The Marching Thunder at Marshall University is an active part in the support of Marshall athletic events.  In addition to performing as an exhibition band at various high school competitions, the Marching Thunder hosts its own Tri-State Marching Band festival, which is West Virginia’s largest.

The Marching Thunder, now boasting 330 members, performs at all home football games and many away games, as well as attending numerous championships and bowl games.  Most recently the band has traveled to the Beef O Brady Bowl in St. Petersburg, Florida, the University of Tennessee, the Ohio State University, Virginia Tech, Virginia Beach, New Orleans, the Motor City Bowl in Detroit, Michigan, the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Alabama and the Fort Worth Bowl in Fort Worth, TX.  The Marching Thunder was featured at halftime of the Cincinnati Bengals vs. Green Bay Packers football game and the Cincinnati Bengals vs. Carolina Panthers game in Cincinnati, OH.  In the fall of 2008 the Marching Thunder was featured at halftime of the new Lucas Oil Stadium at the Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars football game.  The Marching Thunder was one of the first bands to perform in the new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN for the Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars football game.  In the past three years the band has been the featured twice as pre-game and halftime entertainment of the Pittsburgh Steelers. With the recent move to Conference USA, members of the Marching Thunder can look forward to increased national exposure and travel.  The Marching Thunder boasts new indoor and outdoor rehearsal facilities including an artificial turf practice field, outside storage building, large indoor rehearsal hall and large office and storage suite.

Membership in the Marching Thunder is open to all university students, regardless of major.  Each band member receives a stipend for the hard work and service to the university.  In addition to the band stipend, there are limited numbers of tuition scholarships available to band members through auditions.  Band members also earn one academic credit for each semester they are enrolled in band.