# data[].attributes.headline
Marshall University "Thundering Herd" Plane Crash

# data[].attributes.subject
Marshall University "Thundering Herd" Plane Crash

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Campus From Above | Sunny Springtime

How Will You Meet the Moment?

Come visit Marshall University and learn what Marshall has to offer you! We offer daily tours, as well as virtual and self-guided tours.

Centennial of Negro History Week/Black History Month

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Marshall University is a public research institution in Huntington, West Virginia. With more than 150 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs to choose from, you'll find your future at Marshall.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the United States. The university is classified among “R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity”.[10]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Marshall Like You've Never Seen It Before | Drone Fly Through of Campus

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A legacy of excellence sums up the impact Jack Lengyel had on many, first as a coach, and later as an extraordinarily-distinguished athletic administrator. Even though he only spent five years of his decorated career at The College of Wooster, Lengyel's impact is felt to this day, as a close-knit group of "Lengyel Years" alumni are still very connected to the College. In fact, that group established the "Jack Lengyel Courage, Character, and Commitment Award" in 2009, and that's presented annually to the senior football player who best exemplifies the legend's commitment to Wooster. It's for these reasons and others, Lengyel's the inaugural W Association Hall of Fame "Distinguished Award of Excellence" inductee.

Lengyel arrived in Wooster prior to the 1966 season and guided the Fighting Scots to a 24-21 record in five seasons on the gridiron. His squads posted three winning records, including his final year in 1970, when Wooster finished 8-1 for its best record in nearly 40 years. He was also instrumental in helping Wooster's fledgling men's lacrosse program get off the ground. There, Lengyel was the head coach for the first three years of competition at the varsity level, and the Scots opened with a 7-1 ledger in the inaugural season.

After Wooster, Lengyel took the task of leading and rebuilding Marshall University's football program after its tragic 1970 plane crash, and he is perhaps best-known outside of athletics for that, thanks in part to being the focal point of the popular movie We Are Marshall. However, Lengyel's true legacy is cemented in athletic administration, where he served as athletic director at Fresno State University (1984-86), the University of Missouri (1986-88), and the United States Naval Academy (1988-01), in addition to four stints as interim athletic director at NCAA Div. I institutions. While at Navy, he oversaw one of the largest athletic departments in the nation with 30 varsity sports, and during his tenure, Lengyel spearheaded numerous significant facility upgrades.

Lengyel served in a number of key leadership positions throughout his career, including a term as president of the National Association of College Directors of Athletics, followed by a term as president of the Division I-A Athletic Directors board. Lengyel has lent his expertise to other committees within both organizations in addition to the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame, the NCAA, and the United States Sports Academy to name a few.

Some of Lengyel's many prestigious awards over the years include the American Football Coaches Association's highest honor - the Tuss McLaughry Award - which Lengyel earned in 2018. Past recipients of that honor include six former United States presidents, J. Edgar Hoover, Bob Hope, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Lt. Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, the Apollo 11 astronauts, and actor John Wayne. Among other awards, Lengyel was selected as NACDA's James J. Corbett Award recipient in 2001 in recognition for his distinguished career and contributions to college athletics, and he was the 2005 recipient of the NFF and College Football Hall of Fame's John L. Toner Award for his work at Navy.

Most recently, Lengyel was the vice president of business development for XOS Digital, Inc., a sports media and technology company. Lengyel and his wife, Sandy, have three children, six grandchildren, and six great grandchildren. They reside in Annapolis, Maryland.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lengyel a Legendary Leader in College Athletics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Lengyel a Legendary Leader in College Athletics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Southern Airways Flight 932 was a chartered Southern Airways Douglas DC-9 domestic United States commercial jet flight from Stallings Field (ISO) in Kinston, North Carolina, to Huntington Tri-State Airport/Milton J. Ferguson Field (HTS) in Ceredo, West Virginia. At 7:36 p.m.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Jack Lengyel Speaker Profile | Speakers.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Book Jack Lengyel for speaking engagements. Best known for rebuilding the Marshall football team after its tragic plane crash, Coach Jack Lengyel’s diverse career includes being athletic director and consultant to many universities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lessons of the Young Thundering Herd | Jack Lengyel | TEDxMarshallU

# data[].attributes.headline
Marshall University "Thundering Herd" Plane Crash

# data[].attributes.subject
Marshall University "Thundering Herd" Plane Crash

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
HUNTINGTON, WV ( WVNS) - One rainy night in 1970 is remembered year after year by every West Virginian.

On November 14, 1970, the Marshall Thundering Herd football program and boosters were returning home after a tough 17 to 14 loss to the East Carolina Pirates in Greenville, North Carolina.

Around 7:30 PM, as Southern Airways Flight 932 began to approach the Tri-State Airport in Huntington, West Virginia, the plane reportedly crashed into the hillside west of what was then runway 11, now runway 12.

According to the NTSB's investigation, "...the probable cause of this accident was the descent below Minimum Descent Altitude during a non-precision approach under adverse operating conditions, without visual contact with the runway environment"

The plane was unfortunately carrying 37 Thundering Herd football players, 8 football staff members, 25 athletics boosters, two pilots, two flight attendants and the charter coordinator. With this flight being the only one of the 1970 season, many Marshall boosters and higher ups attended. This resulted in 70 kids losing at least one parent, with 18 being left orphaned.

Earlier in 1970, a plane carrying the Wichita State University football team also crashed. According to ESPN, this crash caused Marshall officials to rethink the scheduled flight, as Marshall rarely traveled by air due to the close proximity of most of their opponents.

The 1970 Marshall Thundering Herd plane crash remains the deadliest tragedy to affect a single sports program in United States history.

To this day, the crash is still such a big deal to the Mountain State and college sports as a whole. So much so, that Hollywood even made the movie, "We Are Marshall", which chronicled the fallout and reformation of the Marshall football program after the plane crash.

Just remember that on every November 14th, we are all Marshall.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Remembering the 75: The Marshall Thundering Herd plane crash

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
HUNTINGTON, WV (WVNS) - One rainy night in 1970 is remembered year after year by every West Virginian. On November 14, 1970, the Marshall Thundering Herd football program and boosters were returning home after a tough 17 to 14 loss to the East Carolina Pirates in Greenville, North Carolina.