23 Things You Need To Know
ABOUT THE 2016 COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
SEPTEMBER 14, 2016
HERDINSIDER.COM
The HI Q&A Returns: Marshall President Dr. Jerome Gilbert by Mike Kirtner
UP FRONT 9.14.16
VOLUME 19 NO. 2
…The September 10 start for the Thundering Herd is the latest start for Marshall football since 1981. Coach Sonny Randle opened season three at the helm with a 20-17 win over longtime rival Morehead State in the “I-64 War” between the two schools just an hour apart on September 12, 1981. … Marshall is the only school in the nation to start a week later and then play for 12 straight weeks this season. The latest start in documented Marshall history is the November 14, 1895, first recorded game being a loss at home to Ashland (Ky.) High School’s Tomcats, 0-36, the day a cornerstone was laid for a new bell tower to be part of Old Main. … The Herd opened in October from 1897-1904, then had its first September opening games at home against Ashland HS once again, but the game was a forfeit win for Marshall when the Tomcats did notshow. The first played opener in September was on the 28th in 1912, a 46-0 rout of Ironton (Ohio) High School. The first August opener was August 30, 1985, a 30-0 shutout of West Virginia Tech. … Marshall has two schools from the ACC on the schedule this year, in back-to-back weeks, with Louisville here on September 24 and Marshall traveling to Pittsburgh on October 1. This last happened in 2011, when Marshall hosted Virginia Tech and then traveled to U of L. Marshall lost to Tech by a 30-10 margin, before beating the Cardinals 17-13. The Herd also faced WVU on the road that year. … Other double-Power 5 seasons for the Herd include 2013 (at Virginia Tech and win over Maryland in the Military Bowl,
both ACC); 2012 (at West Virginia of the then-Big East and at Purdue of the Big Ten); 2011 (at WVU, hosted Virginia Tech and at U of L of the Big East); 2012 (at Ohio State of the Big Ten and WVU); 2009 (Virginia Tech of the ACC and WVU); 2008 (at Wisconsin of the Big Ten and at WVU); 2007 (at Miami, Florida of the Big East and WVU); 2006 (at WVU, at Kansas State of the Big 12, and at Tennessee of the SEC); 2005 (Kansas State and at Virginia Tech); 2004 (at Ohio State and at Georgia of the SEC); 2003 (at Tennessee and at Kansas State); 2000 (at Michigan State of the Big Ten and at North Carolina of the ACC); 1999 (a win at Clemson of the ACC and a win over BYU — in its last year of football in the WAC — in the Motor City Bowl); 1997 (at WVU, at Army and Motor City Bowl versus Mississippi of the SEC). … Before that, you would have to go back to 1939 and 1940, when Marshall met Wake Forest (then of the Southern Conference) and hosting back-to-back wins over Louisville in Huntington (then playing in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) to see two of today’s Power 5 teams on the schedule. Marshall was back in the WVIAC for this period, when the Buckeye Conference folded in 1938-39, as a noncompeting member until 1948. Marshall and U of L would both have short-term memberships in the Ohio Valley Conference after World War II. … Marshall also met then-independent Penn State (now of the Big Ten) and Louisville in the 1929 and 1930 seasons, played Louisville and Kentucky in 1921 and 1922 and the first season Marshall met two of today’s Power 5 teams was 1914, when the Herd traveled for losses at both WVU and Virginia Tech. compiled by Woody Woodrum, HI senior editor
WHAT WE’VE GOT
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9.14.16
VOLUME 19 NO. 2
PRE-GAME
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24 Hours of Thunder
Venturing up the interstate for Marshall’s October 1 date with the Pitt Panthers? So are we. Here’s some quick information on where you’ll be (and a great suggestion on where to eat) in Pittsburgh.
FEATURE
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23 Things…
With Marshall’s late start to the season, we’re still in pre-season form. And, here’s 23 things you need to know about the upcoming football schedules as the 2016 season gets underway. COLUMNIST
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Bob Pruett With Marshall recently announcing future games with South Carolina, coach Pruett went after the guy who made the last visit to Columbia memorable, kicker Billy Malashevich.
FEATURE
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The HI Q&A: Dr. Gilbert Marshall’s president sat down with Herd Insider
for a Q&A about the university and its athletics.
On the cover: photograph of Marshall president Jerome Gilbert by Greg Perry/HI staff
555 Fifth Avenue Huntington, WV 25701 (304) 523-4801
General Manager Mike Kirtner
This page: The annual pre-season concert and pep rally held at Pullman Square – which featured the Marching Thunder – was capped off with this spectacular sunset in late August. photo by Greg Perry/HI staff Publisher Greg Perry
First Subscriber: Geoff Sheils
Associate GM Reeves Kirtner
Senior Editor Woody Woodrum
Printing: Printograph - Hebron, KY
Web Operations Alex Hackney All contents ©2016 Kindred Communications, Inc
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24 Hours of Thunder:
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Saturday October 1, 2016 | Heinz Field | Pittsburgh, PA A Great Place To Eat: Primanti Bros.
Where You’ll Be: HEINZ FIELD
• The horseshoe stadium seats 68,400 people and provides a stunning view of Pittsburgh’s breathtaking skyline. • The turf is a blend of four varieties of Kentucky Bluegrass, covering just over two acres. The soil is a 12-inch, sandbased root zone, meeting USGA specifications for particle size. Under the root zone, approximately 40 miles of ¾ inch piping heat the soil. • The Panthers’ locker room is 4,600 square feet, the Steelers’ locker room is 6,000 square feet and both visiting locker rooms are 2,600 square feet. • The unique Heinz Ketchup scoreboard features exact replicas--down to the embossed “57” on the bottle’s neck--of the Heinz Ketchup 14-ounce glass bottle. Each bottle includes 8,000 pounds of fiberglass, 375 feet of neon tubing and 20,500 light emitting diodes (LEDs). Each Heinz Ketchup Bottle measures 35 feet x 9 feet and each weighs 8,000 pounds — the equivalent of 53 linemen who each weigh 300 pounds. If the Heinz Ketchup bottles were filled with Heinz Ketchup, they would contain 1,664,000 fluid ounces each. That is enough to give each person seated at Heinz Field at least one 14-ounce bottle of ketchup to take home. If both bottles were emptied, the entire football field would be covered in ¾ of an inch of ketchup. Approximately 4,500 footballs could fit into each scoreboard ketchup bottle. Heinz Field photo and facts courtesy of the University of Pittsburgh
There are many great things to do in Pittsburgh. However, Marshall fans will most likely be making a day trip for the game, which leaves very little free time to take in the city and have time to tailgate. Never fear. If there’s only time for ONE thing to do before heading over to Heinz Field, our suggestion is an easy one: visit Primanti Bros. The sandwiches are legendary — we recommend the Capicola and Cheese — and feature fries right on the sandwich. The original downtown location (photo above) is located at 46 18th Street and is open 24 hours a day. Phone (412) 263-2142. ***This just in*** Primanti Bros. has locations right in Heinz Field, so that Marshall fans can enjoy the game and one of these legendary sandwiches. Locations: Lower Level East, Sections 109 & 110 Lower Level West, Sections 132-133 The original downtown location features a menu that is wide and deep with choices. Do you want egg on your sandwich? No problem. How about some coleslaw on top of the fries? Got it. The Heinz Field locations have a much more limited menu — take your pick from either the Pitts-burger or the Capicola with Cheese. Sides available are regular fries or cheese fries. Now that we know Primanti Bros. have locations in the stadium, we fear that we may have a tough time leaving Heinz Field. Photo and information courtesy of Primanti Bros.
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Beckley, WV Register-Herald photo
COLUMNIST
COACH BOB PRUETT
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Marshall vs South Carolina Is An Interesting Future Matchup. Just Ask Billy Malashevich.
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f we want to be in whatever conference we are in, Marshall has to be in the top third of a conference in budget to be successful, and the Herd is now at that point in Conference USA. Part of the way you get there, as my first column told fans, is to give money and to buy tickets. A third way is to play so-called “money” games with teams from the Big Ten, the SEC, the ACC, and all of those leagues are all part of Marshall’s future schedules. No one expects you to win, or even play well, when those games are scheduled, but our teams had some successes in South Carolina with a couple of those teams, then almost did the same in games with teams like Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan State, Virginia Tech — lots of big time teams. This year, the Herd hosts Louisville and goes to Pittsburgh. Both are in the ACC In 2018 it will be the first meeting with the Gamecocks since I was coach in 1998. The Herd recently signed up to go to South Carolina for a game and it got me to thinking about our game down there. My ’97 team was the first to play those games on the national stage, with games at West Virginia and Army in my second season, plus games as a member of the MAC for the first time since 1968. We played WVU in our first game in Di-
vision I-A (what they now call FBS), in which quarterback Chad Pennington arrived on the national scene, rallying from 28-0 to lead 3128 going into the fourth quarter. He also threw two touchdowns to Randy Moss, who came to us from Florida State. I was lucky enough to be able to redshirt Chad after injuries made him a starter as a true freshman in 1995. The ’96 season, Erik Kresser followed me from Florida to Marshall and led us to the 15-0 National Championship my first year here. Pennington had continued to shine in the ’97 win at Army by hooking up with Moss for the 90-yard touchdown where Randy hurdled the Army players, and people are still replaying that play even today — the AT&T Long Distance Play of the Week. They went on to connect for 26 touchdowns that season. In 1998, we opened at Akron, came home for Troy State and at 2-0 we traveled to Columbia, South Carolina for a “money game” with the South Carolina Gamecocks. Pennington was now a junior and, although Moss was gone by then, we had some talented guys catching passes, like LaVorn Colclough, Nate Poole, Jerrald Long, John Cooper, as well as backup Llow Turner and tight end Gregg Kellett. We even ran the fumble-rooski during
that South Carolina game, with Doug Chapman running for a 7-yard touchdown in the third quarter. In the first quarter, we jumped to the lead in the game when Lanier Washington’s second catch of the year was again for a touchdown (he also caught one for a score at Troy) to give us a 7-0 lead. South Carolina came back with a field goal and touchdown and led, 10-7, at halftime. Chapman scored on the ‘rooski to put us up, 21-10. Back came South Carolina with a touchdown and a field goal in the fourth quarter, to tie the game with 3:44 left. But after we turned the ball over on downs to give South Carolina a last chance before overtime, Danny Derricott picked-off USC QB Anthony Wright, and I’ll just let our transfer kicker from Delaware State, and Hurricane –Billy Malashevich– take it from here: “Hammon had scored on a screen play to take back the lead and with the other score, it looked like we would win easy,” Malashevich told me last Monday, just coming off the field after coaching the Spring Valley JV to a 10 a.m. win over Huntington. Malashevich is the defensive coordinator for the JV, and continued on page 22
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/ September 14, 2016
Every College Football Fan Should Know About The 2016 Season
by Amy Daughters FBSchedules.com
football illustration by Adobe Stock/33ft
23 Things
128 schools which form the FBS are scheduled Theto play over 1,500 games this season. The result is a staggering amount of historical data. Who’s played who before? Who’s played where before? Who’s had the best and worst luck in the past against its slate of opponents? Who has a hidden scheduling advantage? And, who’s getting screwed over without anyone taking notice? Check out the following list of extraordinary facts—at least a couple could make a difference in the outcome of the season. In 2016…
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APPALACHIAN STATE has Never Lost to 10 of Its 12 Opponents
The Mountaineers are 11-0 vs. six of their 2016 foes (Old Dominion, Georgia State, UL Lafayette, Idaho, Troy, and ULM) and have never faced five (Tennessee, Miami Fla., Akron, Texas State, and New Mexico State). That leaves Georgia Southern, who they split a home-and-home series with in 2014-15. App State holds a 16-12-1 series lead overall, which includes their battles as fellow FCS members.
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AUBURN Plays Its First Five Games at Home
One of only two Power programs with an extended home stay early, the Tigers won’t venture outside of Jordan-Hare Stadium until Oct. 8 when they travel to Starkville to square off with Mississippi State. In total, Auburn gets eight of its 2016 opponents at home, leaving it with only four true road trips—Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Georgia, and Alabama.
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BALL STATE, GEORGIA SOUTHERN, IDAHO, ULM, LOUISIANA TECH and NEW MEXICO STATE All Play Just 5 Home Games
On the other end of the spectrum from Auburn, each of six schools listed above will hit the road a whopping seven times. By conference, it’s four members of the Sun Belt, one from the MAC and one from C-USA.
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BOWLING GREEN Plays 10 of Its Games in the State of Ohio
With eight FBS programs within state lines, Ohio offers plenty of opportunities to play locally. Bowling Green takes full advantage of this in 2016, traveling
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outside of the state only twice—on Saturday, Sept. 24 to play Memphis in the Liberty Bowl and on Tuesday, Nov. 1 to square off with Northern Illinois in DeKalb.
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BYU Has 5 First-Ever Opponents
BYU played its first football game 95 years ago, in 1921. It makes it improbable that the Cougars could find a whopping five first-ever football foes in 2016. Here’s the breakdown: West Virginia (Sept. 24), Toledo (Sept. 30), Michigan State (Oct. 8), Southern Utah (Nov. 12) and UMass (Nov. 19).
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CHARLOTTE Has NEVER Beaten Any of Its 12 Opponents
The 49ers, who didn’t start playing football until 2012 and didn’t join the FBS ranks until last season, are a combined 0-9 vs. their final nine opponents in 2016. Charlotte’s first three—Louisville, Elon, and Eastern Michigan— are all programs it has never faced.
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DUKE–VIRGINIA and ARMY–NAVY are the Oldest Matchups of the Year
No 2016 matchups date further back than Duke-Virginia and Army-Navy, both of which kicked off 126-years ago in 1890. That’s just 25 years after the end of the American Civil War. continued on page 7
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FLORIDA and FLORIDA STATE Both Play Just 3 Games Outside of the State of Florida
Combined, the Sunshine State’s big boys will play 18 games inside of state lines. For the Gators, the exceptions are at Tennessee, at Vanderbilt, and at Arkansas. For the ‘Noles it’s at Louisville, at NC State, and at Syracuse.
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INDIANA is on a 0-43 Run vs. OHIO STATE and MICHIGAN
The Hoosiers haven’t beaten the Buckeyes since 1988 and haven’t toppled the Wolverines since 1987. In 2016, they get both teams on the road, last winning in Columbus 29 years ago and Ann Arbor 49 years ago.
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KANSAS Holds an All-Time Winning Record vs. Just TWO of Its Opponents
At 49-39-6 (55.3%) vs. Iowa State and 65-43-5 (59.7%) vs. Kansas State, the Cyclones and Wildcats are the only two teams on the Jayhawks’ 2016 schedule that it’s beaten more times than it’s lost to. If that weren’t enough, in the last five meetings with its’ 2016 slate, Kansas has scored just three total wins—a 1997 victory over TCU, a 2013 win vs. West Virginia and a 2014 triumph over, you guessed it, the Cyclones.
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KENTUCKY has Lost 29 Straight to FLORIDA
Representing what is the biggest-active losing streak in the Power leagues, the Wildcats haven’t bested the Gators since 1986, when Ronald Reagan was president. With this year’s game in Gainesville, it’s also worth noting that Kentucky hasn’t won at Florida since 1979. That’s when Jimmy Carter was in the White House.
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LOUISIANA TECH and TEXAS TECH Play for the First Time Since 1933
The matchup most worthy of having “Reunited” by Peaches & Herb belted out by the marching band, the two Tech’s from Texas and Louisiana meet again this season after 83-years apart. It’s the longest span between meetings in the FBS in 2016.
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MARSHALL Plays 12-Consecutive Games without a Break
The only program without the benefit of an in-season bye, Marshall will play 12-straight games in 2016 after taking Week 1 off. Included in the stretch are a Week 4 visit from Louisville and a Week 5 road trip to Pitt.
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MICHIGAN Doesn’t Play Away from Michigan Stadium until Oct. 8
Like Auburn, Michigan gets its first five opponents at home, not venturing out of town until a Week 6 date at Rutgers. The Wolverines also play all but three of their 2016 games in the state of Michigan. The only out-of-state road trips are to Rutgers, Iowa, and Ohio State.
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MINNESOTA–WISCONSIN Is the Longest-Running Series
The Golden Gophers and Badgers have squared off 125 times in history, more than any other FBS vs. FBS matchup this season. Just behind are three series with 120 meetings each — Miami, OH-Cincinnati, North Carolina-Virginia, and Missouri-Kansas.
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NC STATE Doesn’t Leave the State of North Carolina until Oct 15.
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OREGON is 5-0 Against 5 of Its Opponents in the Last 5 Meetings
Not only does the Wolfpack not leave its home state until Week 7, it only plays three total games outside of state lines — Clemson (Oct 15.), Louisville (Oct. 22), and Syracuse (Nov. 12).
The Ducks are a dominating 25-0 in their last five appearances vs. Colorado, Washington, Cal, Arizona State, and Oregon State, all also on their 2016 slate. Their last loss to any of the five came in 2008 when they fell 26-16 at Cal.
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RICE is 3-1 All-Time vs. STANFORD
In perhaps the craziest stat of the bunch, Rice and Stanford play this season for the first time in 52 years, a series that the Owls own 3-1. Rice’s only loss came in 1964, also the last time the two schools continued on page 21
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Marshall University President Dr. Jerry Gilbert is eagerly anticipating his first full season of Marshall football and basketball, after arriving on campus in the middle of the 2015-16 academic year.
photographs by Greg Perry/HI staff
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Q&A: Gilbert
Marshall University President
Dr. Jerome “Jerry”
In true pre-season fashion, we go to the man in charge to get his perspective on college athletics, moving to Huntington, and what Marshall fans can expect of the transplanted Mississippian. Dr. Jerome “Jerry” Gilbert, Marshall University’s 61 year-old self proclaimed “freshman” president, was named to the office last October to replace the former president of the University, the late Dr. Stephen J. Kopp, who passed away unexpectedly in December of 2014. Gilbert assumed his duties fulltime on January 19, following interim President Gary White, who Gilbert made part of his staff. He has a bachelor’s degree in biological engineering from Mississippi State and a doctorate in biomedical engineering from Duke. President Gilbert and his wife, Leigh, are the parents of three grown children — Caroline, Sallie and Peter — and have one granddaughter, Eliza. The 37th president of Marshall sat down to talk all-things-Marshall with Herd Insider’s Mike Kirtner — general manager HI’s parent company, Kindred Communications — in this first edition of the all new HI Q&A.
HI: You have been here eight months, so what was the first thing you unpacked? JG: “First thing I unpacked? Well, I came up in suitcases originally because my wife didn’t come up at first, so we weren’t moving the household up until six months after I got here. The first thing I unpacked was my suits and my shirts, to get them hung up in the closet because that would be critical for my first few days. I didn’t have a lot of personal things with me, and shipped some other things up in boxes which were all stacked up in the apartment.” HI: What was the first thing to come out of those boxes? JG: “I was looking for some of my books, and I had not sent all
of them so I was looking to see what books I had sent up ahead of my arrival. I was interested in looking through those for some speeches I would have to make early on, so I wanted my John Marshall biography and an American history book, so I could get them up on the shelf.” HI: What has been the most surprising experience you have had since you arrived in Huntington? JG: “Getting lost, or riding over to Kentucky with a bunch of cyclists, being at the back of the pack in what I would call the deep woods of Kentucky, with dogs running around, mobile trailers on the sides of the hills and wondering, ‘Will they send someone back to get me?’ which they did, thankfully. But it told me I was not in shape for West Virginia cycling, or mountain biking.
“But I have since developed some endurance for hills. Last week, I had not been out to the crash site (of the 1970 MU Football plane crash, located below TriState Airport). I was in Ceredo on my bicycle, someone told me the road to the airport is right here, and that was it. “So I thought I remembered that the crash site was off a road at the airport, but I remembered wrong. So I rode my bicycle up to the airport, in the 95-degree heat, from Huntington at around noon and I kept saying to myself, ‘I’ll go one more road, and then one more road,’ but when I saw the airport, I finally turned around. I drank some water, and my heart was racing, but on the way back I was fine. “Then, they were having the Marco Corn Hole Classic on campus. I continued on page 14
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Thunder From Up High
As seen from high above, the Marching Thunder had fans somewhat surrounded at the annual concert and pep rally held at Pullman Square in late August. photo by Greg Perry/HI staff
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a very close second. I think those two compliment each other and build a very strong base on which to build a tremendous loyalty to this was afraid I was going to miss it so I rode my bicycle straight over there University. instead of going home and showering first and I caught just the end of “I have worked some with Ginny Painter and have helped shape that. Then when I went home, got a little to eat and decided to go in my in some way the new marketing campaign. It is focusing on one of the car to find the site, which I did that evening.” traditions we have here at Marshall for a long time, and that’s the tradition of talking about the Sons HI: Since becoming the and Daughters of Marshall. What Marshall University president, that does is not only tie everyone what have you learned on the to the tradition we are familiar job? with but it also emphasizes that JG: “I have learned I have tie back to John Marshall. to take charge, lead by example “The fight song, ‘Sons of and be willing teach others. I Marshall’ says ‘We are the Sons of have had to learn a new culture Marshall, Sons of the great John and the administrative culture at Marshall,’ and then the alma Marshall is a little different from mater talks about the Sons and Mississippi State [where Gilbert Daughters of Marshall, so those was provost and executive vice prestwo traditions ring with me to be ident, 2010-2015, and served 1985true and tell the story of the tie -2009 in other capacities]. I also to the past. I like bringing up the have taught people here a little integrity of John Marshall, an indifferent approach to managing a dependent thinker and a patriot University. who helped to shape the country. “I have learned a lot about “I want that to echo with our Herd Insider general manager Mike Kirtner and publisher Greg Perry sat Marshall and the culture here. students about having integrity, down with Gilbert in his Old Main office on August 30, 2016 for this Q&A. The traditions here are very talking to them about character strong and I think that is somedevelopment, being a leader about the things they have to do in and thing that is appealing to me, so I think I have learned a little bit and out of the classroom and helping them prepare for a life beyond colcome to really love Marshall. I have great hope for moving the Univerlege. I have teamed up with the Yeager Scholars to created a book club sity forward. based on the more you read, the more you learn. The more perspec“The traditions associated with the sports programs that tie us tives you get on life will give you more perspectives on the world. We back to the adversity of the tragic plane crash are probably the stronhave to be inquisitive our whole life’s journey, and this is just the start gest traditions, but I’d say a close second is the tie to John Marshall, HI Q&A from page 11
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HI Q&A from page 14 of the journey. College is a strong start but this experience teaches you to learn all of your life and to become the kind of individual who will take initiatives I would expect a leader to do.” HI: With Marshall’s full athletic year already underway for this year, what food do you absolutely have to have in the President’s skybox this fall? JG: “At the football game, you have got to have chips. Any sort of chips, you have got to have chips at any sporting event at our house. There are other things after that, of course, but it starts with chips. Corn chips, tortilla chips, not necessarily potato chips — Doritos are the standard at our house.” HI: You are becoming known as a “People’s President.” People are finding you approachable. JG: I like that, although the University of Mississippi is known as the “People’s University” so we can’t let them know, but that is a tremendous compliment. I do like the label, other than if my friends back at Mississippi are thinking I might have stolen that label from them, it is a tremendous compliment. “I have always felt I was a people person, so to be labeled as the “People’s President” is quite a compliment. One thing I always like to add is something Brad Smith [CEO of software company Intuit] said, ‘Do not mistake kindness for weakness’ and while I am a very humble person, a very kind person at times but I am not afraid to do tough things and have in my life. “I am not a vindictive person, I’m not a person who holds grudges but I am a person who believes you have to do the right things and hold people accountable. I am not afraid to take corrective action when people do things that are outside the mission of what we would say is proper behavior. I am not afraid to make tough decision when they are needed to correct things.” HI: College athletics, small schools — college athletics, big
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challenge? JG: “I think college athletics at the small school is always going to be a challenge, both to try and keep it in perspective and knowing what the proper balance is. I also think, as I told our athletic department yesterday, winning with integrity is what we want to do. Winning without integrity is a shallow victory, or no victory at all. “I think what a lot of small schools do is try to be competitive and they try and bend the rules. I don’t want to bend any rules. I do not want a program with questions on us, I want a high integrity program. So when we win, we win in a big way and on multiple fronts.”
HI: What is your favorite sport, and what lessons can it teach? JG: “My favorite sport to watch is football, but I never played football much, just sandlot football when I was very young. My favorite sport to play would be baseball, because it was the one sport I played much when I was a kid, and I played softball as a graduate student. Usually I was an outfielder, way out there in the outfield usually [with a laugh]. “What did it teach us? It taught me — well, baseball is very different as it is both a team sport and an individual sport, so I think baseball teaches you how to play well as an individual and to play well as a member of a team. There is much individual focus, when you are batting or fielding the ball, but it is still a team sport as well. Baseball has components like track does, being a single athlete, running on your own. Not like football or basketball, which are much more of team sports. Sports taught me hard work and determination, and trying to get the best out of yourself.” HI: What is your favorite song and favorite singer? JG: “One of my favorite songs is — and it is hard to pick one song as my favorite — the song that got me on Frank Sinatra back in the 70s was “Young at Heart.” I have always loved that song, because it concontinued on page 16
HI Q&A from page 15 nected me to Frank Sinatra and Frank Sinatra is my favorite singer. He has the best recorded voice of all mankind, probably will always have the best male recorded voice of all of mankind’s history. “I never got to see him. I regret the best chance to see him when he was in Greensboro, N.C. with Liza Minnelli and Dean Martin on their final tour together, in 1982 or 1983. Sammy Davis, Jr., was on that tour too. I regret not going to that because I liked Frank so much. “My kids grew up listening to Sinatra, and they know all the words to all the songs. My daughter was in college in France, in Nice, and was at an international school. She called and said, ‘Dad, I met a Swiss girl, and they went up to her third floor room and, Dad, they were playing Frank Sinatra.’ I said, wow, Sally, I taught you right!” HI: How do you describe Marshall to your friends? JG: “I describe Marshall as a well-kept secret, that has tremendous assets and tremendous potential — a school with a lot of grit and a lot of perseverance, a school that is poised to go to the next level and a tremendous opportunity for me. That’s what attracted me to Marshall. “It is an urban school that has a sense of not being in the city, because it is a lot like what I found the first time I went to Vanderbilt. Nashville, which has some very busy roads — just like our Third Avenue and Fifth Avenue — but once you got on the Vanderbilt campus it was like a bubble and you didn’t feel like you were in the city. It is a little more forested there than our campus but that is the sense I get here, too.” HI: Final question — what would people find surprising about you? JG: “What would people find surprising about me? Hmmm — they might find most surprising about me is that I am an open book and don’t have any secrets. I am what you see, and there is not a side of me that is not out front. When they see me, that is the real deal.
“That might surprise them because many people try to put on a persona that is different in public, but I am the way I am all the time. I don’t try to put on airs, and I try to be the person my parents raised me to be: to be respectful of others, to be honest and to treat others the way I want to be treated. “I have an older brother and a younger sister, so yes, I’m a middle child. And my brother and my sister have been very supportive of me as has the rest of my family my whole life. I am originally from Jackson, Mississippi and my mother and my brother still live there. I am the only one in academics, as my brother is in manufacturing and my sister is an accountant and is married to a doctor.”
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ZBAN CLAN The
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How one Huntington family has made a name for itself in the local sporting community, at both Marshall and Huntington in general.
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by Woody Woodrum, HI senior editor
ver the years, there have been many families who might claim the title of the perfect Marshall athletics “family” or even the perfect Huntington sports “family.” You can go back in the history of the Thundering Herd and many times you will find that if one member of the family was Luke Zban (left) is quarterback at Huntington High School. photographs courtesy of the Zban family
good for the program, then two were better. In football, there were the Clagg brothers, the late Dr. Sam and his brother Harry in the early 1940s; the Gibsons, Don and Louie, taking the Herd to the Tangerine Bowl in 1948; Ray Crisp, Sr. — one of the first AfricanAmericans on Herd football — followed to Marshall by his sons, Ray Jr., David and George in the 1970s; the three generations of Wilks, Herndon (193435), Phillip (1968) and Scott (200205); and brother and sisters like Danny and Ty Abercrombie (women’s basketball) in the 1980s and Andre and Andrea (volleyball) SnipesBooker in more recent years. This writer’s family has four Woodrum brothers to come through the equipment room — myself, Bob, Jim and Bill —between 1975-95. Now our nephew, Cole, works at Marshall and Bill’s son, Alex, is getting ready to join my son, Tre’, in the press box on game days. Currently, and maybe most improbable: the two sons of Marshall archrival Gay Elmore are on the Marshall basketball team as coach Danny The Zban heritage on full display (clockwise from top D’Antoni (yet another right): Bill (father), Matt, Tommy, and Mark. dynamic duo, along with brother Mike) and point guard Jon Elmore welcome Jon’s brother, Ot, to the fold this year. The son of Herd linebacker Eric Gates (198890), Eli, is now on scholarship. But no family may be more of a combination of Marshall and Huntington sports royalty than the Zban Clan, four of which have played at Marshall and six more have played in many different games in the River City. First, there were brothers Milan and Bill Zban, who came to Mar-
shall from Youngstown (Ohio) East High School, playing from 1950-56. Milan, 6-2 and 230pounds, was a tackle who played both football and baseball at Marshall. “Toots” scored a touchdown against Ohio in a 9-6 win in the 1953 game as Marshall was accepted into the Mid-American Conference. Bill would lead the Herd in passing in the first three years in the MAC, 1954-56, hitting 85-of-188 passes for 1,274 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was 6-1, 180pounds, and also kicked extra points for Marshall as a junior and senior, hitting 11-of-15 as a junior. He married Linda and settled in Huntington. Bill’s sons played for another son of Marshall, Coach Bob Sang (Marshall lineman, 1947-50) at Huntington East High School. Mark’s brother Matt was the quarterback of the Highlanders in 1980-82, then his brother Tommy was the quarterback at HEHS in 1986-88 before finishing his career at Virginia Tech. Mark threw for 4,513 yards as the quarterback at East, including 2,016 his senior year in 1993, and also lettered in basketball, baseball and golf. After a season at Ohio State continued on page 18
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Zban Clan continued from page 17 University, Mark came back to Huntington in 1995 and started the third game of the year against Georgia Southern, but injured his knee and was replaced by Chad Pennington. Mark backed up Pennington in 1995 and 1997, and backed up Florida transfer Erik Kresser in 1996, helping Marshall to win Southern Conference and MAC titles, a National Championship with a 15-0 season in ’96 and getting the Herd to its first bowl in 50 years against Mississippi in ’97. Mark threw for nearly 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns behind the two All-Conference starters. But Mark was a starter for Herd baseball in right field in 1997-98 in his own right, playing three seasons. He led the Herd with a .331 average in 1997, as well as 52 hits, 13 doubles and was third in walks and RBI. He hit .388 as a senior at St. Clouds Commons Field as teammate Tom Kuemple won the MAC TripleCrown (.435, 20 homers and 60 RBI). Mark had 71 hits, 10 doubles and career-bests nine home runs and 47 runs batted in. Now, he is enjoying watching the next generation of Zbans excel in sports at Marshall and in Huntington as his children continue the family history. His oldest son, Andrew, hit .220 as a true freshman for Marshall baseball, starting 15 of 55 games, with 13 runs, 14 hits, 10 RBI and 2-of-3 steals after an outstanding all-state career at Huntington High. His next two sons, Luke and Grant, are also standout athletes at the Huntington High. Luke started the first two games in football at quarterback this year and Grant is an outstanding soccer player at HHS. Watching, as opposed to preparing to play, is the toughest job for Mark, especially when Luke was injured in game two at Spring Valley a couple weeks ago. continued on page 19
Zban Clan continued from page 18 “After all the hard work & preparation, it was very satisfying to see (Luke) finding his rhythm so early in the season. He started 13-17, throwing for over 200 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions — looking very poised,” Mark said. “But now he’s faced with a tough lesson after learning his x-rays showed a fractured ankle in Friday’s game — a nondisplaced medial malleolus fracture — so he may get back rather quickly. We’ll see.
He is also very proud of Grant, cutting new ground for the Zban clan as a member of the Huntington soccer program. “I am extremely proud of Grant, who is off to an incredible start as a freshman. He has scored some great goals [on JV] and is getting important experience on the varsity squad, but the best part about him is that he’s an exceptional student.” Zban still has another son, Max, and twin daughters Cassidy and Carolina yet to come at Huntington High. The Zbans just keep coming at you, it appears.
Now, Mark is enjoying watching the next generation of Zbans excel in sports at Marshall and in Huntington as his children continue the family history.
“I really, really feel bad for him this morning and we are very fortunate that we have Dr. Stanley Tao in Huntington to help him get back on the field as soon as possible.”
Keeping the legend alive and well for the Zban Clan as Marshall’s –and maybe Huntington’s– best sports family.
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23 Things, from page 8 played. The three wins all came between 1957 and 1963.
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The Oldest Team in the FBS, RUTGERS, Plays 4 Schools It Has Never Played Before
Hawaii.
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UTEP Plays 10 Games in the State of Texas
Equaling Bowling Green’s feat of keeping all but two of its games in-state, UTEP is set to play 83% of its schedule in Texas.
The sport of college football dates all the way back to Nov. 6, 1869, when Rutgers beat Princeton 6-4 in what looked more like a Rugby match.
The exceptions are an Oct. 1 to visit Louisiana Tech and a Nov. 12 date at Florida Atlantic.
147 years later, it’s hard to believe that the Scarlet Knights could scrounge up one new football opponent, much less four.
It’s worth noting that the closest FBS school to UTEP isn’t even in Texas, but instead 43 minutes away in Las Cruces, New Mexico, home of New Mexico State.
Playing Rutgers for the very first time in 2016 are Washington, New Mexico, Iowa, and Minnesota.
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TOLEDO Plays Its Final 5 Games on Weeknights
While it’s not unusual for a MAC team to play during the week, especially late in the season, the Rockets will close out 2016 with five consecutive non-Saturday games. Three of the games (at Akron, at Northern Illinois, and Ball State) have already been picked up by ESPN.
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UMASS Has EIGHT First-Ever Opponents
In 2016, UMass plays as an independent for the first time since 1946, causing it to play more first-time foes than any team in the FBS. The Minutemen are 7-20 all-time vs. Boston College, Florida International, Old Dominion, and Wagner. They have never played Florida, Mississippi State, Tulane, Louisiana Tech, South Carolina, Troy, BYU or
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WISCONSIN is on a 28-0 Run vs. Its Final Three Opponents
After facing LSU, Michigan State, Michigan, and Ohio State in the first half of its season, Wisconsin gets a break by closing with Illinois, Purdue, and Minnesota. The Badgers have won six straight over the Illini, 10 straight over Purdue, and a whopping 12 straight over Minnesota. Historical data courtesy of Stassen.com and College Football Data Warehouse
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Pruett from page 5 coaches outside linebackers for the Timberwolves, where his son Trey is a senior starting cornerback for the 1-1 Wolves. Son Graeson is a sophomore defensive/offensive back. “You always dream about making a kick like that and I was lucky enough to get the chance. I had sat out in 1996 after kicking at Delaware State in 1995.” “We had a lot of great players on those teams in 1996-99, like Chad, Doug, John Grace, Andre O’Neal, Giradie Mercer, Max Yates, Rogers Beckett — but our leaders were Chad and that front line on offense: Mike Guilliams, Irv Dotson, Jason Starkey, Jimmy Cabellos and Steve Scuillo.” Malashevich continued, “Look at my guys — Chris Massey the long snapper had 12 years in the NFL; Chris Hanson the holder and punter, almost as long in the pros; our quarterbacks, Chad and Byron Leftwich, both played in pro football, as did Scuillo, Mercer, Starkey, O’Neal, Beckett, Chris Crocker, James Williams at
receiver, Grace in Canada — what great players we had.” “And coach Pruett — he had great connections in coaching. Guys who left Marshall, they became coordinators at their next
school. Pruett had good relationships with his staff, and he trusted them, he let them coach. All I had to do was not miss the field goal, but what a great feeling in front of the biggest crowd Marshall played in front of until
then — 78,717 — to win the game on my kick, with no time on the clock! It is still a great memory!” Malashevich kicked for three years, scoring 199 points at Marshall despite suffering a hip
flexor injury in the sixth game of 1999. He returned for the Western Michigan comeback, hitting one extra point while J.R. Jenkins kicked the rest. Healed and rested for the Motor City Bowl, Malashevich kicked all three
extra p oints in the 21-3 shutdown of No. 25 BYU to give our program a second undefeated season in four years, 130 and ranked No. 10 in the nation. He is 13th in scoring all-time at Marshall, and his four field goals in one game in 1999 tied the school record set by David Merrick and tied by Tim Openlander, Malashevich and Justin Haig. However, it was that one South Carolina game that really put Marshall on the map. Any team from the MAC that could got to a SEC school and win… well, that was a big deal. We’ll see what happens in this next meeting in two years from now with the Gamecocks. You can bet that Billy Malashevich will be watching –with a sly grin on his face– remembering the last time Marshall and South Carolina squared off. —with Woody Woodrum Bob Pruett is the former football coach of The Herd. Pruett and former WVU coach Don Nehlen can be heard on their weekly call-in show Mondays at 7pm on 94.1 FM and 930 AM in Huntington.