A new day is dawning in Marshall athletics as the university prepares to join the Sun Belt Conference in 2023 … or sooner.
There are two signs that adorn the outside of the iconic Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. One is the sponsor, as the massive edifice is now called the Caesars Superdome. Much less conspicuous is the sign with a blue and gold circular logo which denotes the league offices of the Sun Belt Conference.
Welcome, Marshall University, to the Bayou.
In December, the Thundering Herd football team and its fans got to see for themselves what football is like right in the footprint of their soon-to-be new conference.
The Herd drew 16th-ranked Louisiana in the R+L Carriers Bowl in New Orleans and even before the game, Marshall Head Coach Charles Huff knew this league would be anything but the “Big Easy.”
“If we want to close the gap and compete in this conference, then our stadium has to look like our opponent’s stadium,” Huff said in his pre-New Orleans Bowl news conference. “If we’re going to the Sun Belt Conference we can’t have our stadium look empty. If it’s empty then we’re going to get embarrassed. It’s no different than if we walk into the stadium and I don’t have the team prepared to play. We’re going to get embarrassed.”
The Sun Belt invitation officially came Marshall’s way on Nov. 1, when league Commissioner Keith Gill, incoming Marshall President Brad D. Smith and Interim Director of Athletics Jeff O’Malley heralded a new day in Marshall athletics.
“I do think the Marshall brand is so important,” Sun Belt Commissioner Gill said of Marshall after the news conference at the Joan C. Edwards Playhouse. “The university has a really excited, passionate fan base. I was at the Marshall vs. Appalachian State game earlier this year. There was so much green in that stadium — it was a great atmosphere and a great game. That’s something Marshall’s going to bring — great fans, great tradition and quality football.”
Marshall accepted the invitation to join the league as a new member, along with Conference USA mates Old Dominion and Southern Miss, and will be joined by James Madison. The Dukes are coming up to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) ranks from the Colonial Athletic Association with a big football reputation. The addition of James Madison will also provide another regional connection with its neighbors in Virginia and West Virginia.
The courtship between Marshall and the Sun Belt seemed to be born out of mutual admiration. The Sun Belt was looking to be proactive in the conference expansion game instead of waiting for other leagues’ leftovers. Marshall liked the attractiveness of more regional rivalries and being a part of a southern-based conference. The TV deal with ESPN was also a game-changer, as finding Marshall on television during the Conference USA days became a cruel joke among the fan base. The Sun Belt deal with ESPN goes through 2031.
“A lot of us went down and saw the game at Appalachian State, and what a great environment it was,” O’Malley said. “On a Thursday night we brought about 1,500 people down there and they were excited — and that’s even before anybody knew what was going to happen. I think it’s energized people here to get some of those old rivalries back — the Appalachian States, the Georgia Southerns. And to keep Old Dominion and have James Madison come up to the FBS level, that’s what made things really attractive to us.”
The new 15-team league will have two divisions in football. Marshall will most certainly be in the East, on the same side as Old Dominion (Norfolk, Virginia), James Madison (Harrisonburg, Virginia), Appalachian State (Boone, North Carolina), Georgia Southern (Statesboro, Georgia), Coastal Carolina (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) and Troy (Troy, Alabama).
The entry into the Sun Belt poses its own questions. The latest the move would happen is in the summer of 2023. Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss have expressed an interest in leaving Conference USA earlier and joining the league in 2022 for the fall sports calendar season. Exit fees, scheduling and television rights make that a complicated equation.
“There’s a lot of different things that are evolving on a daily basis,” said Marshall President Brad D. Smith after the news conference. “There are financial implications, there are commitments we’ve made to Conference USA, there’s our desire to get into the Sun Belt Conference — so we’re going to weigh all our options.”
And then there’s the soccer program. As one example, there has been talk that West Virginia and Kentucky soccer teams could join the Sun Belt as affiliate members along with Marshall and the other league additions.
“We’re really excited about men’s soccer,” Gill said. “We never wanted to give it up; we just ran out of teams to have it. We’ll have one of the best conferences in the country. We would love to pick up some affiliate members to make the conference a little stronger.”
The conference’s nickname is the “Fun Belt.” Marshall and its fans are eager to try the new league on, and the early indications are that it will be a great fit.
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About the Author: Keith Morehouse is a freelance writer and the sports director at WSAZ NewsChannel 3.
Photos:
From left, Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill, Immediate Past President Jerome Gilbert, President Brad D. Smith and Interim Director of Athletics Jeff O’Malley pose during a press conference on Nov. 1, 2021, where the announcement was made that Marshall had accepted an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference.
Steve Cotton, the radio voice of the Herd and 28-year member of the Marshall broadcast crew, speaks at the press conference held Nov. 1, 2021, where the university accepted the Sun Belt’s invitation to join the conference.