Marshall coaches Grassie, Beals get contract extensions
The head coach who brought Marshall University its first Division I national title has committed to staying in Huntington for the foreseeable future. (WCHS)
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — The head coach who brought Marshall University its first Division I national title has committed to staying in Huntington for the foreseeable future.
Athletics officials on Wednesday announced a contract extension for men’s soccer coach Chris Grassie that will keep him with the program through 2031.
The announcement came during a “State of Marshall Athletics” news conference where athletic director Christian Spears recapped the department’s successes in the past calendar year and looked ahead to the start of 2024-25.
An extension was also announced for baseball coach Greg Beals that will keep him at Marshall through 2029. The Marshall coach just wrapped up his second season with the Thundering Herd.
One of the 50 winningest active coaches in Division I, Beals has changed the culture of Marshall baseball while leading the program into a new era at Jack Cook Field, which opened in March 2024.
“Coach Beals is a phenomenal person – a player’s coach and a community leader with a family who cares deeply about what we are trying to build here at Marshall,” Spears said in a news release. “If we all stay together, we are going to win here because of all those factors. We want to make sure Coach Beals, his family and our student-athletes know we are all-in on seeing them succeed.”
Grassie, who is entering his eighth season in charge at Marshall, has accumulated an 85-35-17 record. He has led Marshall to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five seasons with the pinnacle being the 2020-21 season when the Thundering Herd won the 2020 College Cup with a 1-0 overtime win over Indiana
“This one is the quintessential no-brainer.” Spears said. “We have the best collegiate soccer coach in the country, so how do we help him continue what he has already established? Chris is an amazing person, leader and colleague who has embraced this community along with his awesome family. They are embedded into the fabric of who we are while also helping us see where we can go.”
Grassie’s new contract is a seven-year deal that takes effect on July 1, 2024, and runs through the end of the 2030-31 school year.
The contract extensions have been approved by the Marshall University Board of Governors.