Despite criticism of Marshall from MAC fans, I am willing to give the former MAC member credit for setting off a mini-version of the athletic arms race that has engulfed college football over the last 25 years. Marshall came into the MAC spending a million dollars a year more than any other school in the conference and had a commitment to upgrading facilities that took most of the MAC several years to match (and in many cases surpass). But the history of Marshall also includes engaging in what apparently was wholesale academic fraud, turning a blind eye to paying players, and taking on a series of head cases that didn't belong in any college -- even one with Marshall's admissions standards -- in a go for broke quest to establish a national name for the university on the backs of its football players.
When Marshall was in the MAC, the Herd led the league in player arrests every year it was in the conference. As a Conference USA member, the Herd won the infamous Fulmer Cup in 2006 and continues to lead the conference in the number of arrests.
No one will deny that Marshall is competitive in football but it is hardly ever competitive in basketball or any of the other sports. This is precisely why the Marshall model for athletics was incompatible with the Mid-American Conference and is not a model that any self-respecting university should ever want to follow.
When Marshall was in the MAC, the Herd led the league in player arrests every year it was in the conference. As a Conference USA member, the Herd won the infamous Fulmer Cup in 2006 and continues to lead the conference in the number of arrests.
No one will deny that Marshall is competitive in football but it is hardly ever competitive in basketball or any of the other sports. This is precisely why the Marshall model for athletics was incompatible with the Mid-American Conference and is not a model that any self-respecting university should ever want to follow.
