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Moving Up
Fans, players flock to Appalachian State, where success breeds success
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Published: August 25, 2008
Charlie Cobb, Appalachian State's athletics director, read a book last spring that told a story he could relate to.
"The guy that wrote it talked about making the big time where you are," Cobb said. "He talked about people thinking that the big time is the destination. But he said the big time is the journey.
"I think what we've been on the last few years at Appalachian State is an incredible big-time journey."
The book, Make the Big Time Where You Are, was written by Frosty Westering, a football coach who led Pacific Lutheran to four NAIA and NCAA Division III national titles.
Appalachian's "big time" is a journey that has included three straight NCAA Football Championship Subdivision national championships. And, according to Cobb and Coach Jerry Moore, the journey has been made possible for a variety of reasons.
"I really think it all starts right at the top," Moore said. "The chancellor, the athletic director -- they're the key. Then right down through the coaches and getting good players."
Cobb tipped his hat to Ken Peacock, a chancellor who has taken pride in the football program's accomplishments.
"Dr. Peacock gives us the ability to dream," Cobb said. "One of my favorite phrases is ‘I know how not to do it, tell me how we can do it.' I think that's the can-do attitude that he has that makes a difference. And certainly what Jerry has done and the wisdom and energy and experience he has is a wonderful thing to watch. Plus we have really good kids, and success has bred success."
The Mountaineers' football team has won 39 games over the past three seasons. The program has had just one losing season the past 23 years. Much of the reason for that has been stability in a coaching staff that has had relatively little turnover in Moore's 20 seasons. Five assistant coaches have been with the program 10 years or more.
"We don't change a lot," Moore said. "It's a credit to these coaches. There are about four of them that have had the opportunity to leave over the last two years. One of them would have just about doubled his salary. But they've stayed here. And it's expensive to live in Boone. Every one of those guys, wherever they could have gone, they would have been better off economically."
And part of the credit no doubt goes to Moore, who has been innovative. He was on the cutting edge of a move to a Spread offense that many teams now use.
"I don't think we would have done what we have if we had stayed with the I formation," said Moore, 69. "I think what we're doing on offense is pretty darn good and it fits the kids we recruit."
And, he said, his staff puts emphasis on finding quality players -- in terms of character and experience at winning as well as talent.
"We don't recruit a kid that everybody on our staff doesn't OK," Moore said. "I may see a guy and I'll say, ‘We really need this guy' but there may two other coaches that tell me they've got a better guy. Sometimes a coach can really get feelings hurt. But we listen to each other. If there's a problem with a guy, we pay attention. We're not going to bring in a guy and try to rehab him, that kind of deal.
"You've got 63 scholarships, but we've got about 100 players. When you've got 100 players every once in a while one of them will stump their toe -- do something they're regretful of -- but we haven't had a whole lot of that."
The process of being selective has no doubt been made easier as result of winning year after year. Three national titles and a heralded upset of Michigan last season has increased interest dramatically.
"There is increasing interest from kids wanting to play here," Moore said. "And we've been pretty good at getting kids that can run, and that are good kids. And I think our coaches coach good once we get them here. These coaches really try to get the best out of every player we bring in.
"You have to have talented players -- you can't coach that -- but you've got to have kids that have a desire and work ethic to get even better."
Wins on the field have been paralleled with growth at the field. Kidd Brewer Stadium is being expanded with plans for about 22,000 permanent seats and completion of a 100,000-square-foot athletics building by 2009.
"If you haven't been to Boone in a while, it's amazing what's going on with the stadium," Cobb said.
Fan support hit an all-time high last season. The Mountaineers led all FCS programs with an average attendance of 24,219 last season, and drew a record crowd of 28,802 for last year's home opener.
"People are excited about coming to Boone on Saturdays," Cobb said. "We've had great cooperation from the university in terms of things like parking and the town has embraced us. People are coming. They want to be part of it."
Cobb said that applications for enrollment at ASU have risen from about 10,000 three years ago to 15,500 this year. The operating budget for athletics has gone from about $7.5 million to almost $12 million in that span.
"The YOSEF Club this past year raised $2.3 million," Cobb said. "Three years ago we raised a half million. Our goal this year is to hit $2 million in ticket sales. Three years ago we sold $400,000. We've had a 280-percent increase in season-ticket sales. The demand is tremendous."
Cobb said that 82 percent of tickets sold are to people "from off the mountain," and that a significant sign of progress is that there are now fans that didn't go to ASU -- something that was rare in the past. He said that team apparel and souvenir sales have increased about five or six fold.
Cobb, whose background is in marketing, now has a brand he can market.
"The beauty of it all is that now people nationwide know how to pronounce Appalachian," Cobb said. "It's fun hearing the stories like someone going to a Cubs game in Chicago and seeing somebody else wearing an Appalachian shirt.
"That Michigan victory was the beacon moment for Appalachian. Expectations for our football program, and with our athletics in general, has changed. The culture has changed and so has the expectations for our university. It's exciting to think what will happen 10 years down the road."
What will happen?
"We're riding this wave right now," Cobb said. "We're going to finish the facility projects. We want to give all our coaches a chance from a scholarship-standpoint to be very competitive. We want to put together an overall championship program that mirrors the football program."
He said he isn't sure of a possibility of a new FCS "Super Conference" or a move to the BCS level, and that much depends on geographical location of opponents for any such move to be considered.
"In this day and age we're all having conversations about $4 gas prices and how that affects travel for your teams," Cobb said. "We're still in this growth cycle of trying to find what Appalachian needs to be successful in the Southern Conference or Whatever Conference.
"I think we've got some leeway to see where this current streak will take us. We still have some work to do. For now, we want to continue to grow and continue the journey."
■ Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at tbowman@wsjournal.com.
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