The Appalachian State Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a Public university, public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a normal school, teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and th ...

Boone, North Carolina Boone is a town in and the county seat of Watauga County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Boone is the home of Appalachian State University and the headquarters of the disaster and me ...

, United States. The Mountaineers compete in Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) and were a member of the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

(SoCon) between 1972 and 2014. On July 1, 2014, Appalachian State moved to the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

. Appalachian State fields

varsity team A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At high schools ...

s in 17 sports, 7 for men and 10 for women. The football team competes in the Division I

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

(FBS), formerly I-A, as a result of the transition to the Sun Belt. The wrestling team remains in the Southern Conference because the Sun Belt does not sponsor the sport. In field hockey, another sport not sponsored by the Sun Belt, Appalachian State joined the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

for the 2017 season after playing two seasons as an independent following the demise of its former league, the

Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference The Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac) was an NCAA Division I conference that only sponsored women's field hockey. Founded in 1982, it began as a California-based conference, but expanded over time to include schools across the Unit ...

(NorPac). While rivalries exist with Sun Belt west division schools such as

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, Appalachian State's main Sun Belt rivals are east division members Coastal Carolina and Georgia Southern, as well as rekindled rivalries from the days in FCS with recent Sun Belt additions

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

and

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

. Historically, prior to joining the Sun Belt, Western Carolina and Furman were prominent rivalries. Appalachian State's football program has been successful with the Mountaineers winning three straight

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. They are the only team in North Carolina, public or private, to win an NCAA national championship in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. 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 An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

accomplished the feat in 1944, 1945, and 1946. Football home games are played at

Kidd Brewer Stadium Kidd Brewer Stadium is a 30,000-seat multi-purpose stadium located in Boone, North Carolina. Nicknamed "The Rock," the stadium is the home of the Appalachian State Mountaineers football, Appalachian State Mountaineers football team. Kidd Brewer ...

, while basketball, volleyball, and indoor track and field events are held at the

George M. Holmes Convocation Center The George M. Holmes Convocation Center (namely referred to as the Holmes Center) is an 8,325-seat multipurpose arena in Boone, North Carolina, United States, on the campus of Appalachian State University. The convocation center is named for Geor ...

. The school's baseball team plays at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. On May 26, 2020, Appalachian State announced that it would discontinue the men's soccer, indoor track and field, and tennis varsity teams effective immediately due to budget cuts resulting from the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Conference affiliations

NCAA * Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1930–1968) *

(1971–2014) *

(2014–present)

Sports sponsored

Baseball

Appalachian's first

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

team took the field in 1903. The Mountaineers are coached by Kermit Smith. The Mountaineers won regular season conference titles in 1973, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, and 2012. They also won the Southern Conference baseball tournament in 1984 and most recently on May 18, 2012, the Appalachian State Baseball team beat Western Carolina University, becoming Southern Conference baseball champs.

Men's basketball

The head coach of the Appalachian State men's basketball team is currently Dustin Kerns, previously of the Presbyterian Blue Hose. Notable past coaches include

Press Maravich Peter "Press" Maravich (August 29, 1915 – April 15, 1987) was an American college and professional basketball coach. He received the nickname "Press" as a boy, when one of his jobs was selling the '' Pittsburgh Press'' on the streets of his hom ...

and

Bobby Cremins Robert Joseph Cremins Jr. (born July 4, 1947) is an American retired college basketball coach. He served as a head coach at Appalachian State, Georgia Tech, and the College of Charleston. Early years Cremins attended All Hallows High School i ...

. The Mountaineers have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times,

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and appeared in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

. Appalachian State plays all home basketball games at the

, having opened in 2000 to replace Varsity Gymnasium on the campus of Appalachian State University.

Women's basketball

The Appalachian State women's basketball team, coached by Angel Elderkin, was one of the top teams in the

, laying claim to six SoCon tournament titles and six regular season championships in a 26-year span. On February 19, 2011, the Appalachian State Mountaineer Women's Basketball Team won the 2011 Southern Conference regular season title, the last time they had won the title was 1996.

Football

The Mountaineers are led by head coach Dowell Loggains. The

, and

seasons were successful, with the Mountaineers winning three consecutive FCS

. Before Appalachian left the Southern Conference for the Sun Belt Conference and FBS football in 2014, it had developed intense rivalries with fellow conference members Furman, Georgia Southern, and Western Carolina, The Appalachian–Georgia Southern rivalry continues in FBS, as both teams moved together to the Sun Belt. The Mountaineers and Catamounts played annually for the Old Mountain Jug until Appalachian's departure for the Sun Belt. The Mountaineers achieved perhaps their biggest win in program history with a road upset of the fifth-ranked

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

, 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. Following the win, they were featured on the cover of the following week's issue of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

''. Numerous players from ASU have gone on to play in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. They include Harold Alexander, Kerry Brown,

Dexter Coakley William Dexter Coakley (born October 20, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football in Division I-AA for the Appalachian Stat ...

, Dino Hackett, Larry Hand, Jason Hunter, Dexter Jackson, Corey Lynch, Rico Mack,

Marques Murrell Marques Allen Murrell (born March 20, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Appalachian State Mountaineers and was signed by the P ...

Mark Royals Mark Alan Royals (born June 22, 1965) is a former American football punter in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, Mi ...

, John Settle, Matt Stevens, Troy Albea, Daniel Wilcox, and Armanti Edwards.

Field hockey

The women's field hockey team were members of the single-sport

(NorPac) until that league's demise after the 2014 season, playing the next two seasons as a Division I independent, as the Sun Belt does not sponsor this sport. The Mountaineers joined the

as an affiliate starting in 2017.

Wrestling

The

Mountaineers Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

team is coached by JohnMark Bentley and holds their home matches in Varsity Gymnasium. Notable former Mountaineer wrestlers include former

Olympians Olympian or Olympians may refer to: Religion * Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion * Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic Fiction * ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...

– Al Crawford (1948), Herb Singerman (1968), Ike Anderson (1988), and Dale Oliver (1988). In 2017, Denzel Dejournette was named an All-American, the first wrestler to earn the honor since Kyle Blevins and Austin Trotman in 2012. The wrestling team are associate members of the

, as the Sun Belt Conference does not sponsor wrestling.

Softball

Championships

NCAA team championships

Appalachian State has won three NCAA team national championships. *Men's (3) ** Football (FCS) (3): 2005, 2006, 2007 *see also: ** Sun Belt Conference NCAA team championships **

List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships Listed below are the colleges or universities with the most NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I-sanctioned team championships, individual championships, and combined team and individual championships, as documented by information published on offi ...

Commissioner's and Germann Cup

During Appalachian's 43-year tenure in the Southern Conference, the Commissioner's and Germann Cups were awarded each year to the top men's and women's program in the league. The Commissioner's Cup was inaugurated in 1970. The Germann Cup, named for former conference commissioner Ken Germann, was first awarded in 1987. The Apps won the Commissioner's Cup 34 times, more than any other Southern Conference institution.

Facilities

Media

Audio and video of games and events can be accessed at the internet home o
Appalachian State Mountaineers athletics.
The Appalachian IMG Sports Network is a network of radio stations that can be heard across seven states in the southeast United States.

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 Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...

and have a heart of black and gold, you are Yosef. 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 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 rifle which was fired after every Appalachian

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, Appalachian State Mountaineers, color=white , list = {{Sun Belt Conference navbox {{Mid-American Conference navbox {{College sports in North Carolina, state=collapsed {{North Carolina Sports