Timeline of Fairfield Stadium

The Herald-Dispatch

1928: Fairfield Stadium construction is finished. Its original capacity is 10,000. Marshall College shares the stadium with Huntington High School.

OCT. 7, 1928: The dedication game sees Marshall beating Fairmont, 27-0.

1933: Marshall joins the Buckeye Conference and wins the title in 1938 before the league was disbanded.

1953: After five seasons in the Ohio Valley Conference, Marshall joins the Mid-American Conference.

1962: Fairfield Stadium is condemned by health, fire and safety inspectors.

JULY 23, 1969: The Mid-American Conference kicks Marshall out over a football recruiting scandal.

1969: Marshall breaks a 27-game losing streak with a 21-16 homecoming victory over Bowling Green.

1970: The field is covered in Astroturf.

NOV. 14, 1970: 75 Marshall University football players, staff members and fans die in a plane crash at Tri-State Airport upon returning from losing a game at East Carolina University.

1971: The stadium is renovated and expanded to 16,500 capacity.

1973: The first capacity crowd at Fairfield Stadium sees Marshall stop Morehead State, 24-17, in its season opener.

1976: Marshall wins four games (five with a forfeit against Morehead State) for its most successful season since 1965. The Thundering Herd defeats Miami (Ohio), 21-16, for the first time in 37 years. Marshall joins the Southern Conference.

1981: The Herd notches its first-ever Southern Conference triumph, upsetting Appalachian State, 17-10, in Boone, N.C.

1983: Marshall posts a 4-7 record -- its best since 1976.

1984: Marshall wins its two final games on the road against Illinois State and East Tennessee State to finish with a 6-5 record for its first winning season in 20 years.

1985: Marshall wins seven games -- its most since 1964.

1986: A new stadium to replace Fairfield is proposed and plans begin. Also, Marshall records its third consecutive winning season but lost its final two games and did not make the Division I-AA playoffs.

1987: Marshall's storybook season ends with a 43-42 loss to Northeast Louisiana in the Division I-AA championship game at Pocatello, Idaho.

1988: Marshall and Furman share the Southern Conference regular-Season championship with 6-1 records.

1989: Marshall finishes with at 6-5 record, tying the school record of six consecutive winning seasons.

1990: Marshall posts its seventh consecutive winning season to set a school record.

NOV. 10, 1990: Marshall plays its last game at Fairfield Stadium against Eastern Kentucky. Marshall lost, 12-15.

SEPT. 7, 1991: Marshall Stadium was unveiled before a crowd of 33,116. Marshall beat New Hampshire, 24-23.

1996-1997: Fairfield serves as the home stadium for the Huntington Hawks semi-pro football team.

FALL 1997: Marshall rejoins the Mid-American Conference.

MAY 1998: Fairfield Stadium's field is paved over to expand a parking lot for Cabell Huntington Hospital and the Marshall University School of Medicine.

OCTOBER 1999: The Forensic Science Program of Marshall University's School of Medicine moves into Fairfield's old locker room after $850,000 in renovations

NOVEMBER 2004: Demolition begins to make way for the Marshall University Clinical Education and Outreach Center.

FALL 2005: Marshall joins Conference USA.