Guide Note:

We Are Marshall is a 2006 dramatic film and true story of the 1970 airplane crash that took the lives of the Marshall University football team. It also looks at the tragic aftermath and healing of the university's hometown of Huntington, West Virginia, and the attempt to rebuild the football program from scratch.

Fast Facts:

1. Produced/Directed by: McG
2. Released: December 22, 2006
3. Run time: 124 minutes
4. Distribution Company: Warner Brothers
5. 2007: Nominated for ESPY Best Sports Movie Award

The back story

The date of November 14, 1970, will forever live as the darkest day in the history of Marshall University. Returning home from a loss to East Carolina University, all 75 people on-board the charter flight carrying the Marshall football team were killed when the plane crashed just short of the airport.

The after math

In the wake of the tragedy, school president Donald Dedmon, played by David Strathairn, is intent on suspending the football program indefinitely. But when the remaining football players who failed to make the trip and the student body lobby otherwise, Dedmon keeps the program running. He hires new head coach Jack Lengyl, played by Matthew McConaughey, and aided by the one coach who drove back from the game in a rental car, Red Dawson (Matthew Fox), the Thundering Herd begin the slowly agonizing process of rebuilding the program. They are aided by the NCAA waiving the rule against the use of freshmen players, which had been illegal at the time.

The Cast

Other cast members include Kate Mara, Ian McShane, and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. The climax of the film features the school's first post-tragedy victory against Xavier University, and concludes with file footage showing the team's rise to prominence during the 1990s.