1971 Marshall Thundering Herd football team
| 1971 Marshall Thundering Herd football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Independent |
| 1971 record | 2–8 |
| Head coach | Jack Lengyel (1st season) |
| Offensive scheme | Veer |
| Home stadium |
Fairfield Stadium (Capacity: 18,000) |
The 1971 Marshall Thundering Herd football team (sometimes referred to as the Young Thundering Herd) represented Marshall University in the 1971 college football season. It marked the Thundering Herd's 69th season. The team was led by head coach Jack Lengyel in his first year and played its home games at Fairfield Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.
The Marshall Thundering Herd finished with a 2–8 overall record.
On November 14, 1970, Southern Airways Flight 932, which was chartered by the school to fly the 1970 Marshall Thundering Herd football team and fans to Greenville, North Carolina for a game against the East Carolina Pirates and back to Huntington, West Virginia, crashed on approach to Tri-State Airport after clipping trees just west of the runway and impacting nose-first into a hollow. All 75 people on board died. It was the worst single air tragedy in NCAA sports history. The 1970 Marshall University football team was coached by Rick Tolley and finished with a record of 3–6.
Marshall lost much of their coaching staff and their athletic director in the crash. Joe McMullen was hired to be the new AD. Georgia Tech assistant coach Dick Bestwick was hired to be the head coach. However, after two days he returned to Georgia Tech. William "Red" Dawson was named acting head coach, and later signed 21 prospects from five states.Wooster coach Jack Lengyel was eventually hired to fill the position. Assistant coach William "Red" Dawson had gone on a recruiting trip instead of flying back with the team after the ECU game in 1970 and coach Lengyel convinced him to stay around for the 1971 season, providing some continuity. Dawson would retire from coaching following the season.
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