These two programs are forever connected by the number 75. That number, which Marshall sometimes inscribes on its helmets, represents the 75 passengers that were killed on a Nov. 14, 1970 flight. Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed into a field in West Virginia while transporting the Marshall football team back from North Carolina, after the Thundering Herd played a road game at East Carolina.
East Carolina and Marshall continue to commemorate the 75 every time the programs meet on the gridiron. Members of the 1970 East Carolina football team are expected to be in attendance in Greenville this Saturday as the programs square off for the first time since 2021 and the second time since separating conferences in 2014.