Herd faces tough '07 slate

Herd faces tough '07 slate...
	By Dusty Harman 03/01/2007 Marshall's Thundering Herd will face a schedule full of bowl teams during Mark Snyder's third year in Huntington.
The Herd will play eight bowl teams as part of its 12-game schedule this fall, including a pair of non-conference dates at Miami, Fla., on Sept. 1 and a home game with West Virginia on Sept. 8. The second meeting with the Mountaineers, dubbed the Friends of Coal Bowl, will be broadcast on ESPN. It will be WVU's first visit to Huntington in 92 years, and the first ever at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. The number of postseason teams the Herd will face becomes nine with the inclusion of New Hampshire, a quarterfinalist in the Division 1 playoffs last season. The remaining non-conference dates include the Wildcats' visit to Joan C. Edwards Stadium on Sept. 15 and a Sept. 22 visit to Cincinnati, which beat Marshall in the Forth Worth Bowl in 2004 -- MU's last bowl appearance. The Conference USA schedule begins with a Tuesday game at Memphis (Oct. 2) on ESPN2, followed 11 days later by a visit to Tulsa (Oct. 13). Southern Miss (Oct. 21) opens a two-game Herd homestand on a Sunday, followed by Rice on Oct. 27. The Herd then travels to UCF (Nov. 3), followed by a visit from East Carolina (Nov. 10), a trip to defending conference champion Houston (Nov. 17) and the regular season finale at home against UAB (Nov. 24). "I believe this is an attractive and highly competitive schedule," Marshall Director of Athletics Bob Marcum said. "We have six home games against post-season caliber opponents and West Virginia University will be making its first visit to Huntington in 92 years. We are also pleased to have three nationally televised games on ESPN and two of those will originate from Huntington." More televised games are expected to be announced at a later date. The Marshall ticket office has already mailed out 2007 football season ticket renewals to Big Green Members and renewals for season ticket holders are scheduled to be mailed this week. "This is an outstanding schedule that should excite our fans like never before and I am looking forward to seeing a sea of green at all six of our home games," Marshall Head Coach Mark Snyder said. "I am also pleased that we have the opportunity to showcase our University with three nationally televised games on ESPN." The Herd opens spring drills March 27. An intra-squad scrimmage will be held April 7 at University of Charleston Field, and the annual Green-White Game will take place April 21.