William Alfred "Red" Dawson[3] (born December 4, 1942) is a former American football player and assistant coach for Marshall University.

[5] After the season, which saw the Thundering Herd post a 0–9–1 record, allegations of rules violations and broken promises came to light and were proven true.

Ultimately Marshall was found guilty of over 100 National Collegiate Athletic Association rules violations and was later expelled from the Mid-American Conference.

The Herd lost, 17–14, on a controversial intentional grounding call against quarterback Ted Shoebridge on the last play of the game.

En route back to Huntington, West Virginia, Southern Airways Flight 932 clipped some trees on approach to Tri-State Airport, and the plane crashed nearly vertically into a ravine short of the runway.