Recently, sports editor Dave Poe wrote an article about bigger schools having an advantage. In that article Dave wrote "I still maintain the move from 1-AA to the Mid-American Conference was a great one but when Marshall then moved up another notch to Conference USA, it did so too quickly and is paying the price."
I respectfully submit that Mr. Poe is wrong. Marshall spent eight years in the MAC this last time and won the MAC title five of its eight seasons before moving to Conference USA in 2005. Since moving to Division I-A, Marshall has finished in the Top 25 three times. The Thundering Herd posted 21 straight winning seasons before going 47 in 2005 under first-year head coach Mark Snyder.
Marshall football's problem isn't that they moved to C-USA too quickly. Marshall football's problem is in hiring a coach (Bob Pruett) who didn't follow NCAA rules and hiring a coach (Mark Snyder) who failed to rebuild the program after NCAA sanctions limited their scholarships at the end of the coach Pruett era. It remains to be seen how Doc will do.
Butch Shepard
Parkersburg
