allowed to loiter or assemble in the parking lot.
Face coverings, including masks and gaiters, were required to be properly worn at entry to the stadium and in all areas throughout the game. Masks were allowed to be removed only to take a bite of food or for a drink.
To comply with social distancing guidelines, season ticket holders have been relocated throughout Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Only a limited number of single-game tickets were available because of reduced capacity overall.
“Our kids are excited about the opportunity to have some fans in the stands and 12,000, to us right now, are better than zero which is what a lot of people have at this point,” Holliday said on Friday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
.@DOCMUFB speaks with @HoppyKercheval about @HerdFB’s season opener tomorrow afternoon against Eastern Kentucky. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIRZCB pic.twitter.com/wAdwbzrQ0Q
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) September 4, 2020
In general, seated groups can be no larger than six.
Each group was to be surrounded by empty rows and empty seats.
Under the guidelines, the student section was limited to 1,509 students with mandated spacing.
Fans opting to leave the stadium were not allowed to come back in with the same ticket.
As of Friday, this year’s Marshall schedule included nine games.
Sept. 4 vs. Eastern Kentucky
Sept. 19 vs. Appalachian State
Oct. 3 vs. Rice
Oct. 10 at Western Kentucky
Oct. 17 at Louisiana Tech
Oct. 24 vs. Florida Atlantic (Homecoming)
Oct. 31 at FIU
Nov. 14 vs. Middle Tennessee
Nov. 21 vs. Charlotte
On Friday, Holliday said he was not going to predict whether the Herd would get to play the full schedule, as scheduled.
“When this thing started, I kind of made a vow that, hey, I’m going to take it one day at a time,” Holliday said.