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It’s Preseason!

Mountaineer Football Is One Month Away

Story by Anna Oakes

cover of 2008 media guide The period from January to July is terribly difficult for the college football fanatic, but now that August is here, hope is on the way.

The Appalachian State University Mountaineer football team will practice twice a day in August in preparation for a 2008 season that begins with a trip to Death Valley, home of the Louisiana State University Tigers. The contest pits ASU, the defending Football Championship Subdivision (I-AA) champions, against the defending Bowl Subdivision champions on Saturday, August 30, at 4:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time).

ASU returns 13 starters—five on offense, six on defense on two on special teams—from the 2007 team that went 13-2 overall and tied Wofford for the Southern Conference championship. They include junior quarterback Armanti Edwards, a strong candidate for this year’s Walter Payton Award that is awarded to the best offensive player in the subdivision.

For all of you suffering from a serious case of football deprivation—and even those who are just mildly afflicted—here’s some information about 2008 tickets, tailgating, Fan Fest and more.

Single-Game Tickets On Sale August 5

The days of walking up to the stadium and buying a ticket on the day of the game are long gone at Appalachian, at least for as long as ASU’s success continues. Fans looking to buy tickets to one or more home games this year should mark Tuesday, August 5, on their calendars—the date single-game tickets go on sale at the ASU box office and online, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Single-game tickets have increased to $27 for adults and $17 for kids ages 3 to 12.

In addition, full- and half-season ticket packages are still on sale. A full-season ticket is $160 and a half-season package is $80. Discounts are available for senior citizens, ASU faculty and staff and youth.

According to ASU Athletic Ticket Manager Steve White, season ticket sales are up nearly 90 percent over last year.

“Without a doubt, it has been an unbelievable spring and summer with season tickets selling at an astronomical rate,” White said.

With the 3,500-seat expansion of the East side stands, single-game tickets for the general public are still available, but “how long these tickets last is anybody’s guess,” he said.

ASU received a “substantial” number of tickets for the LSU game on Friday, August 30, but the only tickets remaining are for sale to currently enrolled ASU students. The student sale will take place on Monday, August 25, at 9:00 a.m. A large number of Yosef Club members and season-ticket holders requested tickets to the LSU game.

Also in high demand are tickets to the away game at James Madison University on Saturday, September 20. JMU nearly defeated ASU in the first round of the playoffs last year. White said because of JMU’s small stadium, ASU received a small allotment of tickets for that game, and “it remains to be seen if we will have tickets available to the general public on August 5.”

So Steve, will Kidd Brewer Stadium break 30,000 this year?

“Without a doubt, we’ll have some of the biggest crowds we’ve ever had at Kidd Brewer Stadium in the fall,” he said. “We will certainly approach that number if we don’t break it.”

New Seats at Kidd Brewer Stadium

The steel is up and new bleacher seats are going in on a new upper deck on the east side of Kidd Brewer Stadium. Construction workers are putting in a lot of grueling hours to get the job done in time for the ASU Mountaineers’ first home game of the season on Saturday, September 6.

Approved by the ASU Board of Trustees just last December, the expansion project had originally been projected for an increase of 4,400 new seats to the visitor’s side of the stadium, but now the increase figures to be about 3,500, increasing the stadium’s total seating capacity to 20,150.

The east side expansion at Kidd Brewer Stadium is part of a continuing project that will also include a new west side stadium complex with 18 luxury suites, 500 club seats and spacious Yosef Club and Chancellor’s Box areas. Once this portion of the stadium expansion is completed, capacity will be around 22,000.
Last year, regular-season home attendance at Kidd Brewer averaged 27,140, peaking around 28,000.

Tailgating Changes

ASU has made a couple of changes to its tailgating zones in the offseason.
The Greenwood parking lot, located on Bodenheimer Drive beside the chancellor’s house, has traditionally been a first-come, first-serve lot open to the general public for parking and tailgating on game days.

Effective this year, 126 spaces in Greenwood lot will be reserved for ASU students—distributed through a lottery system administered by the Student Government Association—and the remaining spaces will go to Yosef Club athletics donors, according to The Appalachian, ASU’s student newspaper.

In addition, the Family Fun Zone, an alcohol-free tailgate area, has moved to the new Duncan Plaza behind Duncan Hall on campus. Located on the site of the first football field on Appalachian’s campus, the area offers a wide-open space for families to enjoy the game day experience, ASU’s tailgating website states.

The area features inflatable rides and appearances by Yosef and student-athletes. Fans can also stop by to make a creative sign and get their faces painted black and gold.

For more info, contact Samantha Stevens in the ASU Athletics Marketing and Promotions office at 828-262-3080.

Preseason Picks—ASU No. 1 in SoCon

Last week, the Southern Conference coaches unanimously predicted that ASU will win a fourth-straight SoCon championship. The coaches also named 11 Mountaineers to preseason all-conference teams.

SoCon Coaches’ Poll
1. ASU
2. Elon
3. Wofford
4. Georgia Southern
5. Furman
6. The Citadel
7. Chattanooga
8. Western Carolina
9. Samford

Preseason All-Conference Teams

In addition to the 11 ASU players selected for preseason All-Conference teams, So Con coaches also selected junior quarterback Armanti Edwards as the preseason Offensive Player of the Year and senior linebacker Pierre Banks as the preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

First Team All-Conference
QB Armanti Edwards
RB Devon Moore
OL Brad Coley
OL Mario Acitelli
WR CoCo Hillary (also earned recognition as return specialist)
DE Tony Robertson
DT Anthony Williams
LB Pierre Banks
DB Leonard Love

Second Team All-Conference
DB Cortez Gilbert
LB Jacque Roman

Fan Fest at Kidd Brewer August 16

Appalachian’s annual Fan Fest will take place on Saturday, August 16, at Kidd Brewer Stadium. The festivities begin at 4:00 p.m., and the ASU football team will hold its final intrasquad scrimmage of the preseason at 6:00 p.m. Admission is free.

Activities prior to the scrimmage include autographs and pictures with Mountaineer players and coaches, a youth skills clinic led by Appalachian players, face painting by ASU cheerleaders, an inflatable park for kids and an exclusive sale of uniforms and travel gear previously worn by Mountaineer athletes. The latest in new ASU apparel from the ASU Bookstore will also be available to purchase.

Want To Go?

Date: Saturday, August 16
Time: 4:00 p.m. activities/6:00 p.m. scrimmage
Location: Kidd Brewer Stadium
Cost: Free

2008 Schedule

Date - Opponent - Location - Time TV Coverage

Saturday, August 30 at LSU Baton Rouge, La. 5:00 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
September 6 JACKSONVILLE (National Champions Day) 3:30 p.m.
September 20 at James Madison Harrisonburg, Va. 7:00 p.m.
September 27 PRESBYTERIAN (Family Weekend/Open House/Hall of Fame Day 7:00 p.m.
October 4 THE CITADEL (Homecoming) 3:00 p.m. (SportSouth)
October 11 at Samford Birmingham, Ala. 3:30 p.m.
October 18 at Georgia Southern Statesboro, Ga. 3:00 p.m. (SportSouth)
October 25 FURMAN (Black Saturday/Education Day) 3:30 p.m.
October 31 WOFFORD (Friday Night Trunk or Treat) 8:00 p.m. (ESPN2)
November 8 at Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tenn. 2:00 p.m.
November 15 ELON (Scholar Ring Day) 3:30 p.m.
November 22 at Western Carolina Cullowhee, N.C. 3:00 p.m. (SportSouth)