PARKERSBURG -Go green took on a whole new meaning as the Marshall University Coaches Caravan arrived for "Rally in the Alley" Thursday night at North End Tavern.
The featured guests included Director of Athletics Mike Hamrick, along with first-year football coach Doc Holliday and new men's basketball coach Tom Herrion.
"Everywhere we have gone, there have been record crowds," Holliday said. "Everybody talks about how high expectations are and that's a great thing. I don't want to be the head coach anywhere where expectations and standards aren't extremely high.
"I want to be where people have a lot of passion for the football team. And it's evident around the state of West Virginia that Marshall football is important to our fan base. I'm just excited to be the head coach here."
Holliday may have ties to West Virginia University after serving as the school's associate head coach, but the native of Hurricane, W.Va., is completely devoted to putting stability back into the Thundering Herd program.
"Marshall people have really gravitated toward Doc, but at the same time he has really gravitated toward them," Hamrick said.
The same story goes for Herrion, who has previous head coaching experience with the College of Charleston before spending the past three seasons as an assistant to Jamie Dixon at Pittsburgh.
"I had four great years at the College of Charleston - I feel I am better equipped now than I was then," Herrion said. "At Marshall, we want to become a very physical team over time. I'm not sure how quickly we will be able to do that. We will do it through two avenues - through recruiting, and through weight and strength conditioning.
"Recruiting-wise, it's a little tight, so we have to get bigger and stronger this summer and in the offseason."
According to Hamrick, the university is in the midst of upgrading athletic facilities. A $3.4 million project is in the works for installing new scoreboards and sound systems inside both the basketball arena and football stadium.
In the near future, his vision is to have a baseball stadium, indoor practice facility for the football program and a new track built.
"The landscaping of college sports seems to be changing and if that happens, we have to be ready to move up or move down," Hamrick said. "And I don't think we're interested and I don't think these people here tonight are interested in moving down. We have a lot of work to do and a lot of things to get done.
"If you want to go up, you have to be ready. Are we ready right now? No, we are not ready to move up and I've told our people that. But give us a year or two and I think we can be ready."
