Appalachian State shocked the college football world over the weekend, and ESPN will be taking its popular college road show “College Gameday” to the school’s campus this weekend.
But what do you know about Appalachian State?
After a historic 17-14 win over No. 6 Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, here are a few facts about the university.
Where is Appalachian State located?
Appalachian State University is located in Boone, North Carolina, which has a population of 19,486, according to the World Population Review. The university is tucked into the Blue Ridge Mountains and is part of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina system, according to the university website.
These campuses are all located from the mountains to the coast with different academic focuses for their students to choose from.
Appalachian State was founded in 1899 by Dr. B.B. Dougherty and his brother D.D. Dougherty in order to help children in North Carolina’s “lost provinces” gain learning and an education without having to travel to different parts of the country, according to the school’s website. The school was formerly known as Watauga Academy before it became a university.
Appalachian State facts
There are 20,641 students enrolled at Appalachian State, according to the fall enrollment records on the school’s website. The average class size is about 25 students per class with one graduate school, one music school and six undergraduate colleges.
There are 17 total sports teams with more than 20 club and 80 intramural sports for students to participate in.
App State’s football team plays in the Sun Belt Conference. They play home games at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
The Mountaineers are coached by Shawn Clark, who gets paid 10 times less than Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher, according to ESPN.
Disrespecting the Mountaineers?
Appalachian State was a major underdog in its matchup against the Aggies of the SEC. And a viral clip emerged of a “yell leader” heckling Appalachian State during Texas A&M’s “Midnight Yell” practice tradition.
Sports Illustrated reported that during the latest version of the long-running tradition of gathering students and fans at the stadium to get them excited for the upcoming game, “Head Yell Leader” Zach Cross threw some jabs at the opposing team.
“I’m not gonna lie to y’all, I had to google this team to make sure they were even real,” Cross said. “I just hope that these guys can get here tomorrow all right, because I know for a fact that half of their football team can barely even read the name on their jerseys, let alone, read a map.”
Several media outlets criticized the clip, with one calling it an “insulting, insensitive and cringe-worthy speech about the Mountaineers.”
Those Mountaineers got the last laugh, however. They were paid $1.5 million to play the game, and came away with a historic win.
This is actually the second time the Mountaineers have beaten a top 10 team. Appalachian State beat No. 5 Michigan in 2007 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.