Kopp stands by Snyder

HUNTINGTON — Despite Marshall’s football season ending last week with a 38-35 setback to Conference USA West Division champion Tulsa, the Tri-State is still buzzing nearly a week later about the state of the Thundering Herd football program.

Following the game, Marshall football coach Mark Snyder said that he would be the coach in 2009, and on Sunday, Marshall officials validated his statement by saying in a release that Snyder would indeed return for a fifth season.

Marshall athletic director Bob Marcum released the statement, but on Tuesday, Marshall University President Stephen Kopp outlined the many reasons he felt that retaining Snyder was the correct move.

“I felt we are so close and we’ve come so far,” Kopp said. “By looking at it, you have to look at the academic performance of our student-athletes, which is at an all-time high in football, you have to look at the success of the program behaviorally — we don’t see the police blotter reports every week that just embarrass us all to tears — and then you have to look at the character and development of what is happening here...

“I think Mark has earned the opportunity to continue building the right way, and he has built it the right way — from the ground up. He hasn’t taken any shortcuts or quick fixes that have created problems elsewhere in the university.

“If you take it all into perspective, I think we are poised for an outstanding year next year.”

He added that the Herd was just three or four plays from 2008 still being in progress with the team preparing for a possible Conference USA championship and bowl game instead of being 4-8 and already looking toward next year.

“I could argue that there were two games that we actually won, just not on the scoreboard,” Kopp said. “It came down to the execution of certain plays. When you are that level, you are just about ready to break through.”

Kopp said his decision hinged on the future for Marshall University — both immediate and long-term. He said a coaching change at this point would further set the program in reverse.

“When we looked and analyzed that we are sending coaches out on Sunday to recruit, there can’t be any question about who the head coach is if you are going to recruit successfully,” Kopp said.

Kopp, who travels with the team, said that from his perspective, the team was on solid ground with Snyder at the helm.

He pointed out that the team was within three points of both division champions in Conference USA despite having new offensive and defensive coordinators and youth at several key positions including quarterback and cornerback.

Kopp also said that his views of the program go far beyond the field of play. He said the biggest indicator to him that the program was in the right direction came from senior Ian Hoskins, who took the younger players under his wing and taught them the ins-and-outs of the defensive line position — all at his own expense.

“This teammate-to-teammate teaching might have cost Ian some playing time, but he literally transformed some of the defensive line players by his dedication and working with them,” Kopp said.

“It’s the mindset that it isn’t all about me, it’s about team and about how I can help others get better. If they actually outperform me and take away my starting position, I’m not going to be happy about it, but it’s the right thing to do.

“It’s the mindset that coach Snyder has been instilling in his players.”