Marshall Football

Marshall University has filed a lawsuit against Conference USA in an effort to make its move to the Sun Belt Conference this summer.

According to ESPN's Heather Dinich, the suit was filed Tuesday through the Cabell County Circuit Court in Huntington, West Virginia, and Marshall's goal is to sever ties with Conference USA so it can play in the Sun Belt during the 2022 football season.

A Marshall athletics spokesperson released the following statement to ESPN as well:

"For more than two months, Marshall University has attempted to reach a resolution with Conference USA regarding our decision not to participate in the league after this academic year; however, no progress has been made. The action we brought yesterday is the beginning of litigation intended to protect our rights, help us reach an agreement in a timely manner and clear the way for our shift in conference affiliation. We look forward to a successful resolution of this matter and a bright future with the Sun Belt Conference."

Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss all announced in June that they were leaving C-USA for the Sun Belt, but Conference USA still included all three teams in the 2022 football schedule it released this month.

Per Dinich, Conference USA filed a demand for arbitration this month, noting that in the league bylaws, a school must give the conference 14 months' notice before leaving.

Marshall claimed in its lawsuit that it informed C-USA it would be withdrawing from the conference on Nov. 1, Jan. 12 and Jan. 20. Marshall noted that it said specifically it would withdraw from Conference USA on July 1.

Additionally, Marshall said in the lawsuit that when it joined Conference USA, the league bylaws weren't attached to the agreement, and they didn't include mandatory arbitration in an instance of leaving the conference.

Marshall has played in Conference USA since 2005, following stints in the Mid-American Conference and Southern Conference. Marshall also played as an independent from 1970-76.

The Thundering Herd have been largely successful since joining C-USA, going 115-97 with 10 bowl appearances and one conference title.

Marshall won double-digit games in three consecutive seasons from 2013-15, and it has finished with a winning record in each of the past five seasons, including a 7-6 mark in 2021, which was the first season under head coach Charles Huff.

When the move to the Sun Belt becomes official for Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss, they will join conference stalwarts such as Arkansas State, Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Louisiana and Troy.

Marshall running back Knowledge McDaniel was arrested and is facing a felony drug charge after police executed a search warrant at his home, per WSAZ.

Members of the Huntington Violent Crimes Drug Task Force found a "distributable amount of suspected marijuana and $21,017 in cash" at the player's home Friday.

McDaniel, 20, was held on a $50,000 bond, per Courtney Hessler of the Herald Dispatch.

"We're aware of the situation involving Knowledge McDaniel. He has been suspended indefinitely from our football program as we continue to gather all available information," Marshall Athletics said in a statement.

McDaniel is no longer listed on the team's online roster.

The Bradenton, Florida, product was in his third year with the program, initially committing to the school as a 3-star prospect in the 2019 class.

He rushed for 212 yards in five games last season and had 13 carries for 107 yards through four games in 2021. McDaniel's 8.2 yards per carry currently leads the team.

Former Marshall linebacker Jaquan Yulee died Tuesday night in a car crash at the age of 24, police confirmed Wednesday, per Sarah Fearing of WAVY.com.

Police in Suffolk, Virginia, said emergency personnel responded to a single-vehicle crash at 7:10 p.m. ET and discovered a car had flipped onto its roof. Yulee was pronounced dead at the scene and was the only person in the vehicle.

Marshall released a statement Wednesday saying the Chesapeake, Virginia, native "will be missed by so many in the Thundering Herd":

An investigation into the crash remains ongoing.

Coming out of high school, Yulee was a 4-star recruit and the third-best player in the state of Virginia, with offers from Alabama, Miami, Florida and Michigan among others, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.

The 6'4" defender redshirted as a true freshman and then made 26 appearances for the Thundering Herd between 2017 and 2018. He worked his way onto the starting unit ahead of the 2019 season but suffered a spinal injury in the season opener that left him paralyzed for two days, per Fearing, and required surgery.

According to Fearing, Marshall had declared him medically ineligible, but Yulee announced in August 2020 he was entering the transfer portal with an eye toward returning to the field for the 2021 season.

Marshall stayed undefeated with a 42-14 win over Middle Tennessee State on Saturday, but the victory meant more for the program because of the date.

The win came on the 50th anniversary of the Nov. 14, 1970, plane crash that killed 75 people, including most of the team's players and coaches.

The players honored those who died with black uniforms and a No. 75 decal, with redshirt freshman quarterback Grant Wells and others holding their helmets high:

"We knew that this game was going to mean so much to this fanbase and this community," Wells said after the game, via ESPN. "That's huge, no matter wherever we're playing or whoever we're playing. The fact that we could do this on the 50th anniversary is amazing."

The anniversary was especially important for the program and the town—Huntington, West Virginia—that showed continued support after the disaster:

The Thundering Herd are 7-0 with three games left in the regular season. They're looking to join the 1999 team as the only undefeated squads in program history. They entered Week 11 ranked No. 16 in the Associated Press poll.

The NCAA granted a waiver to East Carolina and Marshall to play their game Aug. 29, a week ahead of schedule, to honor victims of the 1970 plane crash that killed members of the Marshall football team.

"We plan to invite family members of the players from both teams who played in the game," East Carolina athletic director Jon Gilbert told ESPN's Chris Low. "Both programs will forever be linked, and we are honored to recognize the 75 people who lost their lives."

Seventy-five people died Nov. 14, 1970, when a plane carrying the Marshall football team from a game at East Carolina crashed. The universities felt airing the game ahead of the traditional Week 1 would allow it to get a more proper focus; ESPN has agreed to broadcast the game.

"Marshall University, the city of Huntington, WV and East Carolina University take great pride in never forgetting the people that gave their lives on that day and having an opportunity to show this on national television would be a great privilege," Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick wrote in a letter to the NCAA.

The East Carolina-Marshall rivalry underwent an eight-year hiatus after the plane crash, resuming for one game in 1978 before not returning again until after the turn of the century. The two schools played nine straight years as members of Conference USA from 2005-13 but have not played since East Carolina joined the American Athletic Conference.

East Carolina leads the all-time series 10-5.