Appalachian State Mountaineers football
The Appalachian State Mountaineers football team represents Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. They play in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, East Division, since 2014. Home games are at Kidd Brewer Stadium, which opened in 1962 and seats about 30,000. The team’s colors are black and gold, the mascot is Yosef, and the fight song is “Hi Hi Yikas.”
The program began in 1928. In the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Appalachian State won three national championships in 2005, 2006, and 2007. A famous moment came in 2007 when they upset No. 5 Michigan, the first time an FCS team beat a ranked FBS team, which brought national attention.
Appalachian State moved to FBS in 2014. Since then, they have won multiple Sun Belt titles (2016–2019) and have appeared in several bowls, including dramatic playoff-style games in the conference and important bowls in the postseason. They defeated North Carolina in 2019 and won the 2019 New Orleans Bowl 31–17 over UAB. In 2022, they pulled off a 17–14 upset of Texas A&M, helping bring College GameDay to Boone.
The Mountaineers have strong regional rivalries, including with Georgia Southern, Marshall, and Coastal Carolina. A regional series with Western Carolina, known as the Old Mountain Jug, is also part of their history. Appalachian State has a rich coaching lineage, with leaders like Kidd Brewer, Sparky Woods, Jerry Moore, Scott Satterfield, Eliah Drinkwitz, and Shawn Clark. In December 2024, Dowell Loggains was named head coach.
Overall, Appalachian State has built a reputation for winning and for exciting football at home. They have earned more than 20 conference championships and a notable bowl pedigree, along with a history of memorable upsets and strong performances in the Sun Belt.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 10:47 (CET).