East Carolina and Marshall have a " friendly " rivalry with one another . They are forever bonded in history by the tragic plane crash on November 14 , 1970 . The Thundering Herd were coming back from Greenville , North Carolina after a 17-14 loss to the Pirates when their plane crashed near Ceredo , West Virginia . The teams have been bonded ever since . East Carolina has since installed a large Marshall Memorial plaque outside of Dowdy – Ficklen Stadium honoring those that passed in the crash
plane crash
Southern Airways Flight 932
East Carolina Pirates football