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The Herd had 41 scholarship players remaining on its roster at the time that it opted out, a Marshall spokesman said, shortly after winning the Sun Belt Conference championship. That figure does not account for walk-ons.

Before the defections, the Herd人妖色情片檚 full roster numbered 112 players, according to Marshall人妖色情片檚 website.

An attempt to reach Huff for comment by text message was not successful before deadline.

Marshall athletic director Christian Spears said Friday the decision was about prioritizing the health and safety of its athletes, citing a philosophy he developed while working for former Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke.

Spears called the opt-out 人妖色情片渙ne of the most difficult decisions that I人妖色情片檝e made in my career.人妖色情片�

人妖色情片淭he decisions we make impact the lives of other people人妖色情片檚 children,人妖色情片� Spears said. 人妖色情片�(Marshall University President) Brad Smith and I worked hand-in-hand on that, as well as our university leadership. We all understand how difficult of a decision it was to opt out of the bowl game.

人妖色情片淲e made (the decision) for all the right reasons. Health and safety is paramount here. We always want our student-athletes to know that their care and the way we look after them is going to fundamentally be what we do as an institution and athletic program. These decisions impact the lives of other people人妖色情片檚 children, so we made the decision to opt out.人妖色情片�

The announcement came two weeks before the game was to be played.

人妖色情片淭he timing of that decision was difficult, and it put people in jeopardy,人妖色情片� Spears said. 人妖色情片淚t harmed our conference. It harmed Army 人妖色情片� a team and program that we were very excited to play. Getting to compete against a service academy is an honor. Not getting to field a team that day was an extreme disappointment. The impact that it had on ESPN and our bowl partner at the Independence Bowl 人妖色情片� we can人妖色情片檛 replace not participating in that game. All we can do is sincerely apologize.人妖色情片�

The matter comes at an odd time for college athletics in which players opt out of bowl games on a yearly basis. Spears points out that Marshall人妖色情片檚 struggle could be a lesson for the rest of college football.

人妖色情片淭ake the lessons that we人妖色情片檝e learned and ensure that it never happens here or anywhere in college athletics,人妖色情片� Spears said. 人妖色情片淲e are excited about the dialogue that is happening right now around some rule changes that will make sure that no other institution will ever have this happen. In good conscience, we could not put 41 student-athletes onto that field. We人妖色情片檙e always going to prioritize the health and safety of our student-athletes.人妖色情片�

Speaking before Herd coach Tony Gibson人妖色情片檚 press conference to introduce Marshall人妖色情片檚 new coordinators, Spears said he understands the importance of the Herd to the Tri-State area.

人妖色情片淲e will move forward and continue to be a valued member,人妖色情片� Spears said. 人妖色情片淗opefully, we will represent this community in the way that it expects. Marshall football is critically important to this community. It人妖色情片檚 built on relationships and what we have endured here.

人妖色情片淲e know that this is not what Marshall University is. We owe it to this community to put out a group of student-athletes and a team that represents this community with the expectations it has.人妖色情片�