Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Hamrick's history with storms weighed on his heart
9/12/2018 9:21:00 PM | Football, Word on the Herd
Marshall's game at South Carolina this Saturday will not be played
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Mike Hamrick is no stranger to the power and destruction of a storm. He has witnessed it.
In 1999, when Hamrick was the athletic director at East Carolina, Hurricane Floyd made landfall in Cape Fear, North Carolina, and carried a death toll of 74 – 51 of which were in North Carolina. The storm reached the United States on Sept. 16, while ECU played – and defeated – South Carolina, 21-3, two days later. Because of the devastation in Greenville, North Carolina, the Pirates stayed in Columbia, South Carolina, and then had its home game against the Miami Hurricanes moved to North Carolina State the next weekend.
In a news release on Sept. 20, 1999 – nearly 19 years ago – Hamrick mentioned student-athletes, game workers, law enforcement officials and fans as a reason for relocating the game. "We didn't want to … add to the burdens of recovering from the disaster that is all around us," he said then.
Those memories came back this week for Hamrick as Marshall prepared to travel to Columbia, South Carolina, to face those same Gamecocks that ECU beat in 1999. Marshall's 10th-year athletic director thought about Hurricane Florence, which is barreling toward the coastal Carolinas right now, and the alarming descriptions calling it a "perilous" storm and "once-in-a-lifetime" event. He considered the welfare of the student-athletes. He worried about the Herd fans who were weighing whether or not to travel to support their favorite college team.
He was relieved when South Carolina officials called and informed him they were canceling the game.
"It's the right thing to do," Hamrick said.
There are so many aspects to hosting or traveling to a college football game, and all came into question in the past 72 hours. The continued shifting of the storm – and its sheer size and strength – only added to the stress of the situation. There will be widespread damage and flooding as Florence makes landfall.
The potential of flooding weighs heavily on Hamrick's heart. Two summers ago, Hamrick spearheaded relief and rebuilding efforts after his hometown was devastated by a massive flood in West Virginia. He coordinated a donation drive. He requested special approval from the NCAA to donate sports equipment to high school teams. He watched as Marshall student-athletes handed out goods and helped clean up the muddy mess. He'll watch Florence as it reaches South Carolina, where Marshall would have played on national television this Saturday night, or North Carolina, where he once called home, with the same anguish.
"Our thoughts and prayers will be with the people in the path of Hurricane Florence," Hamrick said. "The Herd family is with you."
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Hamrick said he has already considered the addition of a 12th regular season game – Marshall has an off week on Oct. 27 – and will continue to explore options.
The $1.3 million dollar guaranteed payday that came with the one-game contract agreement with South Carolina will not create a budget shortfall. Those agreements are protected by an event cancellation policy, which is purchased by Conference USA to protect member institutions in case of revenue loss from game cancellations.
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South Carolina announced the decision to cancel Saturday's game at 4:15 p.m., on Wednesday. At that moment, Marshall officials began undoing the trip to Columbia.
Aaron Goebbel, Marshall's associate athletic director for external affairs, summed up the day's events in a social media post:
"The amount of research, time and overall effort that went into the process of our game not being played this Saturday was staggering," he posted on Facebook, "Our crew handled it in stride."
Now, the folks inside the Marshall athletic department will begin preparations for the next home football game – Saturday, Sept. 22 against North Carolina State. The Wolfpack, like the Herd, are 2-0. The stadium will be packed for a rare visit from an Atlantic Coast Conference program.
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The ticket office is working to refund tickets purchased for the Marshall-South Carolina game. The refunding process will occur over the next three or four business days, and fans who have questions about the refund process are encouraged to call the ticket office at 800-THE-HERD or email herdtickets@marshall.edu.
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a six-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
