Play For The 75: How Marshall University Turned Tragedy Into One of College Football’s Most Powerful Traditions
- Gareth Evans
- Nov 14
- 3 min read
Fifty-five years ago today, the worst sports-related air disaster wiped out a college football team and left an indelible impact on the small city of Huntington, West Virginia, the home of Marshall University. On November 14, 1970, Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed just short of Huntington Tri-State Airport, killing all 75 people on board.
Thirty-seven of the passengers were members of Marshall University’s football team, returning home from a 17-14 loss at East Carolina. The crash also claimed the lives of five coaches, two athletic trainers, the athletic director, 25 boosters, and five crew members.
Sport and tragedy are often interwoven. As a Liverpool F.C. fan based in the UK, I grew up being aware of the Hillsborough tragedy, which ultimately cost the lives of 97 Liverpool fans, and how it deepened an already special culture among players, fans and the Merseyside community.
The Play For The 75 Game
Each November, the Thundering Herd remember those who lost their lives on that rainy night in 1970 with the Play For The 75 Game, an annual home fixture dedicated in their memory.
The 2025 game, played on November 8th, saw Marshall host James Madison University at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. The game aired nationally on ESPN2, with “Play For The 75” stitched across the broadcast graphics. In a break from their traditional green and white, Marshall wore all-black uniforms to mark the occasion. Stark, simple, and reverent.
Each helmet, also black, carried a white stripe printed with the names of all 75
passengers aboard Flight 932. The left side bore the historic “M” logo from the early 1970s. The right, a bold “75.”
This annual fixture has become more than a game. Like the Red Bandana Game played at Boston College, this game has served to honour a lost generation and heal the community they belonged to and proudly represented. For all associated with Marshall University, that night changed everything associated with the program. Out of grief came a rigid determination to heal, remember and rebuild with a rallying cry.
We Are Marshall
The excellent 2006 film "We Are Marshall" illustrates how coach Jack Lengyel attempted to bridge a tragic event to create some hope in a rebuilt program, starting effectively from nothing.
Lengyel recruited basketball players, former servicemen and added 35 walk-ons to build the 1971 team in the year following the disaster. He successfully lobbied the NCAA to allow Marshall an exception to the rule forbidding true freshmen to play varsity football. Blake Smith, the team’s kicker that season, had never previously attended, let alone played in a football game. The reborn Marshall team finished 2-8, notching up victories over Xavier and Bowling Green.
The Memorial Fountain
The Memorial Fountain serves as the centrepiece of an annual ceremony commemorating the 75, held on November 14th every year. The fountain’s water is turned off to symbolise lives stopped too soon. It is turned back again the following year, to flow again around the time of the Spring Game, at another ceremony, symbolising hope and renewal.
In this year's game, Marshall lost 35-23 to a very good James Madison team, but the day was about far more than a win or loss. The “Play For The 75” Game, and the annual Memorial Fountain ceremony have become embedded among college football’s most meaningful traditions. The spirit that Jack Lengyel and the 1971 team recaptured continues to serve as a reminder of loss, remembrance and hope.
“It’s a game that means more than football. Every player who wears this uniform knows who we’re playing for.” - Marshall coach Tony Gibson.