— By Bill Cornwell
Football Fridays in West Virginia are generally contested at smaller venues on high school campuses.
At least for one week, that won’t be the case later this fall in Huntington.
Marshall University Athletic’s Herd Hospitality and Entertainment Group announced this week Joan C. Edwards Stadium will host this fall’s annual football matchup between Spring Valley and Huntington.
The game will be played at 8 p.m. on September 11, with Spring Valley serving as the home team.
The teams have agreed to also play their 2027 game at Marshall on a date to be determined. United Bank has agreed to sponsor both games.
It will be a busy weekend at Edwards Stadium as Marshall welcomes Middle Tennessee the following day at 7 p.m. to start its 2026 home slate.
Joan C. Edwards Stadium has played host to prep football in the recent past, as Cabell Midland took on Ironton (Ohio) in 2023 and 2024.
“When we started Herd Hospitality, the vision was to create experiences that further connect our university and athletics department with our fans, and we couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to host two of our premier local schools in their rivalry matchup for the next two years,” said Ryan Crisp, Marshall Associate Athletic Director for Revenue Generation. “The Sept. 11 contest between the two schools will kick off an awesome weekend of football at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.”
Marshall Athletics will handle ticket and parking pass sales for the Spring Valley-Huntington football game. That information will be released in July.