CCV Sports

HELMETS OF THE NIGHT 🎃 🏈 @HerdFB at @ODUFootball edition: Let’s hope it’s all treats tomorrow afternoon for the good guys dressed in white 😤 🦬 Custom helmets by: @CCV_Sports

Helmet of the day: 2 for 1 @Battle4TheGavel edition ❄️⚪️😮‍💨 Custom by: @CCV_Sports

Helmet of the Day 🦬 That blocky M brings back a whole lot of good football. National championships, packed Saturdays in Huntington and a list of players that could keep you talking all afternoon. Easily one of the most successful looks in Herd history. This helmet represents the later version of Marshall’s classic block-M look, worn from 1993 through most of 2008. An earlier version was worn from 1990–1992, so the history here covers that entire block-M era—not one completely unchanged helmet. Across those two versions, Marshall went 173–74, winning 70% of its games. That total accounts for the two games in 2008 when the Herd wore a different design. The run crossed three conferences: the Southern Conference through 1996, the MAC from 1997–2004 and the first four years of Marshall’s Conference USA membership, 2005–2008. It also covered the move from Division I-AA to Division I-A in 1997. Along the way came two national championships. Marshall beat Youngstown State 31–28 for its first in 1992, then finished a perfect 15–0 season by beating Montana 49–29 in 1996. The Herd also finished national runner-up in 1991, 1993 and 1995, reaching at least the national semifinals six straight seasons from 1991–1996. Add seven conference championships: Southern Conference titles in 1994 and 1996, followed by MAC titles in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002. Marshall also won six consecutive MAC East division titles from 1997–2002. Then there were five straight bowl wins: Louisville in the 1998 Motor City Bowl, BYU in 1999, Cincinnati in 2000, East Carolina in that unforgettable 2001 GMAC Bowl comeback and Louisville again in the 2002 GMAC Bowl. The 1999 team finished 13–0 and No. 10 in the final AP poll. For the year-by-year record: 1990: 6–5; 1991: 11–4; 1992: 12–3; 1993: 11–4; 1994: 12–2; 1995: 12–3; 1996: 15–0; 1997: 10–3; 1998: 12–1; 1999: 13–0; 2000: 8–5; 2001: 11–2; 2002: 11–2; 2003: 8–4; 2004: 6–6; 2005: 4–7; 2006: 5–7; 2007: 3–9. Marshall finished 2008 at 4–8, including 3–7 in the older block-M design. But the names are what really bring this helmet to life. The early years gave us Michael Payton, Troy Brown, Mike Bartrum, Phil Ratliff, William King, Dewey Klein, Eric Ihnat, Travis Colquitt and Chris Parker. Then came a stretch featuring Chad Pennington, Randy Moss, Eric Kresser, Doug Chapman, John Wade, Chris Hanson, Rogers Beckett, Billy Lyon, B.J. Cohen, Tim Martin, Melvin Cunningham, Jermaine Swafford, Aaron Ferguson, Jamie Wilson, Chris Deaton, Tim Openlander, James Williams, Nate Poole, Paul Toviessi, Andre O’Neal, John Grace, Jason Starkey, Giradie Mercer and Jermaine Wiggins. The run continued with Byron Leftwich, Darius Watts, Josh Davis, Denero Marriott, Chris Crocker, Chris Massey, Steve Sciullo, Johnathan Goddard, Max Yates, J.R. Jenkins, Curtis Head, Stan Hill, Jason Rader, Earl Charles, Butchie Wallace and Nate McPeek. And before that version of the block M was retired, the era also included Ahmad Bradshaw, Bernard Morris, Doug Legursky, Albert McClellan, Cody Slate, C.J. Spillman, Emanuel Spann, Darius Marshall, Lee Smith, Vinny Curry and Mario Harvey. Different teams, different conferences and different versions of the same familiar look. Some of those guys helped establish the standard, some took it to another level, and others were just getting started when the helmet changed. That’s a lot of history sitting on one shelf. Still one of my favorite Marshall looks. Go Herd. 💚

Helmet of the Night 🌖 Marshall’s 2025 “75” tribute helmet featured the stylized M worn from 1971–74 on one side and 75 on the other. The center stripe carried the names of all 75 lives lost on November 14, 1970. A helmet honoring those we lost and the program that rose again. We Are… Marshall. Always. 💚 Custom Helmet: @CCV_Sports

HELMET OF THE NIGHT | 1975 🦬 (One of my top 5 helmets of all time.) Now this is a piece of Herd history. The 1975 look put the Mountain M inside the outline of West Virginia, all in green against a white shell. That season, John “Fuzzy” Filliez was rewriting the Marshall record book — 54 catches, 657 yards and 7 touchdowns, all single-season school records at the time. He went on to earn All-Independent All-America honors. One of the most distinctive helmets Marshall has ever worn. The Mountain M. Inside the Mountain State. Marshall. Huntington. West Virginia.

JUST IN TIME FOR SUPPER: HELMET OF THE DAY Marshall — 1983 White shell. Green facemask. Green and gold striping down the center. And the detail that makes this one stand out — a big green block M outlined in gold on each side. For one season, and one season only, Marshall brought gold into the helmet design. The Herd was still playing its home games at Fairfield Stadium and competing in the Southern Conference, years before the championship era that would eventually put Marshall Football on the national map. And then, just like that, this helmet was gone. Marshall switched to a completely different green, logo-less helmet in 1984. That makes this one of the true one-year oddities in Marshall helmet history. And looking at that team coming out of the tunnel in green jerseys, gold pants and those helmets? The ’80s were undefeated. Helmet of the Day: 1983 Marshall Thundering Herd. 🟢⚪️🟡

HERD HELMET OF THE DAY 🦬🏈 | 1989 Now this is an old-school Marshall look. Silver shell. Green facemask. Green-white-green triple center stripe. And one of my favorite vintage Herd designs — Marco, the state of West Virginia and the M all rolled into one. We know Marshall wore this look in 1989, George Chaump’s final season in Huntington. The Herd went 6-5 that year and a perfect 6-0 at home. I’m not sure how long this particular helmet was in the rotation, but I know where it ranks for me. Top five Herd helmet of all time. Easy. I’d bring it back tomorrow. Would you? Custom helmet by: @CCV_Sports #WeAreMarshall #GoHerd

HERD HELMET OF THE DAY 🦬🏈 | 1972–74 No Block M. No Marco. Just HERD. From 1972–74, Marshall took the field in this clean white lid with HERD arched across the side. Simple by design, but there’s a lot of history behind this one. These were the Jack Lengyel years, when Marshall was still rebuilding a football program and finding its way forward after the 1970 tragedy. It wasn’t an era defined by wins or championships. It was about continuing to show up, continuing to build and making sure Marshall Football kept moving forward. More than 50 years later, this one still looks damn good. And I wouldn’t hate seeing HERD make its way back onto a helmet someday. Helmet custom made by @CCV_Sports #WeAreMarshall #GoHerd

HERD HELMET OF THE DAY 🦬 We’re starting this series with a helmet from 1966-67, and it comes from an interesting time in Marshall history. Green shell. White center stripe. Gray facemask. And that old-school white bison on the side. To understand how Marshall got here, you have to go back a little further. The “Thundering Herd” name dates to 1925, when Huntington sportswriter Duke Ridgley used it to describe Marshall football. The name stuck, but for decades Marshall was still known by both the Thundering Herd and Big Green. In January 1965, Marshall decided to settle it. More than 85% of the student vote went to Thundering Herd. The buffalo became the official mascot, Kelly green and white became the official colors, and Big Green took on a new role as the name of Marshall’s athletic fundraising organization. Marco was becoming part of the story, too. His name dates back to 1954 — “Marco” coming from Marshall College — but it wasn’t until March 6, 1965 that Charles Evans became the first person to wear the official Marco costume, appearing at a Marshall basketball game against Bowling Green. By that fall, the new identity was making its way onto the football field. Marshall experimented with a few different helmet designs during the 1965 season before eventually landing on the standing bison. By 1966, this was the look. The teams that wore it weren’t among Marshall’s great championship teams, but there were some very good players underneath it. Andy Socha captained the 1966 Herd and rushed for 735 yards, finishing second in the MAC. He earned First-Team All-MAC and Third-Team All-American honors. Mickey Jackson gave Marshall another weapon out of the backfield, rushing for 420 yards and five touchdowns while also leading the team with 343 receiving yards and two more scores. That’s 763 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns in 10 games. Jim Torrence led the passing game with 499 yards, and Ken Simpson caught 19 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns. Marshall went 2-8 in 1966, picking up wins over Morehead State and Kent State. The following season was a difficult one. The Herd finished 0-10 in 1967, although three of those losses came by seven points or fewer. It would be Charlie Snyder’s ninth and final season as head coach. So there aren’t championships or bowl trophies attached to this helmet. Its place in Marshall history is different. This was an era when the identity we recognize today was really beginning to take shape. The Thundering Herd became official. The buffalo became official. Marco came to life. And not long after, the bison was staring back from the side of a Marshall football helmet. Long before the Young Thundering Herd, the championships, Moss, Pennington and Leftwich, there was this. A simple green helmet from a much different time in Huntington. More than 60 years later, the helmets have changed. The Thundering Herd hasn’t. 🦬💚 Herd Helmet of the Day: 1966-67 Disclaimer: trying to photograph a helmet and do a quick video with a toddler involved is not for the weak, he kept snatching the helmet 😂