Appalachian State Football: A Legacy of Mountaineer Excellence
The Appalachian State Mountaineers football team, representing Appalachian State University, competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as part of the Sun Belt Conference's East Division. From humble beginnings in 1928 to national championships and FBS success, the Mountaineers have crafted a remarkable story.
Early Years and Conference Affiliations (1928-1970)
The Mountaineers fielded their first team in 1928 under coach Graydon Eggers. From 1928 to 1969, Appalachian State participated in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), competing in the North State Conference/Carolinas Conference, the Smoky Mountain Conference, and as an independent. In 1931, the Mountaineers joined the North State Conference and finished in first place under coach C. B. Johnson.
Kidd Brewer took over coaching duties from 1935 to 1938, winning another North State Conference championship. An All-American at Duke, Brewer's 1937 squad is best remembered for going unbeaten and unscored upon during the regular season, outscoring opponents 206-0 before losing a postseason game to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 7-0. In 1967, Appalachian State became an independent team for four years.
Transition to NCAA Division I and Southern Conference Era (1971-2004)
Appalachian State transitioned to NCAA Division I in 1971, with Jim Brakefield being hired as head coach, vacating the same position he held at Wofford. A year later, in 1972, Appalachian State accepted an invitation into the Southern Conference.
Appalachian State won two Southern Conference championships in 1986 and 1987 under Sparky Woods. After Woods left to coach South Carolina, Jerry Moore was hired to replace him. Moore went on to become the longest-tenured and winningest coach in team history; the Mountaineers recorded a losing season only once in Moore's 24 seasons as head coach. The Mountaineers recorded a record of 215-87-23 during Moore's venture, making 19 playoff appearances and winning 10 Southern Conference championships.
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FCS Dynasty: National Championships and Historic Upset (2005-2013)
The Mountaineers began competing at the I-AA (later known as the Football Championship Subdivision, or FCS) level in 1981. This era would become the program's most decorated.
Appalachian State won three consecutive FCS national championships from 2005 to 2007, becoming the first FCS program to ever win three straight titles and the first team from North Carolina to win a football national championship at any NCAA division level. In 2005, App State captured its first-ever FCS National Championship with a 21-16 victory over Northern Iowa, finishing the season 12-3.
In addition to winning a national championship in 2007, the Mountaineers recorded one of the biggest upsets in United States sports history when they defeated the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines 34-32. On September 1, 2007, in what was hailed as one of the biggest upsets in American sports history, the Mountaineers shocked the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines, 34-32. A sellout crowd of over 109,000 fans packed Michigan Stadium, becoming the largest crowd to ever witness an ASU football game. When FCS Appalachian State defeated No. 5 Michigan in 2007, it was the first time an FCS team had defeated any ranked FBS program.
On December 2, 2012, after a first-round home playoff loss to Illinois State, athletics director Charlie Cobb announced that Moore would not return for the 2013 season.
Transition to FBS and Sun Belt Dominance (2014-Present)
Following Moore's departure in 2012, the Mountaineers hired Scott Satterfield as head coach. On December 14, 2012, Scott Satterfield was named head coach of the Appalachian State football program. Satterfield had spent 15 seasons as an assistant in the Mountaineers program. In 2013, the Mountaineers began a two-year transition from the FCS to college football's premier FBS level. Because of this, the program was declared ineligible for FCS postseason play. Appalachian State's first year of FBS play would come in 2014 as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The first game of App State's inaugural FBS season was a rematch of the 2007 Appalachian State vs. Michigan football game. However, this time, the Michigan Wolverines won in a 52-14 blowout. The Mountaineers had their first home game of the season the following week in a win against Campbell. App State would lose its next four contests. After a 1-5 start, the Mountaineers rallied and won the final six games of their 2014 season.
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After finishing 4-8 in 2013, their first losing season since 1993 and only 5th since 1980, the Mountaineers began play in the FBS. The Mountaineers have since recorded the most successful FBS transition in NCAA history; they have recorded eight consecutive winning seasons, five consecutive bowl wins (from 2015 to 2020), and four consecutive Sun Belt Championships (from 2016 to 2019), and have won the East Division 3 times over a four-year span (2018-2021).
Appalachian State opened the 2015 season with a 49-0 pounding of Howard before losing to Clemson. After their 1-1 start, the Mountaineers won six straight but fell short to the eventual Sun Belt champion, Arkansas State, on November 5. The team rallied, finished the regular season 10-2 and received a bid to play in the Camellia Bowl against an 8-4 Ohio. The Mountaineers overcame their opposition 31-29 becoming the first team in Sun Belt history to win 11 games in one season. The Mountaineers have since recorded the most successful FBS transition in NCAA history. In 2015, App State finished 11-2 record and won the Camellia Bowl against Ohio, their first-ever FBS bowl game victory.
In 2018, Appalachian State was ranked in the FBS for the first time in its history after starting out 5-1 in the 2018 season; its only recorded loss was to Penn State in an overtime game. They would promptly lose their next game and their ranking. The Mountaineers would end the 2018 season as Sun Belt Conference Champions. Satterfield would be named Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year. It was the Mountaineers' 3rd Conference championship in a row and their first outright championship in the inaugural Sun Belt Championship game hosted in Boone on December 1, 2018. On December 1, 2018, Appalachian State played in and won the first ever Sun Belt Championship Game, hosting the Ragin' Cajuns of University of Louisiana at Lafayette at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
In 2019, after the Conference Championship game but before the New Orleans Bowl, Satterfield left Appalachian State to take the Head Coaching position at Louisville. Newport, Kyle. Satterfield was replaced the following season by Eli Drinkwitz, who left before the 2019 bowl season.
Shawn Clark was hired as the 22nd head coach in program history on December 13, 2019. Clark, a 1998 graduate of the university, played under Moore and coached under Satterfield as well as Drinkwitz. He led the Mountaineers to a 31-17 victory over UAB Blazers in the New Orleans Bowl. Clark's first full season as head coach of the Mountaineers was met with complications from the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused many changes to schedules and football operations around the country.
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Appalachian State’s winning tradition continued into the 2020s. The 2019 squad finished 12-1, won the Sun Belt title, and beat UAB in the New Orleans Bowl, ending the year ranked in the AP Top 20. In 2020, App State defeated North Texas 56-28 in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. The 2021 team captured another Sun Belt East Division crown but fell in the Boca Raton Bowl to Western Kentucky.
Shawn Clark started the 2023 Appalachian State season 3-4, with a double overtime lose to UNC-Chapel Hill and two games by a field goal to end the game versus Wyoming and Coastal Carolina. The Mountaineers rebounded winning their next five games including defeating previously undefeated James Madison University while College GameDay was on campus. Clark earned a spot in the Sun Belt Conference title game in Troy, Alabama. Shawn Clark led Appalachian State to its 7th bowl win in the Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl 13-9 over Miami (OH). The 2022 season produced another iconic upset, as the Mountaineers defeated No. 6 Texas A&M. On September 10, 2022, the Mountaineers faced off against Texas A&M. With the Aggies ranked sixth in the week's Associated Press poll, Appalachian State was a 19-point underdog after falling in a narrow 63-61 decision against North Carolina in opening week play. Thanks to an offensive effort that controlled the ball for over 41 minutes of game time, the Mountaineers earned an improbable 17-14 victory, earning their first win over a top 10 opponent since the triumph over Michigan. The final scoring effort was an 18-play, 63-yard drive that took over nine minutes to finish before Michael Hughes kicked a 29-yard field goal. In 2023, they won the Cure Bowl over Miami (OH), 13-9, marking another postseason triumph.
On December 9, 2024, Dowell Loggains was announced as the 23rd head coach in program history. Dowell Loggains was hired as new head coach on December 7, 2024.
Rivalries
Known as Deeper than Hate, Appalachian State enjoys a fierce Sun Belt Conference rivalry with Georgia Southern. This rivalry has been described by many as "the best rivalry in the Group of Five".
Nicknamed The Old Mountain Feud, Appalachian State competes in a rivalry with fellow Appalachian mountain-based public university Marshall. The rivalry game was played annually 1977-1996. From 1986 to 1996 the Southern Conference foes won at least a share of the conference title a combined eight times. The rivalry resumed annual play in the 2020 season and is set to continue as Marshall joins Appalachian State in the Sun Belt Conference East Division in 2022.
Known as the Battle for the Old Mountain Jug, Appalachian State played Western Carolina in a regional rivalry game from 1932 to 2013. involvement in World War II. In 1976, a traveling trophy known as the Old Mountain Jug was created from an old moonshine jug. Appalachian's record in games played is 59-18-1, and 31-7 in the Jug era.
Stadium: Kidd Brewer Stadium
College Field was the home of Appalachian football from 1928 to 1961. Opened in 1962, Kidd Brewer Stadium was originally named Conrad Stadium after former university trustee and R.J. Reynolds executive William J. Conrad. The stadium was renamed in 1988 for Kidd Brewer who coached the Mountaineers from 1935 to 1938. Nicknamed "The Rock", it sits at an elevation of 3,280 feet (1,000 m) but is measured at 3,333 feet (1,016 m) for NCAA qualifications. The stadium was the first venue in either North or South Carolina to install artificial turf. The Mountaineers led the FCS in average attendance throughout the 2007, 2008, and 2010 seasons.
Completed in 2009, the stadium has seen extensive renovations as part of a $50 million facilities improvement campaign. An upper deck with additional seating for 4,400 was added to the east (visitor) stands prior to the 2008 season. Additional restrooms and concessions have been added. On February 28, 2017, the Appalachian State athletics office announced a construction project to increase the size of the video display board in Kidd-Brewer Stadium. The proposed video board is approximately 2,500 square feet (50' x 90'), with LED display, 13HD technology and a Daktronics custom audio system integrated into the video board.
Appalachian State constructed a new field house in the North End-zone to replace the 45-year-old Owens Field House which was demolished in February 2019. The new field house project had a budget of $45 million and added 1,000 new seats to Kidd Brewer Stadium. The new field house includes athletic training, hydrotherapy and locker rooms, and nutrition science research areas, as well as conference and continuing education training space, potential medical office space, dining facilities, a team store and ticketing office, and offices for coaches and athletics staff.
The Miracle on the Mountain took place at Kidd Brewer Stadium on October 12, 2002, and was selected as the "ABC Sports Radio Call of the Year". In a low-scoring affair, the Paladins elected to attempt a two-point conversion after scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 7 seconds left in the game. Leading 15-14, Furman quarterback Billy Napier's pass was intercepted by Josh Jeffries at the 4-yard line.
On December 1, 2018, Appalachian State played in and won the first ever Sun Belt Championship Game, hosting the Ragin' Cajuns of University of Louisiana at Lafayette at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
On September 21, 2019, the Mountaineers defeated North Carolina. Appalachian entered the game as a 3-point underdog against UNC and their returning coach Mack Brown. UNC opened the game with a long kick off return followed by a one play touchdown to take the lead 7-0. App State responded with 20 unanswered points including a Demetrius Taylor fumble recovery for a touchdown and Darrynton Evans rushing touchdown set up by Demetrius Taylor's interception. UNC scored first in the 3rd quarter to cut the lead to 27-24. The Mountaineers responded with a four-play touchdown drive capped with Darrynton Evans' 3rd rushing touchdown of the game. UNC scored again in the 4th quarter and kept Appalachian's offense in check, bringing the score to 34-31 Mountaineers in the final minutes. With 40 seconds left UNC drove down the field and lined up to attempt a 56-yard field with 5 seconds left.
On December 7, 2019, Appalachian State also played in and won the second ever Sun Belt Championship Game, again hosting the Ragin' Cajuns of University of Louisiana at Lafayette at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
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