New name, same old destination for Marshall.

The Thundering Herd will return to the city where it all began, taking the trek to Detroit for the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl against Ohio. The game will be played at 1 p.m. Dec. 26 at Ford Field, with ESPN televising.

Marshall played in what was formerly known as the Motor City Bowl in its first four years as a Football Bowl Subdivision team. The Herd lost 34-31 to Ole Miss in 1997, but ran off wins over Louisville (48-29), BYU (21-3) and Cincinnati (25-14) the following three seasons.

It will be Marshall’s first bowl appearance since losing 32-14 to the Bearcats in the 2004 Fort Worth Bowl.

“None of the seniors have ever played in a bowl game. None of the players have ever represented Marshall in a bowl game,” Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick said. “That probably was the single most reason we decided to accept the invitation and to aggressively try to get us into a bowl game.”

It was widely believed that Marshall (6-6) was in line for a spot in the EagleBank Bowl Dec. 29 in Washington, D.C. But that would have hinged on Army losing to bowl-bound Navy this Saturday. A loss would leave Army ineligible at five wins, and Conference USA would have taken its spot.

As it stands now, however, Temple has accepted the bid that would have gone to an eighth team from the ACC, and UCLA will be the Owls’ opponent if Army loses.

However, Hamrick spoke with C-USA representatives Sunday afternoon and was informed that the Pizza Bowl was Marshall’s only option.

“It’s hard to tell 100 football players who have played and worked so hard, that you are not going to let them play in a bowl game,” Hamrick said. “ ... I don’t believe this is the appropriate time to turn down a bowl game.”

Besides, Hamrick pointed out the obvious appeal to returning to Detroit.

“It is a nationally televised game on a Saturday at 1 o’clock, on ESPN,” he said. “And it is being played in one of the finest football facilities in the country. It’s relatively close and in a great facility.

“Our hope is that our fans will support us. Whether you like it or not, the number of tickets you sell has a significant reflection on the type of program you have. It has an effect on bowls down the road. A lot of bowls look at, do you travel? Do you sell tickets? This has a chance to affect your future. We need to make sure we do what we need to do.”

The Herd will take on a rival from its past and its future. Ohio (9-4) was a friendly foe when Marshall was in the Mid-American Conference from 1997-2004.

The teams will begin a new series next season.

“Absolutely no question,” Hamrick said of the matchup’s attractiveness. “When we had the team meeting at 6:30 (Sunday) and told the players what we were doing, where we are going and who we will be playing, they were visibly excited about it. They want to go play.”

The Bobcats, led by former Nebraska coach Frank Solich, won the MAC East Division this year and lost 20-10 to Central Michigan Friday in the MAC title game.

The Chippewas are coached by Butch Jones who, ironically, is a leading candidate to fill Marshall’s head coaching vacancy.

In another ironic twist, Rick Minter will serve as Marshall’s interim head coach for the bowl. He was Cincinnati’s head coach in the Herd’s 2000 Motor City win.

In addition to Marshall, five other C-USA teams have accepted bowl bids: East Carolina (Liberty), Houston (Armed Forces), Southern Miss (New Orleans), UCF (St. Petersburg) and SMU (Hawaii).

— E-mail:

gfauber@register-herald.com