Home
In 2006, We Are Marshall, a major motion picture from Warner Bros. and Thunder Road Pictures, brought the inspiring true story of Marshall University’s resilience to the big screen. The film recounts the tragic 1970 plane crash that took the lives of 75 players, coaches, staff, and supporters of the Marshall football program—and the university’s determined effort to rebuild both the team and the community.
Directed by McG, the film stars Matthew McConaughey as Coach Jack Lengyel, whose leadership helped revive the football program, along with Matthew Fox as Assistant Coach Red Dawson. The cast also features Anthony Mackie, Kate Mara, January Jones, Ian McShane, and David Strathairn.
We Are Marshall premiered nationwide on December 22, 2006, and was filmed in Huntington, West Virginia, and other locations to authentically capture the spirit of Marshall University and the surrounding community. The movie remains a powerful tribute to the strength, perseverance, and unity that define the Herd.
Marshall University honors the memory of the 75 people lost in the Southern Airways Flight 932 crash on November 14, 1970.
This devastating event claimed the lives of Marshall University football players, coaches, staff, and supporters as their chartered plane crashed near Tri-State Airport in West Virginia.
Each year, the university commemorates the lives lost in this tragedy with a ceremony at the Memorial Fountain.
Just outside the Memorial Student Center at the heart of Marshall’s Huntington campus stands the Memorial Fountain. More than 13 feet high, the memorial was created by sculptor Harry Bertoia and dedicated on Nov. 12, 1972, to the memory of the crash victims.
An annual memorial service is held on the anniversary of the tragedy. The ceremony includes the traditional laying of a wreath and the fountain’s water is turned off until the following spring.
