Wooster coach Jack Lengyel was eventually hired to fill the position. William "Red" Dawson was named acting head coach, and later signed 21 prospects from five states. However, after two days he returned to Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech assistant coach Dick Bestwick was hired to be the head coach. Marshall lost much of their coaching staff and their athletic director in the crash. The 1970 Marshall University football team was coached by Rick Tolley and finished with a record of 3–6. It was the worst single air tragedy in NCAA sports history. On November 14, 1970, Southern Airways Flight 932, which was chartered by the school to fly the 1970 Marshall Thundering Herd football team and fans to Greenville, North Carolina for a game against the East Carolina Pirates and back to Huntington, West Virginia, crashed on approach to Tri-State Airport after clipping trees just west of the runway and impacting nose-first into a hollow. Marshall played home games at Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.īefore the season Previous season Led by first-year head coach Jack Lengyel, the Thundering Herd compiled a record of 2–8. There is also a memorial at Spring Hill Cemetery and a bronze plaque at the location of the current and former football stadium.The 1971 Marshall Thundering Herd football team (sometimes referred to as the Young Thundering Herd) represented Marshall University as an independent during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. In the center of Marshall University is a memorial fountain that is home to a ceremony to honor the lives lost on November 14th, 1970. This historic marker is one of many physical reminders of the tragic crash and resilience of the community and university. The symbolic victory transcended athletic competition and initiated a tradition where the Marshall football team began to represent something greater than sport. The team won only two games that year, but the team's first home game following the crash ended with a 15-13 victory over Xavier University. Thanks to an NCAA waiver to allow freshmen to play in Marshall's first season, the team was able to recruit players and return to the field in 1971. After the memorial, members of the Marshall community explored the possibility of rebuilding the team, an idea that slowly gained support despite the obstacles involved, including a rule that barred freshmen students from playing in NCAA games at that time. An annual memorial service is held on campus each year on November 14th, when time stands still as the Memorial Fountain is turned off in honor of these Sons and Daughters of Marshall.įollowing the crash, the Marshall University football team was only left nine players and athletic leaders decided to suspend the program indefinitely. A memorial service was held on Sunday, Novemat 7:00 pm, the same time Marshall University was scheduled to play rival Ohio University. The horrific crash left a university, a city, and many families in mourning. Use of cockpit instrument data or b) an altimetry system error” (AircraftĪccident Report, NTSB-AAR-72-11, p. The Board has been unable to determine the reasonįor this descent, although the two most likely explanations are: a) improper Non precision approach under adverse weather conditions, without visual contact That the probable cause was the descent below Minimum Descent Altitude during a “The National Transportation Safety Board determines When this happened, the plane struck trees on a hillside which caused the plane to crash about a mile away from the runway. Due to poor visibility, however, the plane went below the minimum descent altitude in hopes of seeing the approaching runway more clearly. The crew contacted the Huntington airport tower at 7:23pm and their landing was approved. However, poor weather conditions and fog made visibility a challenge for the flight crew shortly after the plane departed North Carolina at 6:38pm. The DC-9 had only been in operation for a little over a year and had flown approximately 3,600 hours, and there were no signs of potential mechanical problems. On November 14th, 1970, thirty-seven players, nine coaches, twenty-five boosters, and a flight crew of four boarded a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 operated by Southern Airways following a tough road loss to East Carolina University.
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