— Story by Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall University Athletics announced Thursday that the university’s athletic venues will handle fans at 100% capacity this fall.
That means there will be no restrictions on the number of fans filling Joan C. Edwards Stadium for football, Hoops Family Field for soccer and the Cam Henderson Center for women’s volleyball.
Jeff O’Malley, who will become Marshall’s Interim Athletic Director on July 1st, learned of the end of attendance restrictions on Wednesday.
Capacities were limited by university and health officials for all sports in the last school year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The full capacity news brought joy to Thundering Herd coaches.
“I’m excited about the opportunity for every seat in the Joan to be full,” Head Football Coach Charles Huff said. “Not only is this big for our football program, but it’s also big for our community.
“This community was built on coming together on football game days and cheering on the Herd and last year was rough on all of us. Hopefully this is the first step of many to getting this community back stronger than ever before!”
Chris Grassie, who led Marshall to the NCAA Men’s Soccer national title in May, echoed Huff’s comments.
“I’m very excited to welcome all of our Herd fans back to our matches this season,” Grassie said. “The amount of support and love we received from all of you was a huge reason we won a national championship.
“I’m hoping this year we can continue to smash our attendance records and make our matches fantastic events to be a part of. When we do things together as Herd nation, we can accomplish anything!”
Marshall football’s home opener is September 11th against North Carolina Central. Fall schedules have not been released for the men’s and women’s soccer squads or women’s volleyball team.