Quote:HUNTINGTON -- I wanted to update you -- our growing support and fan base – on what has been and will continue to be a very important time for Thundering Herd athletics.

It might be the offseason for our teams, but it is anything but for all of us who love the Herd and want the best for an athletic program for which there is a growing passion.

The 2012 Big Green Coaches Tour completed this past weekend. We had record crowds throughout the past month, and our coaches – Doc Holliday and Tom Herrion – were superb in helping spread the Marshall message after their teams had boosted the enthusiasm with the way they played down the stretch last season.

The Princeton/Bluefield stop on the tour was just one example of the growing support and excitement about the Herd. That stop was scrubbed three years ago because of a lack of participation. This time, we welcomed about 200 supporters. That kind of turnout was more the rule than the exception for us.

We have two more “Tour unofficial” but big stops to see supporters this summer. There’s the annual Mid-Atlantic Marshall Day clambake at Centreville, Md., on June 23. Then, on July 17, the Big Green Scholarship Foundation has been given a presidential welcome again by Dr. Stephen Kopp to have a presence at his “State of the University” speech in Washington, D.C.