Marshall Football foregoes Independence Bowl vs. Army due to mass player exodus

(This story has been updated to add new information).

Skipping bowl games has become commonplace in the modern college football landscape. Players choose not to play in the postseason for a variety of reasons, often to prepare for the NFL Draft.

As this year’s bowl season begins, an entire team makes the decision not to play.

Marshall has informed Independence Bowl officials that it will not play its scheduled game against Army on Dec. 28 in Shreveport, Louisiana, with bowl officials confirming the move Saturday.

Required reading:Ranking College Football Bowl Games: The 35 postseason matchups from best to worst

Marshall will be replaced in the game by Louisiana Tech, which finished the regular season 5-7. The Bulldogs’ proximity to the Independence Bowl, with the school’s campus in Ruston, Louisiana, only about an hour from Shreveport, made them a tempting option as a relatively late replacement.

Independence Bowl officials cited “the player’s unavailability due to activity in the transfer portal” as the reason for the move.

According to 247Sports, the Thundering Herd has suffered player losses in recent days, with 29 scholarship players leaving the program since December 8th. The player departures come as Marshall coach Charles Huff is leaving the university to take the same position at Southern Miss, another member of the Sun Belt Conference.

Huff helped lead the Thundering Herd to a 10-3 record this season, capped by a 31-3 win over Louisiana-Lafayette in the Sun Belt championship game last Saturday.

Despite this success, Huff had a coaching contract that was set to expire after that season, and after making no progress with the school on an extension, he left. Marshall quickly replaced him with NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, a West Virginia native who spent much of his coaching career in the state.

The match between the Thundering Herd and the Black Knights was rated the fourth-best non-playoff bowl game by USA TODAY Sports.

Independence Bowl Statement on Marshall Opt-Out

Below is a statement from Independence Bowl Executive Director Missy Setters:

“It is unfortunate that Marshall has decided they will not be able to compete in the bowl in a few weeks. Our goal was to create the best matchup possible for our local fans and college football fans across the country, and we believe we have succeeded.” We are very pleased to have found an opponent for Army with two conference champions to have. We thank La Tech AD Ryan Ivey, their players and support staff for their willingness to step up and play in our bowl game.”

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NCAA bowl substitution rule

With no other bowl-eligible teams left to choose from, the Independence Bowl must find a replacement to face Army, the American Athletic Conference champion and the No. 18 team in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll.

An opponent for Army will be determined based on 5-7 teams with the highest NCAA Academic Progress Rate scores.

Here are the steps taken to select sub-.500 teams for bowl games, according to the 2024-25 NCAA Postseason Bowl Manual¹:

A. All teams that achieve earned team status must be placed in available bowl opportunities.
B. Once all deserving teams have been exhausted, a ranked list of teams ranked by Academic Progress Rate will be created and approved by NCAA staff.
C. If more than one bowl slot is available, that number of teams, in order of their APR ranking, will form the pool that moves to eligible status for placement. (Example: If three five-win teams are needed to fill three open bowl spots, the pool will consist of the top three APR teams in descending order.)
D. If a conference has a team in the APR pool and a primary contract with an opening bowl game, that conference team will fill the spot.
e. Additional placements will be made through the conference office, bowl partners and institutional discussions.
F. Contractual arrangements are the responsibility of the conference/institution and the bowl partner and are not subject to the authority of the NCAA or the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee.

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