The Appalachian State Mountaineers
are the athletic teams that represent Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, United States. The Mountaineers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and have been a member of the Southern Conference since 1972. Appalachian fields varsity teams in 20 sports, 10 for men and 10 for women. The football team competes in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly I-AA.
Appalachian's football program has been successful with the Mountaineers winning three straight national championships in 2005, 2006, and 2007. They are the only team in North Carolina, public or private, to win an NCAA national championship in football. [1] The Mountaineers are the first FCS team to win three straight national championships since the creation of Division I-AA in 1978, and are the first Division I program to win three consecutive national championships since Army accomplished the feat in 1944, 1945, and 1946. [2]
Football home games are played at Kidd Brewer Stadium, [3] while basketball, volleyball, and indoor track and field events are held at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center. [4] The school's baseball team plays at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. [5]
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APPALACHIAN STATE MOUNTAINEERS TICKETS
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Sports teams
Appalachian sponsors 20 varsity sports teams.
[6] The Mountaineers are the only institution to sponsor all 19 sports offered by the Southern Conference. The women's field hockey team competes in the
Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac).
- Men's sports
- *Baseball
- *Basketball
- *Cross Country
- *Football
- *Golf
- *Soccer
- *Tennis
- *Indoor Track and Field
- *Outdoor Track and Field
- *Wrestling
- Women's sports
- *Basketball
- *Cross Country
- *Field Hockey
- *Golf
- *Soccer
- *Softball
- *Tennis
- *Indoor Track and Field
- *Outdoor Track and Field
- *Volleyball
Football
The 2009 season will see the Mountaineers participating in their 80th year of
college football. The
2005,
2006, and
2007 seasons were arguably the most successful in Appalachian history with the Mountaineers winning three consecutive
national championships. Head coach
Jerry Moore will be entering his 21st year at the helm of the Mountaineers. Appalachian has developed intense rivalries with fellow conference members
Furman,
Georgia Southern, and
Western Carolina The Mountaineers and
Catamounts play annually for the
Old Mountain Jug.
The Mountaineers got off to a fast start in 2007 with perhaps the biggest win in program history with a road
upset of the
fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines,
34–32, on
September 1, 2007. With the win Appalachian became the first ever
FCS (I-AA) team to defeat an
AP nationally ranked
FBS (I-A) team. This victory was seen by some analysts to be one of the greatest upsets in NCAA football history.
[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] Following the win, they were featured on the cover of the following week's issue of
Sports Illustrated
.
[12]
Numerous players from ASU have gone on to play in the
National Football League. They include Harold Alexander,
Kerry Brown,
Dexter Coakley, Mike Frier, Derrick Graham,
Dino Hackett,
Larry Hand,
Jason Hunter,
Dexter Jackson,
Corey Lynch, Rico Mack,
Marques Murrell,
Mark Royals,
John Settle,
Matt Stevens, Troy Albea, and
Daniel Wilcox. Additionally, players such as DaVon Fowlkes, Wayne Smith, and
Richie Williams have found homes in the
Canadian Football League.
Season records
Conference championships
| Year
| Conference
| Overall Record
| Conference Record
| Coach
|
| 1931
| North State
| 9–2–2
| 3–0
| C. B. Johnson
|
| 1937
| North State
| 8–1–1
| 5–0
| Kidd Brewer
|
| 1939
| North State
| 7–1–2
| 3–0–1
| Flucie Stewart
|
| 1948
| North State
| 8–1–1
| 7–0–1
| E. C. Duggins
|
| 1950
| North State
| 9–2–1
| 7–0–1
| E. C. Duggins
|
| 1954
| North State
| 8–3
| 6–0
| E. C. Duggins
|
| 1986
| Southern
| 9–2–1
| 6–0–1
| Sparky Woods
|
| 1987
| Southern
| 11–3
| 7–0
| Sparky Woods
|
| 1991
| Southern
| 8–4
| 6–1
| Jerry Moore
|
| 1995
| Southern
| 12–1
| 8–0
| Jerry Moore
|
| 1999?
| Southern
| 9–3
| 7–1
| Jerry Moore
|
| 2005
| Southern
| 12–3
| 6–1
| Jerry Moore
|
| 2006
| Southern
| 14–1
| 7–0
| Jerry Moore
|
| 2007?
| Southern
| 13–2
| 5–2
| Jerry Moore
|
| 2008
| Southern
| 11–3
| 8–0
| Jerry Moore
|
| Total
| 15
|
| ? Denotes a tie for first place and conference co-champion
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Men's basketball
The head coach of the Mountaineers is
Buzz Peterson, who returned to ASU in April 2009 for his second stint as head basketball coach. Previously, Peterson was the head coach of the Apps from 1996–2000. Notable past coaches include
Press Maravich and
Bobby Cremins. The Mountaineers have appeared in the
NCAA Tournament twice,
1979 and
2000, and appeared in the
National Invitation Tournament in
2007. The Apps play home basketball games at the
George M. Holmes Convocation Center which opened in 2000 to replace
Varsity Gymnasium.
Conference championships
| Year
| Conference
| Record
| Coach
|
| 1939–1940
| North State
| 19–3
| Flucie Stewart
|
| 1940–1941
| North State
| 22–3
| Clyde Canipe
|
| 1942–1943
| North State
| 16–5
| Belus Smawley
|
| 1947–1948
| North State
| 20–8
| Francis Hoover
|
| 1949–1950
| North State
| 21–9
| Francis Hoover
|
| 1966–1967
| Carolinas
| 21–8
| Bob Light
|
| 1977–1978
| Southern
| 9–3
| Bobby Cremins
|
| 1978–1979
| Southern
| 11–3
| Bobby Cremins
|
| 1980–1981?
| Southern
| 11–5
| Bobby Cremins
|
| 1997–1998?*
| Southern
| 13–2 (North)
| Buzz Peterson
|
| 1998–1999
| Southern
| 13–3 (North)
| Buzz Peterson
|
| 1999–2000
| Southern
| 13–3 (North)
| Buzz Peterson
|
| 2002–2003?
| Southern
| 11–5 (North)
| Houston Fancher
|
| 2006–2007
| Southern
| 15–3 (North)
| Houston Fancher
|
| 2007–2008?
| Southern
| 13–7 (North)
| Houston Fancher
|
| Total
| 15
|
| ? Denotes a tie for first place and conference co-champion
* The Southern Conference split into North and South divisions beginning with the 1994–95 season
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Other sports
Baseball
Appalachian's first
baseball team took the field in 1903. However, complete records prior to the 1955 season are not available. The Mountaineers consider the 1955 season as the starting point for record keeping purposes.
Coaching history
| Coach
| Years
| Seasons
| Record
| Pct.
| Conf. Record
| Pct.
| Conf. Titles
|
| Bob Broome
| 1955–57
| 3
| 17–26
| .395
| 14–25
| .359
|
|
| Bill Alheim
| 1958
| 1
| 5–5
| .500
| 5–5
| .500
|
|
| Dave Pierce
| 1959–60
| 2
| 7–13
| .350
| 7–13
| .350
|
|
| Joe Bryson
| 1961–62
| 2
| 15–15–1
| .500
| 14–15
| .483
|
|
| Frank Meyer
| 1963–64
| 2
| 7–21
| .250
| 7–21
| .250
|
|
| Bob Henry
| 1965
| 1
| 3–13
| .188
| 3–13
| .188
|
|
| Bill Church
| 1966
| 1
| 8–8
| .500
| 8–6
| .571
|
|
| Frank Lovrich
| 1967–73
| 7
| 125–76
| .622
| 26–24
| .520
| 1 (1973)
|
| Jim Morris
| 1974–98
| 25
| 611–475–4
| .563
| 218–203–1
| .518
| 4 (1984, 1985, 1986, 1987)
|
| Troy Heustess
| 1999–2004
| 6
| 92–221–1
| .294
| 57–116
| .329
|
|
| Chris Pollard
| 2005–present
| 4
| 99–126–1
| .440
| 42–68
| .382
|
|
| Totals
| 1955–present
| 54
| '''989–999–7
| .497
| 401–509–1
| .441
| 5
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Commissioner's and Germann Cup
The Commissioner's and Germann Cups are awarded each year to the top men's and women's program in the Southern Conference. The Commissioner's Cup was inaugurated in 1970.
[13] The Germann Cup, named for former conference commissioner Ken Germann, was first awarded in 1987.
The Mountaineers earned their 29th Commissioner's Cup in 2009.
[14]
| Commissioner's
|
| 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
|
| 29 Cups
|
| Germann
|
| 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2006, 2007
|
| 8 Cups
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Facilities
| Facility
| Sport(s)
| Capacity
|
| ASU Soccer Stadium
| Soccer
| 1,000
|
| ASU Softball Stadium
| Softball
| 1,000
|
| Don Kennedy Trails
| Cross Country
|
|
| George M. Holmes Convocation Center
| Basketball, Indoor Track and Field, Volleyball
| 8,325
|
| Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium
| Baseball
| 2,000
|
| Kidd Brewer Stadium
| Field Hockey, Football, Track and Field
| 20,150
|
| Varsity Gymnasium
| Wrestling
| 8,000
|
Pageantry
Yosef
Yosef is the mascot for
Appalachian State. The origin of the name
Yosef comes from mountain talk for "yourself", the idea being that if you are a fan, friend or
alumnus and have a heart of black and gold, you are Yosef.
[15] Yosef first appeared in the 1942 edition of
The Rhododendron
, Appalachian's annual yearbook. He was presented as a member of the freshman class with the name
Dan'l Boone Yoseff from Appalachian
. The second "f" was dropped from Yoseff in January of 1947.
Since his inception, Yosef has gone through many appearance changes with the current design being adopted prior to the 1983–84 year. The 2006 football season saw the return of Yosef's
musket which was fired after every Appalachian
touchdown.
School songs
Fight song
The ASU
fight song,
Hi Hi Yikas
, is sung to the tune of the German folk song
Bergvagabunden
(
Mountain Vagabond
).
Hi-Hi-y-ike-us
Nobody like us,
We are the
mountaineers,
mountaineers,
mountaineers,
Always a-winning
Always a-grinning
Always a-feeling fine
You bet, hey
Go Apps!
Fight Apps!
Go, fight, win Apps! ('win Apps!' is sometimes changed to 'kick ass!')
Alma mater
Cherished Vision
is the Appalachian alma mater.
Cherished Vision of the Southland
Alma Mater in the Hills
Let us point our minds to wisdom
Til the truth our spirit thrills
Appalachian Alma Mater, through our heart the joy and pride
Lead us ever, lead us onward
Vanguard of the heroes' side
See also
- 2007 Appalachian State vs. Michigan football game
- Battle for the Old Mountain Jug
References
- N.C. General Assembly Honors ASU Football Team
- Thrice is Nice: Apps Rout Delaware For Third-Straight National Title
- Kidd Brewer Stadium
- Holmes Convocation Center
- Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium
- Varsity Sports
- Appalachian State earns role as conquering hero
- Hundreds of Mountaineers fans celebrate upset win
- Appalachian State in a frenzy after upset over Michigan
- The Mother of All Upsets
- Hail to the victors
- Alltime Upset
- Southern Conference Commissioner's & Germann Cups
- Appalachian State, College of Charleston Win All-Sports Cups
- 2008 Appalachian Football: History and Traditions