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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�����Ƶ�s full roster numbered 112 players, according to Marshall�����Ƶ�s 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 �����Ƶ�one of the most difficult decisions that I�����Ƶ�ve made in my career.�����Ƶ�

�����Ƶ�The decisions we make impact the lives of other people�����Ƶ�s children,�����Ƶ� Spears said. �����Ƶ�(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.

�����Ƶ�We 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�����Ƶ�s children, so we made the decision to opt out.�����Ƶ�

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

�����Ƶ�The timing of that decision was difficult, and it put people in jeopardy,�����Ƶ� Spears said. �����Ƶ�It harmed our conference. It harmed Army �����Ƶ� 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 �����Ƶ� we can�����Ƶ�t replace not participating in that game. All we can do is sincerely apologize.�����Ƶ�

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�����Ƶ�s struggle could be a lesson for the rest of college football.

�����Ƶ�Take the lessons that we�����Ƶ�ve learned and ensure that it never happens here or anywhere in college athletics,�����Ƶ� Spears said. �����Ƶ�We 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�����Ƶ�re always going to prioritize the health and safety of our student-athletes.�����Ƶ�

Speaking before Herd coach Tony Gibson�����Ƶ�s press conference to introduce Marshall�����Ƶ�s new coordinators, Spears said he understands the importance of the Herd to the Tri-State area.

�����Ƶ�We will move forward and continue to be a valued member,�����Ƶ� Spears said. �����Ƶ�Hopefully, we will represent this community in the way that it expects. Marshall football is critically important to this community. It�����Ƶ�s built on relationships and what we have endured here.

�����Ƶ�We 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.�����Ƶ�