Jim Ferguson, left, president of the Putnam County chapter of Big Green talks to Marshall men's basketball Coach Donnie Jones at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club.
The goal still is the same for Sutherland, a former Marshall women's basketball assistant coach who now is the Big Green Scholarship Foundation executive director: He wants them to give the Thundering Herd a commitment.
"That's a great way to say it because you're looking at having people attracted to your school," Sutherland said Wednesday evening during the Big Green Coaches Tour stop at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club. "Our job is not only to get them attracted but also to get them involved. It's the same thing.
"Since I have been here at Marshall, one of my main responsibilities has been to help promote the program and build the booster club. Although it was on a much smaller scale, the principle was the same. I loved doing it for women's basketball, and I love doing it for the Big Green."
Sutherland, Athletic Director Bob Marcum, football Coach Mark Snyder, men's basketball Coach Donnie Jones and women's basketball Coach Royce Chadwick were the guest speakers at the annual Putnam County event, which drew more than 150 people Wednesday.
The final stop on Sutherland's first tour is Monday at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs.
"I'm getting old," said Sutherland, 48, who was hired to run the Big Green Scholarship Foundation on March 13. "I'm tired, but it has been fun.
"It reminds me a lot of recruiting in the month of July. In basketball, you go from town to town to town recruiting. You keep chasing people you think can help your program. We're kind of doing the same thing. We're going from town to town to town chasing people we think can help our program.
"Our coaching staff has been great about getting together with people and making an impression on them."
****
MARSHALL HAS lost a pair of football players to Division I-AA programs.
Sophomore defensive tackle Shane Moore will play for Norfolk State in the fall, while redshirt freshman offensive guard Sergio Glenn will play for North Carolina A&T.
Both will be immediately eligible, according to NCAA guidelines, because they are transferring down a division.
"It's a personal decision," Snyder said. "If they feel like there's a better place for them, then they need to go after their future endeavors."
Norfolk State and North Carolina A&T compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with fellow historically black colleges and universities Delaware State, South Carolina State, Hampton, Morgan State, Bethune-Cookman, Howard and Florida A&M.
Incidentally, a potential one-on-one battle between Glenn and Moore could take place Sept. 13 when the Aggies are scheduled to visit the Spartans in the teams' conference opener.
Norfolk State was 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the league to finish second in the MEAC standings last year. North Carolina A&T was 0-11, 0-8.
The 6-foot-2, 286-pound Moore appeared in 10 games and recorded six tackles as a true freshman last season. His first and only start came in a 40-14 road loss to Big East Conference member Cincinnati.
"The program just wasn't a good fit for me anymore," said Moore, who came to Marshall from Northeast Guilford High in McLeansville, N.C.
"Some things happened at home, and I wanted to be closer to my mom. Marshall is five hours away. Norfolk State is 2 ½ or 3 hours away."
Snyder redshirted the 6-6, 330-pound Glenn last year.
"It just wasn't a good fit for me," said Glenn, who signed with the Thundering Herd from North Forsyth High in Winston-Salem, N.C.
"I felt like it would be better for me as a player and them as a team if I went elsewhere. There aren't any hard feelings. I'll still be rooting for Marshall."
****
SOURCES SAID Dwight Jones, a 6-4, 210-pound wide receiver, has narrowed his college choices to North Carolina and Marshall.
Jones signed with the Tar Heels last year, but he wasn't academically eligible. Jones played for Hargrave Military Academy in the fall, but he didn't return to the Virginia prep school in the spring.
Sources said if North Carolina will admit Jones, he will go there. If not, he will come to Marshall as an academic non-qualifier.
According to recruiting Web sites, Jones received scholarship offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest as a five-star prospect at Cummings High in Burlington, N.C.
HURRICANE -- Although he no longer is a coach, John Sutherland still is a recruiter.
The only difference is, he now tries to sell Marshall to sports fans rather than basketball players.
The goal still is the same for Sutherland, a former Marshall women's basketball assistant coach who now is the Big Green Scholarship Foundation executive director: He wants them to give the Thundering Herd a commitment.
"That's a great way to say it because you're looking at having people attracted to your school," Sutherland said Wednesday evening during the Big Green Coaches Tour stop at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club. "Our job is not only to get them attracted but also to get them involved. It's the same thing.
"Since I have been here at Marshall, one of my main responsibilities has been to help promote the program and build the booster club. Although it was on a much smaller scale, the principle was the same. I loved doing it for women's basketball, and I love doing it for the Big Green."
Sutherland, Athletic Director Bob Marcum, football Coach Mark Snyder, men's basketball Coach Donnie Jones and women's basketball Coach Royce Chadwick were the guest speakers at the annual Putnam County event, which drew more than 150 people Wednesday.
The final stop on Sutherland's first tour is Monday at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs.
"I'm getting old," said Sutherland, 48, who was hired to run the Big Green Scholarship Foundation on March 13. "I'm tired, but it has been fun.
"It reminds me a lot of recruiting in the month of July. In basketball, you go from town to town to town recruiting. You keep chasing people you think can help your program. We're kind of doing the same thing. We're going from town to town to town chasing people we think can help our program.
"Our coaching staff has been great about getting together with people and making an impression on them."
****
MARSHALL HAS lost a pair of football players to Division I-AA programs.
Sophomore defensive tackle Shane Moore will play for Norfolk State in the fall, while redshirt freshman offensive guard Sergio Glenn will play for North Carolina A&T.
Both will be immediately eligible, according to NCAA guidelines, because they are transferring down a division.
"It's a personal decision," Snyder said. "If they feel like there's a better place for them, then they need to go after their future endeavors."
Norfolk State and North Carolina A&T compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with fellow historically black colleges and universities Delaware State, South Carolina State, Hampton, Morgan State, Bethune-Cookman, Howard and Florida A&M.
Incidentally, a potential one-on-one battle between Glenn and Moore could take place Sept. 13 when the Aggies are scheduled to visit the Spartans in the teams' conference opener.
Norfolk State was 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the league to finish second in the MEAC standings last year. North Carolina A&T was 0-11, 0-8.
The 6-foot-2, 286-pound Moore appeared in 10 games and recorded six tackles as a true freshman last season. His first and only start came in a 40-14 road loss to Big East Conference member Cincinnati.
"The program just wasn't a good fit for me anymore," said Moore, who came to Marshall from Northeast Guilford High in McLeansville, N.C.
"Some things happened at home, and I wanted to be closer to my mom. Marshall is five hours away. Norfolk State is 2 ½ or 3 hours away."
Snyder redshirted the 6-6, 330-pound Glenn last year.
"It just wasn't a good fit for me," said Glenn, who signed with the Thundering Herd from North Forsyth High in Winston-Salem, N.C.
"I felt like it would be better for me as a player and them as a team if I went elsewhere. There aren't any hard feelings. I'll still be rooting for Marshall."
****
SOURCES SAID Dwight Jones, a 6-4, 210-pound wide receiver, has narrowed his college choices to North Carolina and Marshall.
Jones signed with the Tar Heels last year, but he wasn't academically eligible. Jones played for Hargrave Military Academy in the fall, but he didn't return to the Virginia prep school in the spring.
Sources said if North Carolina will admit Jones, he will go there. If not, he will come to Marshall as an academic non-qualifier.
According to recruiting Web sites, Jones received scholarship offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest as a five-star prospect at Cummings High in Burlington, N.C.
