NCAAB Marshall Thundering Herd

General Information

NCAA Division: Division I
Conference: Sun Belt Conference
Past Conferences: West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Buckeye Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Mid-American Conference, Southern Conference, Conference USA
City: Huntington, West Virginia
Arena: Cam Henderson Center
NCAA Tournaments: 6 (1956, 1972, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2018)

Championships:

National Championships: None
Conference Titles: 9 (1937, 1938, 1939, 1956, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1995, 1997)

Team History

Marshall began its basketball program in 1906-07, playing a one-game schedule under coach L.B. Crotty. The following year, Marshall played six games and the team played four to eight games a season through the 1913-14 season. Marshall didn’t field a team between 1914-1918. Marshall returned to the court for the 1918-19 season but took the 1919-20 season off. The team returned to the court in 1920-21 and has played every year since then.

Marshall had a couple of decent seasons in the 1920s but things took a big upswing when the Thundering Herd brought in Cam Henderson as coach in 1935-36. After a 6-10 first season, Marshall won three straight Buckeye Conference crowns and earned a spot in the NAIA Tournament in 1938. Marshall would go on to win the NAIA championship in 1947 and also competed in the NAIA Tournament in 1948.
The Thundering Herd made the move to Division I for the 1948-49 season, joining the Ohio Valley Conference, but Marshall stayed in the OVC for just four seasons. After playing as an independent for one season, Marshall joined the Mid-American Conference in 1953-54 and captured the conference tournament in its third season under first-year coach Jule Rivlin. That gave Marshall a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Marshall hit a bit of a rough patch, not appearing in the postseason again until earning an NIT berth in 1967, reaching the semifinals before bowing out. The Thundering Herd lost in the first round of the NIT the following year.

Marshall returned to the NCAA Tournament in 1972 and had the team’s best stretch in the mid-1980s, competing in the NCAA Tournament in 1984, 1985 and 1987, although the 1987 appearance was later vacated by the NCAA. The Thundering Herd didn’t return to the NCAA Tournament until 2018, winning its first-ever Tournament game with a victory over Wichita State. Marshall won the 2019 CIT Tournament.

All-Time Records

• Points Scored
  • Jon Elmore, 2,638
  • Skip Henderson, 2,574
  • John Taft, 2,332
• Rebounds
  • Charlie Slack, 1,916
  • J.R. VanHoose, 1,086
  • Ryan Taylor, 985
• Assists
  • Jon Elmore, 783
  • Greg White, 701
  • Mike D’Antoni, 659

FAQs

How many Marshall players have played in the NBA?

The Thundering Herd has seen 10 players advance to the NBA, with Hal Greer easily the best of the bunch. Greer was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996. Hassan Whiteside and Jason Williams also had solid careers, with both players playing at least 10 seasons.

Why is Marshall called the Thundering Herd?

Marshall teams were originally known as the Indians. But around 1910 Marshall was known as the Big Green due to the team’s uniform color. Some fans thought the Big Green moniker was a little lackluster. Huntington Herald-Dispatch sportswriter Duke Ridgley referred to the team as a Thundering Herd in the 1920s and that name stuck for a while. There were attempts to change the name to everything from the Boogercats to the Green Gobblers. Finally, it came down to a student vote. On Jan. 5, 1965, students picked Thundering Herd and chose the buffalo as the official mascot and green and white as the official school colors.

Has Marshall ever been ranked?

The Thundering Herd has been ranked by the Associated Press in two different seasons. In the 1955-56 season, Marshall was ranked for one week at No. 18. In 1971-72, Marshall spent 13 weeks in the polls, reaching a high of No. 8 and finishing No. 10 in the season-ending poll.