Marshall University Athletics
Marshall receives $13.8M gift from State of West Virginia, Gov. Justice
9/29/2022 6:36:00 PM | Baseball, General, Big Green Scholarship Foundation
In addition, anonymous donation helps spur additional fundraising effort
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Athletics received a $13.8 million gift from the State of West Virginia on Thursday afternoon at a ceremony held on the site of the school's future baseball stadium.
The gift, in the form of a check from the State of West Virginia, was presented by Gov. Jim Justice, a graduate of Marshall University and himself a former student-athlete.
"What an extraordinary day for Marshall, for our baseball program and for our awesome community," said Christian Spears, Director of Athletics.
"Let's not forget this baseball stadium vision started with our mayor, Steve Williams, and the City of Huntington and their amazing gift to help launch us, and then for the State of West Virginia and our governor to close the loop. Extraordinary!
Justice presented the oversized check to Spears and Marshall University President Brad D. Smith. Then, Justice delivered a ceremonial first pitch on the future site of the stadium as cheers erupted.
"Congratulations to all of you," Justice said. "You make me proud. You make me really, really proud … I'm proud to be a part of it."
The gift is a substantial step in the process of Marshall building an on-campus stadium.
"Now, we need to build a championship program and we are going to need all of the bells and whistles to do that," Spears said. "So, let's keep raising the funds necessary to do just that. We have an extraordinary anonymous gift that came in to help us accomplish just that."
In conjunction with Thursday afternoon's announcement, the Big Green Scholarship Foundation received the anonymous $50,000 matching gift. The gift provides the opportunity for Thundering Herd fans to match, dollar for dollar, up to the $50,000 gift, which would bring an additional $100,000 to the baseball stadium project.
To give, visit HerdRises.com or Text "GOHERD" to 801801.
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