November 2009 is Appalachian State Month On AGS - Fact A Day!

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11/1

QUICK FACTS

GENERAL INFORMATION
Name of School: Appalachian State University
Location: Boone, N.C.
Founded: 1899
Enrollment: 16,600
Conference: Southern
Affiliation: NCAA Division I (Football Championship Subdivision)
Nickname: Mountaineers
Colors: Black and Gold
Stadium: Kidd Brewer
Capacity: 21,650
Surface: FieldTurf
Chancellor: Dr. Kenneth E. Peacock
Alma Mater: Mars Hill (1970)
Athletics Director: Charlie Cobb
Alma Mater: North Carolina State (1990)
Associate Athletics Director/Football: Jay Sutton
Alma Mater: Appalachian (1997)

FOOTBALL HISTORY
First Year: 1928
All-Time Record: 527-299-28 (79 seasons)
Southern Conference Record: 173-78-5 (37 seasons)
Southern Conference Championships: Nine
Years: 1986, ‘87, ‘91, ‘95, ‘99, 2005, ‘06, ‘07, ‘08
NCAA Division I Playoff Appearances: 16
Years: 1986, ‘87, ‘89, ‘91, ‘92, ‘94, ‘95, ‘98, ‘99, 2000, ‘01, ‘02, ‘05, ‘06, ‘07, ‘08
Record: 21-13
NCAA Division I National Championships: Three
Years: 2005, ‘06, ‘07
Bowl Games: Nine
Years: 1937, ‘38, ‘48, ‘49, ‘50 (2), ‘54 (2), ‘55
Record: 3-6
All-Americans: 74
Academic All-Americans: Six

TEAM INFORMATION
2008 Record: 11-3
2008 Southern Conference Record/Finish: 8-0/1st
Postseason: NCAA Division I Football Championship quarterfinals
Final 2008 National Ranking: No. 5 (Unanimous)
Basic Offense: Multiple Spread
Basic Defense: 4-3
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 45/15
Starters Returning/Lost: 18/8
Offensive Starters
Returning (7): LG Mario Acitelli, C Brett Irvin, RG Daniel Kilgore, TE Ben Jorden, WR CoCo Hillary, QB Armanti Edwards, RB Robert Welton
Lost (4): LT Brad Coley, RT Jonathan Bieschke, WR T.J. Courman, WR Josh Johnson
Defensive Starters
Returning (9): LE Lanston Tanyi, LT Malcolm Bennett, RT Anthony Williams, RE Jabari Fletcher, WLB D.J. Smith, MLB Jacque Roman, S Mark LeGree, LCB Cortez Gilbert, RCB Ed Gainey
Lost (2): BAN Pierre Banks, NKL Leonard Love
Specialists
Returning (2): PK Jason Vitaris, LS Wilson Fitchett
Lost (2): P Neil Young, HOL Hunter Stewart

COACHING STAFF
Head Coach: Jerry Moore
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1961
Record at Appalachian/Seasons: 178-73 (.709)/20
Career Record/Seasons: 205-120-2 (.630)/27
Defensive Tackles: Jason Blalock (Appalachian, 2003)
Offensive Line: Shawn Elliott (Appalachian, 1996)
Quarterbacks: Brad Glenn (Clemson, 1995)
Defensive Assistant: John Mark Hamilton (Appalachian, 2009)
Tight Ends: John Holt (Appalachian, 2008)
Linebackers: Dale Jones (Tennessee, 1988)
Running Backs: Chris Moore (Appalachian, 1999)
Defensive Ends/Recruiting Coordinator: Mark Speir (Clemson, 1990)
Wide Receivers: Lance Taylor (Alabama, 2004)
Defensive Coordinator/Def. Backs: John Wiley (East Texas State, 1984)

APPALACHIAN SPORTS INFORMATION
Assistant Athletics Director/SID (Football Contact): Mike Flynn
Associate Director: Charles Cochrum
Assistant Director: Courtney Burchett
ASU Athletics’ Website: www.GoASU.com Interns: Eric Bohannon, Patrick Moree

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11/2

2009 Schedule & Results

Date Opponent Location Time (ET) Results
Sat, Sep 05 East Carolina at Greenville, N.C. Noon 24 - 29 (L)
Sat, Sep 12 McNEESE STATE BOONE, N.C. 3:30 p.m. 35 - 40 (L)
Sat, Sep 26 SAMFORD (Hall of Fame/Family Day) * BOONE, N.C. 3:30 p.m. 20 - 7 (W)
Sat, Oct 03 The Citadel * at Charleston, S.C. 1 p.m. 30 - 27 (W) OT
Sat, Oct 10 N.C. CENTRAL (Homecoming) BOONE, N.C. 3:30 p.m. 55 - 21 (W)
Sat, Oct 17 Wofford * at Spartanburg, S.C. 3 p.m. 44 - 34 (W)
Sat, Oct 24 GEORGIA SOUTHERN (Black Saturday) * BOONE, N.C. 3 p.m. 52 - 16 (W)
Sat, Oct 31 Furman * at Greenville, S.C. Noon 52 - 27 (W)
Sat, Nov 07 CHATTANOOGA (Education Day) * BOONE, N.C. 3:30 p.m.
Sat, Nov 14 Elon * at Elon, N.C. 3 p.m.
Sat, Nov 21 WESTERN CAROLINA * BOONE, N.C. 3:30 p.m.
* Conference Games

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11/3

2008: APPALACHIAN STATE WINS 29th COMMISSIONER’S CUP

For the fourth-straight year and 29th time overall, Appalachian State University has won the Southern Conference Commissioner’s Cup, awarded annually to the conference’s top all-around men’s sports program.

On the strength of SoCon titles in football, cross country and indoor track and field, Appalachian compiled 87.5 points in the Commissioner’s Cup standings, easily out-distancing secondplace Chattanooga (70.5 pts.). ASU’s men’s teams finished in second place or higher in 5-of-10 sports and sixth or better in 8-of-10, leading to the fourth-highest points total in the 40-year history of the all-sports competition.

All 29 of Appalachian’s Commissioner’s Cup titles have come since 1977-78, giving it 29 of the past 32 all-sports crowns overall. ASU’s 29 Commissoner’s Cups are by far the most in SoCon history — William & Mary boasts the second-most at five, followed by East Carolina (four) and Chattanooga, East Tennessee State and Furman (one each).

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11/4

APP BEATS MICHIGAN

On Sept. 1, 2007, Appalachian State stunned the sports world by defeating college football’s all-time winningest program, the University of Michigan, 34-32, in front of 109,218 at U-M’s famed “Big House.” By beating the Wolverines, the nation’s fifth-ranked team in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll, Appalachian became the first NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision team to ever defeat a nationally ranked Football Bowl Subdivision team. The victory also prompted the AP to change its 71-year-old policy to allow all Division I teams, regardless of subdivision, to receive votes in its Top 25 poll.

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11/5

Appalachian is one of only two schools to boast winners of the Walter Payton Award (top FCS player), Buck Buchanan Award (top FCS defensive player) and Eddie Robinson Award (top FCS coach).

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11/6

THE HIGH COUNTRY

Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northwestern North Carolina, Appalachian State University has built a national reputation for providing outstanding academics. With a student/ faculty ratio of 17:1 and an average class size of 25, faculty members are able to take a personal interest in student progress, often becoming mentors, advisers, and friends - even tennis partners. That can only happen in a close-knit community.

Nestled at the base of Howard Knob, the University is located in downtown Boone, N.C. (year-round pop. 15,000), a small town which thrives as one of the Southeast’s premier tourism and outdoor recreation destinations. The nearby Blue Ridge Parkway and Pisgah National Forest provide a beautiful natural setting with unlimited possibilities for outdoor adventure.

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11/7

Appalachian is the only school from the state of North Carolina to ever win an NCAA football national championship and the only public institution in the state to win a national title on any level of college football.

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11/8

Appalachian is the only program to ever win three-consecutive NCAA Division I FCS/I-AA national championships and the only Division I program (FCS or FBS) in the past 62 years to claim three national titles in a row.

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11/9

Appalachian became only the fourth school in the Southern Conference’s 76-year football history to win four-consecutive conference championships when it claimed the 2008 title with a perfect 8-0 league record.

TEAMS WITH FOUR-STRAIGHT SoCon CHAMPIONSHIPS
(since the SoCon began officially crowning a football champion in 1933)
West Virginia 1953-56
Furman 1980-83
Georgia Southern 1997-2002
APPALACHIAN 2005-08

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11/10

"THE ROCK"

Kidd Brewer Stadium

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Despite the standard salutation afforded to all visitors to Kidd Brewer Stadium, The Rock has offered anything but a warm welcome to opponents since it opened as Conrad Stadium on Sept. 15, 1962.

One of the most picturesque settings in all of college football, Kidd Brewer Stadium also stakes claim to being one of the toughest venues in the nation for a visiting team to leave with a victory.

Entering the 2009 season, Appalachian boasted a 196-60-5 record all-time at Kidd Brewer Stadium, including wins in 42 of its last 44 home games.

In addition to Mountaineer victories, Appalachian faithful enjoy one of the nation’s premier gameday atmospheres at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Since the beginning of the 2005 season, ASU boasts an average regular-season home attendance of 23,324, a mark which comes in at more than 140 percent of KBS’s official seating capacity of 16,650 from 2005-07 and 20,150 in ‘08, when a 4,400-seat upper deck opened on the stadium’s east side.

ASU has led the nation in attendance each of the past two seasons. In 2008, a school-record 28,727 fans per game crammed into The Rock for six regular-season contests, including Appalachian’s first-ever crowds to top 30,000 — 30,718 for the home opener versus Jacksonville and 30,931 for a nationally televised Halloween night showdown with No. 3 Wofford. Reserved seating for all six regular-season home games sold out weeks in advance of the home opener.

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11/11

This year, Appalachian wraps up a three-year renovation of Kidd Brewer Stadium which makes it one of the nation’s finest football facilities. The renovations, which came as part of ASU’s $50 million athletics facilities enhancement campaign, include:

KID BREWER STADIUM COMPLEX
Located on the stadium’s west side, the 120,000-square-foot Kidd Brewer Stadium Complex includes:
• New football locker room, team area and meeting rooms
• New football coaches’ offices
• 9,000-square-foot strength and conditioning room
• 9,000-square-foot training/hydrotherapy room
• Student-athlete study hall, tutorial space and computer lab
• 18 luxury suites
• Yosef Club level with 600 club seats
• Spacious press box for media and game operations

SOFIELD FAMILY INDOR PRACTICE FACILIT Y
Adjacent to Kidd Brewer Stadium, the Sofield Indoor Practice Facility features an 80x60-yard FieldTurf surface which allows all 20 Mountaineer varsity teams to practice and train away from the High Country elements. The Sofield Facility officially opened in October 2007.

EAST SIDE SEATING EXPANSION
Completed prior to the 2008 season, the project included a 4,400-seat upper deck and concourse with expanded restroom and concessions facilities.

ADITIONAL RENOVATION S
• State-of-the-art widescreen videoboard in south end zone.
• A total of 200 new restrooms in the east concourse and south end zone that brings the facility up to code.
• Complete makover of existing restroom and concessions facilities on west concourse.
• Welcome to The Rock ticket plaza on stadium’s northeast side, including new ticket sales and will-call building and two-ton Welcome to The Rock display.
• Replacement of chain-link fencing that surrounded the stadium and playing surface with wrought-iron fencing and brick columns.
• Complete overhaul of all stadium entrances.

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11/12

• 44 of Appalachian’s last 81 games have been televised, including 20 on national networks.
• The national spotlight shined especially bright on ASU on Oct. 31, 2008, when ESPN2 televised the second-ranked Mountaineers’ 70-24 Halloween night rout over No. 3 Wofford. In addition to witnessing the Apps’ demolition of their closest SoCon rival in ‘08, a potential national-TV audience of over 93 million households saw Kidd Brewer Stadium filled to the brim with a raucous stadium-record crowd of 30,931

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11/13

Hi, Hi Yikas (ASU Fight Song)

http://www.music.appstate.edu/mband/sounds/yikas.mp3

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11/14

2009 Success

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Appalachian joins Georgia Southern, which won six-straight titles from 1997-2002, as the only SoCon programs to ever win as many as five-consecutive league championships. ASU's 19-straight SoCon wins are the fourth-most in the league's 88-year football history and the most since West Virginia's record 30 wins in a row from 1952-59. Armanti Edwards is the first starting quarterback to ever lead a squad to four-straight SoCon championships. ASU's SoCon title is its 10th overall and its FCS postseason berth is its 17th.

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11/15

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Battle for the Old Mountain Jug

Originated 1976
Trophy Series Appalachian State leads, 26–7
Current Holder Appalachian State

Appalachian State (26)
1976 1978 1979 1980 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008

Western Carolina (7)
1977 1981 1982 1983 1984 1998 2004

The Battle for the Old Mountain Jug is the name given to an American college football game played annually between two universities, Appalachian State and Western Carolina.

Resembling a moonshine jug, the Old Mountain Jug, the trophy awarded to the winner since 1976, is painted gold with Appalachian State's mascot, a Mountaineer, and Western Carolina's mascot, a Catamount, on opposing sides.

“The rivalry had natural origins. Appalachian and Western were the only public colleges in the western half of North Carolina for decades and made similar steps to their present status as comprehensive regional universities. Both basically recruited athletes from the same high schools in the early years and their graduates were, in large part, public school teachers. The alumni of the schools found themselves working together, which helped foster the rivalry.”

Prior to the game in 1976, the idea was pitched of heightening the long-standing rivalry. The jug idea was presented to alumni of both universities and the Sports Information Directors were charged with drumming up media exposure. The jug was donated by Roby Triplet, the manager of the Appalachian State Bookstore. It weighs approximately 25 pounds and is capped with a traditional cork. Dee Triplet, Roby's wife, painted the jug. Excluding minor touchups, the jug and its logos have not been altered since their creation.

In the mid-1980s, the series was mentioned as "the best football rivalry you've never heard of" by Sports Illustrated. The 1979 game was the second-ever live broadcast on the ESPN sports network.

The Appalachian and Western rivalry dates back to 1932 with the Mountaineers holding a 54–18–1 advantage over the Catamounts. The two teams have squared off for 63 consecutive years since the game was suspended for World War II, 1942–1945.

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11/16

PROGRAMS WITH WINNERS OF ALL THREE MAJOR FCS INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

• When Armanti Edwards won the 2008 Walter Payton Award, Appalachian became
only the second program to boast winners of each of the three major individual awards
presented annually in NCAA Division I FCS — the Payton Award (nation’s top player),
the Buck Buchanan Award (nation’s top defensive player) and the Eddie Robinson
Award (nation’s top coach).

• Montana is the only other program to have accomplished the feat since all three
awards have been in existence (the Buchanan Award, estabished in 1995, is the youngest
of the three awards).

APPALACHIAN
Payton Award — Armanti Edwards (2008)
Buchanan Award — Dexter Coakley (1995, 1996)
Robinson Award — Jerry Moore (2006)

MONTANA
Payton Award — Dave Dickerson (1995)
Buchanan Award — Kroy Biermann (2007)
Robinson Award — Joe Glenn (2000)

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11/17

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HEAD COACH JERRY MOORE

Alma Mater: Baylor, 1961
Hometown: Bonham, Texas

A bona fide legend in the college football coaching ranks, 2009 is Jerry Moore’s 21st year at the helm of Appalachian State University’s football program.

In 20 seasons at Appalachian, Moore has compiled a 178-73 record, making him the winningest coach in Southern Conference history. In 27 years as a head coach, he is 205-121-2, making him one of only four active NCAA Division I FCS head coaches with 200 career victories and 23rd among all NCAA Division I coaches (FCS or FBS) in all-time victories.

Despite the success that Moore has enjoyed at nearly every stop of his 48-year coaching career, the past four seasons have cemented his standing as one of the game’s all-time great mentors.

Moore led Appalachian to three-consecutive NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS — formerly Division I-AA) national titles from 2005-07, making ASU the first program to ever win three-straight championships at the FCS/I-AA level and the first Division I program, FCS or FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision — formerly Division I-A) to accomplish the feat in 61 years. Moore also led Appalachian to its fourth-straight SoCon title with a perfect 8-0 conference record in 2008, marking just the fourth time in the 76-year history of the venerable league that a team has won as many as four championships in a row.

Since the beginning of the title run in 2005, Moore’s Mountaineers have compiled a 50-9 record and etched themselves in the record books with a number of other “firsts.” Most notably, the Apps became the first institution from the state of North Carolina to ever win an NCAA football championship at any level when it defeated Northern Iowa, 21-16, in the 2005 Division I-AA national title game — a feat they repeated with wins over Massachusetts (28-17) and Delaware (49-21) in the 2006 and ‘07 NCAA Division I national championship tilts.

Additionally, Appalachian became a household name when Moore led his troops to perhaps the biggest upset in college football history, a 34-32 triumph over Michigan in the 2007 season opener. The victory over the Wolverines, college football’s all-time winningest program which came into the contest ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press’ Top 25 college football poll, marked the first time that an FCS team ever toppled a nationally ranked FBS opponent.

However, Moore’s success at ASU did not begin in 2005, as the Mountaineers’ triumphs over the past four seasons has enhanced Moore’s standing as one of the nation’s finest coaches rather than defined it.

Nineteen of Moore’s 20 squads at ASU have posted winning records, seven have won Southern Conference championships and 14 have advanced to postseason play.

He wasted no time in establishing a winning program, leading his very first Mountaineer squad to a 9-3 overall record and NCAA Division I-AA playoff berth in 1989.

Two years later, Moore hoisted the SoCon championship trophy for the first time when his Apps captured the conference title and accompanying postseason berth with six wins in seven league tilts in 1991.

The 1991 championship campaign sparked a run of four playoff bids in five years, capped by perhaps the most impressive regular season in school history in 1995. The ‘95 Mountaineers rolled to a perfect 11-0 regular-season record and, behind a defense that featured All-Americans Dexter Coakley and Matt Stevens, appeared to be a favorite to win the school’s first national championship. However, Stevens suffered a year-ending injury late in the regular season and ASU’s promising campaign came to an end when it stumbled against Stephen F. Austin in the second round of the playoffs.

Appalachian missed the postseason each of the next two years, but responded with a run of five-straight playoff appearances from 1998-2002. The stretch was highlighted by Moore’s third SoCon title in 1999 and an unlikely run to the 2000 national semifinals as the No. 13 seed in the 16-team field.

Another two-year absence followed the five-year string of postseason appearances but like the playoff-less 1996 and ‘97 seasons, the disappointing campaigns in 2003 and ‘04 have been followed by the most successful stretch in ASU’s and Moore’s storied gridiron history.

Altogether, Moore has racked up a SoCon-record 178 victories and coached 54 players that have earned all-America recognition a total of 76 times over the course of his two decades at ASU.

Moore is no stranger to individual awards himself, as he is a three-time American Football Coaches Association National Coach of the Year (2005, 2006, 2007) and the only Division I (FCS or FBS) mentor in the 74-year history of the award to win it three years in a row. He also won the 2006 Eddie Robinson Award (National Coach of the Year) from The Sports Network, is a five-time AFCA Regional Coach of the Year (1994, 1995, 2005, 2006, 2008) and record six-time SoCon Coach of the Year (1991, 1994, 1995, 2005, 2006, 2008).

In addition to his 20-year tenure at ASU, Moore served as head coach at North Texas (1979-80) and Texas Tech (1981-85) and spent 15 seasons on the staffs of legendary mentors Hayden Fry, Tom Osborne and Ken Hatfield at SMU (1965-72), Nebraska (1973-78) and Arkansas (1988). Moore began his coaching career with four seasons as an assistant at Corsicana H.S. in Texas (1961-64). He also enjoyed a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii in 2006 to serve as an assistant coach in the Hula Bowl all-star game.

Prior to embarking on his legendary coaching career, Moore made his mark as one of the nation’s premier players at Baylor from 1958-60. He ranked among the nation’s top 10 in receptions while serving as a team captain for the 11th-ranked Bears as a senior and graduated from BU with a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics in 1961.

A native of Bonham, Texas, Moore was an all-state performer on the gridiron and earned 14 varsity letters in four sports at Bonham H.S. He is a member of the Bonham Athletics Hall of Fame. Bonham honored one of its most prominent sons when it declared Feb. 18, 2008 to be “Jerry Moore Day” in the town of 9,900 located 75 miles northeast of Dallas.

An active and well-respected member of the American Football Coaches Association, Moore is also active in various church and civic groups. His sense of community is most evident in his “never say no” philosophy with regards to the numerous speaking engagements that he was asked to participate in. As many as five nights a week, Moore has traveled across the Carolinas, the Southeast and the nation to appear at as many of the banquets, clinics and other engagements that he was asked to speak at as possible.

A devoted family man, Moore is married to the former Margaret Starnes, also a Baylor alum. They have three children: Chris – ASU’s running backs coach – Scott and Elizabeth, and six grandchildren.

Playing Experience
1958-60: Baylor (wide receiver)

Coaching Experience
1961-64: Corsicana (Texas) H.S. (assistant coach)
1965-72: Southern Methodist (assistant coach) Head Coach: Hayden Fry
1973-78: Nebraska (assistant coach) Head Coach: Tom Osborne
1979-80: North Texas (head coach) 11-11 (.500) - two seasons
1981-85: Texas Tech (head coach) 16-37-2 (.309) - five seasons
1988: Arkansas (asst. coach/recruiting coordinator) Head Coach: Ken Hatfield
1989-present: Appalachian State (head coach) 178-73 (.709) - 20 seasons

Honors
AFCA National Coach of the Year: 2005, 2006, 2007
Eddie Robinson Award: 2006
AFCA Regional Coach of the Year: 1994, 1995, 2005, 2006, 2008
SoCon Coach of the Year: 1991, 1994, 1995, 2005, 2006, 2008

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11/18

QB ARMANTI EDWARDS AT A GLANCE

Reigning Walter Payton Award winner notable numbers (as of today).

13,862
Edwards’ career total offense yardage — a SoCon record and fourth in FCS history.

433
Passing yards versus SC State in 2008 NCAA Division I first round, an ASU record.

313
Rushing yards versus Richmond in 2007 NCAA Division I semifinal, the most by a quarterback in Division I, SoCon and ASU history.

288.8
Edwards’ career total offense yardage per game — currently ranks second in SoCon and 22nd in FCS history.

40-6
Edwards’ career record as starting quarterback.

33
Starts Edwards needed to become the SoCon’s all-time total offense leader.

31
Players in NCAA Div. I FCS history with 10,000 yards of total offense in a career.

23
Players in NCAA Div. I history with 4,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards in a career.

12
Players in NCAA Div. I history with 3,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards in a career.

8
Players in NCAA Div. I history with 5,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards in a career.

7
Players in NCAA Div. I history that have passed for 2,000 yards and rushed for 1,000 yards in the same season.

3
Players in SoCon history that have won threestraight Offensive Player of the Week awards (Edwards accomplished the feat Oct. 4-18, 2008).

2
Players in NCAA Div. I history that have passed for 8,000 yards and rushed for 4,000 yards in a career.

2
Quarterbacks in NCAA Div. I FCS history with 4,000 career rushing yards.

1
Players in NCAA Div. I history that have passed for 9,000 yards and rushed for 4,000 yards in a career.

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11/19

ACADEMIC SERVICES

Appalachian values academic excellence as well as athletic achievements and insists individuals are students first and athletes second. Academic services for Student-Athletes helps students prioritize academics by providing a comprehensive support system throughout the college career.

Support services offered to all ASU intercollegiate student-athletes include:
• orientation
• academic advising
• career and personal counseling
• free tutoring
• NCAA eligibility information
• priority registration
• athletic study halls
• progress reports

In addition, academic services attends to the needs of the student-athlete while traveling to road games with laptops that can be checked out by student-athletes to work on assignments while on the road.

Academic study space for student-athletes is an integral component of the new Kidd Brewer Stadium Complex that is under construction on the stadium’s west side and scheduled for completion in 2009. The building will feature ample space for study hall and tutoring as well as a computer lab for exclusive use by ASU student-athletes.

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11/20

SPORTS MEDICINE

Few programs play a role as essential to the continued success of the Mountaineers as sports medicine. ASU sports medicine provides preventative care that helps student-athletes avoid injury and postinjury treatment that allows student-athletes to return to competition as soon as possible. Under the direction of head athletic trainer Jason Robey and head football trainer Justin Smith, Appalachian sports medicine has four spacious facilities at its disposal in the new Kidd Brewer Stadium Complex, Owens Field House, Varsity Gym and the Holmes Center. Each training room is equipped with state-of-the art equipment to ensure the health and welfare of the student-athlete.

The sports medicine staff is bolstered by one of the finest athletic training education programs in the nation. The program has been in existence for more than 25 years and was one of the first NATA approved programs. It is accredited by CAATE.

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11/21

STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING

The mission of Appalachian strength, speed and conditioning is to assist athletes to reach their full athletic potential. This mission is attained by reducing the athlete’s potential for injury during competition and increasing an athlete’s overall athleticism and power.

The ASU speed, strength and conditioning program is designed to implement programs that fit the character of the coaches of each program. ASU’s staff, led by head coach Jeff Dillman, remains in a constant research mode to provide the best programs for each student-athlete’s needs. The staff incorporates a variety of training methods to ensure that an athlete reaches their full potential.

The variety of methods include:
• resistance training
• speed development
• sport-specific conditioning
• dynamic flexibility
• scientific analysis of the athlete to help better understand how to train the athlete

The scientific analyses range from VO2 testing to basal metabolic rate analysis and are done at the discretion of the strength and conditioning by ASU’s department of health, leisure and exercise science. This concept is the foundation of ASU’s speed, strength and conditioning program.

Appalachian’s weight room is currently located on the first floor of Owens Field House and a new 9,000-square-foot strength and conditioning facility is part of the new 100,000-square-foot Kidd Brewer Stadium complex being constructed on the stadium’s west side.

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11/22

ARMANTI EDWARDS INTERVIEWS

Due to the large volume of interview requests received each week for Appalachian quarterback Armanti Edwards, he will be available to answer questions on a teleconference each Tuesday morning during the 2009 season. Edwards’ weekly teleconference will be the only time that he is available via telephone to out-of-town media.

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11/23

APPVISION SCOREBOARD

This season marks the 11th for AppVision at Kidd Brewer Stadium, the Appalachian ISP Sports Network’s video replay system that brings fans even closer to the action of every play at The Rock.

To celebrate the 10th season of AppVision, ASU athletics unveiled a new video component to the AppVision board in 2008. The new video screen is mounted inside the old scoreboard frame, but features a theaterstyle widescreen that is nearly twice the size of the board that debuted as part of an AppVision overhaul in 2001.

Controlled by ASU athletics personnel from inside Kidd Brewer Stadium, AppVision provides live video and instant replay technology to Mountaineer fans in the stands, as well as features and segments for the whole family throughout the course of the game.

AppVision was the first scoreboard video display of its kind in the Southern Conference when it was introduced in 1999 and remains one of the few fully operational video boards in all of Division I FCS.

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11/24

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

Appalachian....................................... .......app-uh-LATCH-in

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11/25

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YOSEF

Yosef is mountain talk for “yourself,” with the idea being that if you are an Appalachian alumnus, fan or friend and have a heart filled with black and gold, you are Yosef.

In preparing the layout for the 1942 edition of Appalachian’s annual yearbook, The Rhododendron, editor James Storie and associate editor Elizabeth South (who later married in June 1942) were talking with freshman Lloyd S. Isaacs and Bill Mitchell of Observer Publishing about being one picture short of a perfectly balanced annual.

The result of their chatter was the creation of a character named Dan’l Boone Yoseff from Appalachian. He was presented as a member of the 1941-42 freshman class.

Each member of the foursome deflected credit for the creation of Yosef. Although called the Mountaineers, Appalachian had no mascot prior to Yosef. There were no plans in 1942 for Yosef to continue and evolve into what he is today.

His initial publication was such a hit that students went so far as to want to order picture packages of Yosef instead of pictures of themselves. Undoubtedly, the caricature, the name and the idea appealed to Appalachian students.

There is a controversy as to where the original image of Yosef came from, and who was responsible for the picture. Accounts mention having a bookstore staff member generate a sketch, but an artist in Charlotte has also been credited with the creation of the mountain man.

The next mention of the fictional character came during the years of 1946-49 when Yoseff served as a guest editorial writer in the student newspaper (The Appalachian). He wrote using mountain colloquialism with a penchant for misspelled words.

Yoseff dropped the second “f” and became Yosef in January of 1947. On Nov. 22, 1947, the University sponsored a Mr. and Mrs. Yosef contest. Skills needed for the titles included hog and chicken calling.

The first mention of Yosef as the mascot of the Mountaineers is a picture in the March 12, 1948 edition of The Appalachian. The photo tabbed him as a perennial freshman.

In 1949, John Geffrich, a 48-year-old World War II veteran, was one of the first Yosef mascots.

Geffrich helped establish a lineage of male undergraduates portraying a bearded man with coveralls, a pipe and a straw hat. The addition of a musket and a black-and-gold pick-up truck called the “Yosef Mobile” came along through the generations of Yosef.

In the early 1980s opinions began to sound that Yosef was too ugly and that his appearance needed to be altered. The need for a more dignified mascot, away from the slouchy, flea-bitten character, was evident. Prior to the 1983-84 academic year, a committee comprised of university students, staff and faculty members modernized Yosef’s look through a cartoon-type head and body.

Responsible for providing school spirit, Yosef is a member of the cheerleading squad. He was an integal part of Appalachian’s 1986 and 1989 UCA Division I and 2008 Speed Squad, Inc. Large Squad national championships. Yosef goes to mascot instructional camp with the cheerleaders each summer.

2009: A new Yosef debuts on the ASU sideline.

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11/26

WALTER PAYTON Award Winners
National Player of the Year

2008 - Armanti Edwards, QB

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11/27

Buck Buchanan Award Winners
National Defensive Player of the Year

1995 - Dexter Coakley, LB
1996 - Dexter Coakley, LB

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11/28

2005 National Champions

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Head Coach Jerry Moore and Chancellor Ken Peacock hoist the National Championship trophy (Photo- Leila Jackson, ASU Athletics)

Marques Murrell forced a fumble and Jason Hunter returned it for a touchdown with 9:14 remaining in the game to give Appalachian State University the NCAA Division I-AA National Championship with a 21-16 victory over Northern Iowa on Friday night at Finley Stadium.

The Mountaineers trailed for all but 4:58 of the contest until Hunter's third touchdown of the season in the final period. All-Americans Hunter and Murrell led the Appalachian comeback from their defensive end positions as Hunter compiled 10 total tackles, three for loss, a fumble recovery and two sacks and Murrell added nine total tackles, five-and-a-half for loss, two forced fumbles and two quarterback sacks.

Quarterback Richie Williams also helped engineer the Mountaineers' comeback by courageously battling through an ankle injury to come off the bench and throw for 129 yards in the second half of the win.

Sophomore Trey Elder started the contest and registered 123 yards through the air in the first half, but the ASU offense was hindered by three turnovers and trailed 16-7 at the half.

Kevin Richardson scored both of Appalachian’s offensive touchdowns with a five-yard scamper in the second quarter and a one-yard jaunt that brought ASU within two points at 16-14 with 6:05 to go in the third period. In the process, the sophomore tied Hall of Famer John Settle's Appalachian single-season record of 21 touchdowns in a season.

Things didn't start out nearly as well as they finished for the Mountaineers, as Northern Iowa scored on its opening possession with a 50-yard field goal by Brian Wingert. The longest kick in I-AA Championship Game history capped off a nine-play, 41-yard drive.

On the ensuing kickoff, UNI recovered an Appalachian fumble and doubled its advantage to 6-0 just 5:15 into the game on a 26-yard field goal by Wingert.

UNI would keep the six-point lead until Richardson carried the ball in from five yards out to put ASU up 7-6 after the extra point by Julian Rauch.

However, the Panthers capitalized on another Mountaineer turnover, scoring from two yards out on a run by David Horne after picking off an Elder pass on ASU’s 41 yard line. The Panthers added another tally before halftime on Wingert’s third field goal of the half, this one from 31 yards out with 1:09 left on the clock to give the Panthers a 16-7 advantage.

Despite Richardson's second touchdown of the game midway through the third quarter, ASU continued to trail until less 10 minutes remained in the ballgame, when Murrell and Hunter elevated their play to another level.

Wreaking havoc in the backfield like they did for much of the evening, Murrell sacked Panther quarterback Eric Sanders on the UNI 15 to force a fumble that Hunter scooped up and carried to paydirt for his third touchdown of the season.

Hunter and Murrell made sure the 21-16 advantage stood up as Murrell forced a fumble and Hunter sacked Sanders to force a punt on UNI’s next possession.

The Appalachian defense came up big once again on the Panthers last possession of the game by holding the Panthers inside their own 30 yard line and forcing a punt with three minutes left.

The Williams-led ASU offense rattled off a pair of first downs on its final possession to ensure that UNI didn't have another chance to score. Thousands of the very pro-ASU crowd of 20,236 stormed the field as Williams took a knee on the final play to celebrate the school’s first-ever national championship.

In his final game in the Black and Gold, wide receiver Zach Johnson enjoyed a career day with six catches for 101 yards. Fellow senior Brandon Turner chipped in with four receptions for 78 yards, while Richardson led the Apps on the ground with 51 yards and the two scores.

Appalachian ends its historic season with a 12-3 overall record, tying the school record for wins in a season set by the 1995 squad that went 12-1. Northern Iowa finishes its season at 11-4 overall after capturing a share of the Gateway Football Conference title.

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11/29

2006 National Champions

Appalachian State defeats UMass to repeat as I-AA champs

Kevin Richardson's fourth touchdown sealed Appalachian State's 28-17 victory over Massachusetts on Friday night. The former walk-on finished with 179 yards.

His third touchdown put the Mountaineers (14-1) ahead 21-14 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. He added another for 2 yards with 1:51 left that gave him the I-AA record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 30.

"Whenever I've got an opportunity to do something, I try to give it all I've got," Richardson said. "If I didn't get the ball the whole game, I'd still be happy as long as we won that championship."

Appalachian State became the first team to win consecutive crowns in six years.

The Minutemen (13-2), hoping to win their first title since 1998, cut it to 21-17 on Chris Koepplin's 42-yard field goal with 8:46 left.

Appalachian State then took 6:46 off the clock as Richardson ran 10 times in a long drive before capping it with his last touchdown.

"We just kept doing what we've been doing all year," Richardson said.

UMass got the ball back, but Appalachian State's Corey Lynch had an interception to seal it.

Appalachian State is the first team to take home the newly named NCAA Division I Football Championship. The NCAA is phasing out the terms Divisions I-A and I-AA that applied to football. I-A is now the Football Bowl Subdivision, while I-AA is the Football Championship Subdivision.

Georgia Southern was the last team to win consecutive crowns in 1999 and 2000.

"Any time you win the first one, you don't know what to expect," Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore said. "It wasn't about the trophy. It was about beating UMass and playing at our very best. The trophy is a product of playing our very best. Both trophies and both championships have their place."

The large contingent of Appalachian State fans, who didn't have to travel far from Boone, N.C., swarmed the field as the final seconds ticked off the clock and celebrated as fireworks went off.

"It was like playing at home almost," Moore said.

Appalachian State was ranked fourth nationally in rush offense, and Richardson came into the game with 1,497 yards on the ground.

Richardson broke the TD record of 29 set by Colgate's Jamaal Branch in 2003. Richardson hurt his shoulder during last week's semifinal game, but he didn't appear to have any problems Friday.

"When I'm on the field, I'm a whole different person. I forget about stuff like that," he said.

The Mountaineers' freshman quarterback, Armanti Edwards managed the game well and finished 12-of-19 for 146 yards. He also ran 15 times for 81 yards, and Appalachian State totaled 285 yards on the ground.

"It was no mystery coming in. We knew we had our hands full," UMass coach Don Brown said. "I thought obviously Richardson is a good back with great speed and is even better in person."

Richardson's counterpart for UMass, Steve Baylark, tried to carry the Minutemen. He ran for 133 yards on 24 carries.

"I knew I'd give it my all, and I know the team felt the same way," Baylark said. "We definitely didn't want to change our game plan. We came in here expecting to run, and we did."

UMass tied it at 14 in the third quarter on Liam Coen's 17-yard pass to Brad Listorti, who tiptoed a few yards down the sideline to stay in bounds and score.

The Minutemen got the ball after James Ihedigbo intercepted a pass by Edwards at the UMass 19, stopping Appalachian State's first prolonged drive of the second half.

UMass had not allowed an opponent to score in the second half during the playoffs, but Appalachian State responded with a drive that lasted nearly 6 minutes and was capped by Richardson's 4-yard run with 13:22 remaining.

The Minutemen then had to settle for a field goal. Appalachian State got the ball back and scored to put the game away.

UMass scored on its first possession when Matt Lawrence ran through the pile a yard for a touchdown.

Appalachian State tied it at 7 at the end of the first quarter on Richardson's 45-yard touchdown run. He ran up the middle and then veered left toward the end zone to avoid defenders.

Richardson put the Mountaineers ahead 14-7 on his 6-yard scamper with 49 seconds left before halftime.

The drive started after a young woman wearing an Appalachian State jersey and holding a big yellow foam finger ran onto the field during a television timeout. She was escorted away by security.

The attendance was announced at 22,808, a sellout and overflow crowd and the largest for the I-AA title game since it moved to Chattanooga in 1997.

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11/30

2007 National Champions

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Head coach Jerry Moore lifts the national championship hardware following ASU's 49-21 rout over Delaware (Photo courtesy of Tim Davin/ASU creative services)

For the third-consecutive season, the Appalachian State University Mountaineers are kings of NCAA Division I Football with a 49-21 rout of Delaware. With the victory over the Blue Hens, Appalachian sealed a dream season that started with an upset for the ages and finished with a third national championship ring.

Senior Kevin Richardson (Elizabethtown, N.C./East Bladen) led the way for Appalachian with 111 yards rushing and 27 yards receiving. The senior tailback also had a touchdown on the ground and by air. Sophomore quarterback Armanti Edwards (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood) had 198 yards passing, 89 yards rushing and three passing touchdowns.

Richardson opened the scoring with a 19-yard touchdown reception on a screen pass from Edwards. Delaware responded by driving the ball to the Appalachian one-foot line where the Mountaineers stonewalled the Blue Hens with an impressive defensive stand.

On the ensuing possession, sophomore Devon Moore (Mebane, N.C./Cedar Ridge) extended the lead to 14-0 by breaking off a 46-yard scamper for pay dirt. The touchdown run capped a five play, 99-yard drive to set an Appalachian State school record for longest scoring drive.

Appalachian extended the lead to 21-0 with 10:22 remaining in the second quarter as freshman tight end Daniel Kilgore (Kingsport, Tenn./Dobyns-Bennett) recovered a Richardson fumble in the endzone for the touchdown as the Mountaineers scored on their first three drives of the game.

Delaware broke into the scoring column with only 1:10 remaining in the first half as quarterback Joe Flacco found Mark Duncan in the corner of the endzone for a 36-yard touchdown reception. The play was originally ruled incomplete, but upon official review, was overturned and ruled a touchdown to cut the ASU lead to 21-7.

Appalachian answered the score 26 seconds later as Edwards found senior Dexter Jackson (Dunwoody, Ga./Dunwoody) for a 60-yard TD pass. The play was Edward's fourth touchdown pass to Jackson for more than 59-yards this season. The Mountaineers carried the 28-7 lead into halftime.

ASU opened scoring in the third quarter when Edwards found Richardson again with 4:56 remaining in the quarter to extend the Appalachian lead to 35-7. Delaware countered on their next drive with a 12-play, 64-yard march that culminated with Omar Cuff's first touchdown of the game to cut the ASU lead to 35-14.

Richardson then ran the lead to 42-14 with a 6-yard touchdown jaunt with 6:02 remaining in the game. The score was his second of the game and first on the ground. Appalachian's all-time leading rusher closed his career with 4,797 yards on the ground.

Senior Trey Elder (Duncan, S.C./Byrnes) put the icing on the cake by squirting free for a 53-yard touchdown scamper to give ASU a 49-14 lead. A 75-yard touchdown run from Duncan with 3:18 left accounted for the final 49-21 tally.

POSTGAME NOTES - Appalachian wins its third consecutive NCAA Division I National Title, the first in FCS/I-AA history. ASU is the first NCAA Division I program to win three consecutive national titles since Army accomplished the feat in 1944, 1945 and 1946. - Armanti Edwards finishes the season with 1,948 yards passing and 1,587 yards rushing. Edwards falls just short of becoming the first player in NCAA history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards twice in his career. - Corey Lynch finishes his career with 52 pass breakups, capturing the NCAA Division I record for career passes defended. - The attendance of 23,010 set a Finley Stadium record and is the largest neutral site NCAA Division I Championship Game

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ENOUGH SAID

Thanks for November 2009 App St fans!