— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The Marshall University Athletics Department is joining a number of schools around the country in setting up an online media presence that it hopes will give fans an inside look at their favorite teams, while also increasing the department’s revenue.
MU announced the creation of HerdZone Plus this week. For $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, fans can have access to specialized in-depth content.
Marshall Director of Athletics Christian Spears says HerdZone Plus has potential to spread the Marshall brand nationally while keeping Herd faithful aware of the consistently work put in by coaches and athletes.
“With the new landscape of college athletics, there is a great demand for broader access around all of our athletic programs and HerdZone Plus delivers on that,”Spears said. “We see this as a way to show how impactful the support is of our donors, and this allows fans to get closer to our student-athletes and coaches.”
More access than EVER before! 📺
HerdZone Plus has launched! Go check out the new streaming platform! This academic year is going to be full of new exclusive content! 🫡
Watch Now: https://t.co/pEEml4XXYu#WeAreMarshall pic.twitter.com/4kXON7vqGI
— Marshall Athletics (@HerdZone) July 10, 2024
The first offering of HerdZone Plus is a six-part look at the offseason work of the Marshall Football team called Herd Knocks based off of the popular NFL Films series with the same title.
HerdZone Plus will also offer additional behind the scenes offerings with coaches, players and team personnel.
Other featured programming includes regular Coaches Corner features and exclusive podcasts with past and present Marshall Athletics personalities.
Weekly news conferences for football and men’s and women’s basketball will also be part of HerdZone Plus programming.
Athletic Department officials say HerdZone Plus will feature more than 25 pieces of original content throughout the year with new content being added regularly upon launch, including The Vault, which will house archived Marshall moments.
HerdZone Plus will be available on all major streaming platforms via the HerdZone app and web browser and fans can begin subscribing to the service.
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Marshall fans will get a chance to interact with Herd players and coaches on Saturday, August 3 at the annual Fans First Day from 5:30-7 p.m. at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Athletes from all MU teams will be represented at the event and fans can get autographs and photos, purchase season tickets and join the Big Green Scholarship Foundation.
There will also be a book and school supply drive in association with the Cabell County Schools.