Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick announced his first football scheduling agreement Thursday, landing a home-and-home series with Louisville.

The Thundering Herd is scheduled to play at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on Oct. 1, 2011, with the Cardinals of the Big East coming to Joan C. Edwards Stadium on Sept. 27, 2014.

"This series goes along with our scheduling philosophy and that is to schedule regional home-and-home games with [Bowl Championship Series] automatic qualifier conference schools," Hamrick said. "This series will be good for both schools and I am especially happy for our fans that live in the greater Cincinnati area and in central Kentucky. The close vicinity of both schools will make for easy travel for our fans and it will generate interest throughout the region."

That appears to fill out Marshall's nonconference schedule for 2011. The Herd opens Sept. 3 at West Virginia, plays at Ohio on Sept. 17, plays host to Virginia Tech the next weekend and travels to Louisville two weeks later.

The Herd's 2010 nonconference slate also has been set, barring further developments: Sept. 4 at Ohio State, Sept. 11 vs. WVU, Sept. 18 at Bowling Green and Sept. 25 vs. Ohio. The Herd and Bobcats are set for the next six years, reviving their rivalry that went on hiatus when Marshall left the Mid-American Conference for Conference USA.

Marshall now has two games set for 2014, home games against Ohio and Louisville. Further developments may hinge on the success of extending the WVU series, of which the last scheduled installment is Sept. 1, 2012 at Morgantown. With games set in 2013 at Ohio and Virginia Tech, the Herd likely will prefer a home game in that year.

MU and Louisville have met 27 times, with the Cardinals enjoying a 16-11 lead in the series. The Herd, however, has won the last three meetings - 38-15 in the 2002 GMAC Bowl, 48-29 in the 1998 Motor City Bowl and 34-31 in 1987 on Tony Petersen's program-turning "Hail Mary" touchdown pass to Keith Baxter.

The Thundering Herd is scheduled to play at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on Oct. 1, 2011, with the Cardinals of the Big East coming to Joan C. Edwards Stadium on Sept. 27, 2014.

"This series goes along with our scheduling philosophy and that is to schedule regional home-and-home games with [Bowl Championship Series] automatic qualifier conference schools," Hamrick said. "This series will be good for both schools and I am especially happy for our fans that live in the greater Cincinnati area and in central Kentucky. The close vicinity of both schools will make for easy travel for our fans and it will generate interest throughout the region."

That appears to fill out Marshall's nonconference schedule for 2011. The Herd opens Sept. 3 at West Virginia, plays at Ohio on Sept. 17, plays host to Virginia Tech the next weekend and travels to Louisville two weeks later.

The Herd's 2010 nonconference slate also has been set, barring further developments: Sept. 4 at Ohio State, Sept. 11 vs. WVU, Sept. 18 at Bowling Green and Sept. 25 vs. Ohio. The Herd and Bobcats are set for the next six years, reviving their rivalry that went on hiatus when Marshall left the Mid-American Conference for Conference USA.

Marshall now has two games set for 2014, home games against Ohio and Louisville. Further developments may hinge on the success of extending the WVU series, of which the last scheduled installment is Sept. 1, 2012 at Morgantown. With games set in 2013 at Ohio and Virginia Tech, the Herd likely will prefer a home game in that year.

MU and Louisville have met 27 times, with the Cardinals enjoying a 16-11 lead in the series. The Herd, however, has won the last three meetings - 38-15 in the 2002 GMAC Bowl, 48-29 in the 1998 Motor City Bowl and 34-31 in 1987 on Tony Petersen's program-turning "Hail Mary" touchdown pass to Keith Baxter.