— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Since taking over as Director of Athletics at Marshall last fall, Gerald Harrison has made community service a major part of the department’s operation, much as he did at his prior stop of Austin Peay.
Harrison’s first year at Marshall produced a huge service number, as MU student-athletes compiled 5,518.9 hours of community service in a variety of efforts.
Those efforts included stuffing food boxes at the Facing Hunger Food Bank, loading Thanksgiving Turkeys for distribution, making appearances at local schools and instructing youngsters at sports clinics.
“When we arrived here at Marshall, we did so with a goal of not only producing winning programs, but also producing individuals that win at life,” Harrison said. “All of the pillars of the Herd Mentality embrace the ability for our student-athletes to not only change their own lives, but the lives of those around them, and through their selfless acts of leadership, they have done exactly that.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our athletes and grateful to them for representing Marshall University and Marshall Athletics so well as leaders within our community. Now, more than ever, it shows that today is a great day to run with our Herd!”
Some Herd squads racked up impressive service numbers.
Men’s and women’s track and cross country compiled the most hours with 1,319 hours by 88 different student-athletes while football had 787.5 hours collectively.
From a percentage standpoint, swim and dive (149.4 percent) and softball (148.5 percent) followed volleyball, combining for another 1,050+ hours between the two programs with each averaging 22.4 and 22.2 hours per student-athlete, respectively.
The top individual community service athletes are junior volleyball player Maya Hunt with 60 hours, followed by the 54 service hours of Alycia Rivera, a member of women’s tack and field. Rivera is closely followed by 53 hours from Allison Dodd of women’s swimming and diving.
“Student-athletes embrace community service as a way to give back to the community that supports them so fully,” Hunt said. “We do this with purpose, showing up and giving our all to those who have helped and supported us on our journey. This helps us to lead beyond our sports, connecting with the community in new and meaningful ways.”
— — — — —
Sophomore infielder Sydni Burko of Marshall softball was named a second-team All-American by D1 Softball.
Burko, a Cabell Midland High School alumnus, is the only player from a non-autonomy conference to be included on the list.
The 2026 season was a special one for Burko, who hit a school record 24 home runs on the way to being named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year after transferring from Indiana.
She’s the sixth player in Herd history to earn All-America status, joining Rachel Folden, Jordan Dixon, Mya Stevenson, Autumn Own and current Herd head coach Morgan Zerkle.
“No doubt Burko belongs on this list as one of the top hitters in the country and the best mid-major hitter,” Zerkle said. “What makes her even more special is her humility and genuine appreciation for Marshall University softball.”