Each month, Appalachian State fans and supporters can reach out to Director of Athletics
Doug Gillin with questions regarding Appalachian State Athletics. Fans can reach out via email at
AskTheAD@appstate.edu.
Q: Are there any more scheduling updates coming for football?
The process of solidifying future football schedules is never-ending. We strive to reach agreements with some of the premier programs in the country and give our fans the exciting matchups they deserve while also trying to put our football program in the best position to compete for championships.
We recently announced a three-game series with South Carolina, which will come to The Rock in 2025, and a trip to Columbia rounds out the 2019 nonconference schedule. It's exciting to schedule games at a venue like Williams-Brice Stadium and welcome an SEC program to Boone for a game that will be a great experience for our student-athletes and fans.
We are committed to giving all of our student-athletes a first-class experience at Appalachian State, and one of the best ways to support that effort is through season tickets. We have established a goal of selling 7,500 season tickets this year, and your help is vital to the long-term success of App State Athletics.
Q: What is the latest on the end zone project?
The $38.2 million project for Kidd Brewer Stadium was approved by the UNC system's Board of Governors in December, and an architectural kickoff meeting is scheduled for early next month.
The next step is choosing a contractor, and that goes to the Board of Trustees and Board of Governors for approval. Construction on the end zone facility can begin once all of those steps are completed.
We look forward to sharing conceptual drawings and renderings when they become available, possibly this spring. With plans for the project to include athletic training rooms, meeting rooms, coaches' offices, locker rooms, a 12,000-square-foot dining and banquet space, a catering kitchen, study space, club-level seating, a ticket office, a retail store and other amenities, we're all eager to see what the facility will look like.
Q: How would you evaluate the current state of App State Athletics?
Our student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom and in their competitive environments. We completed our 11th straight semester with a cumulative GPA over 3.0, and our student-athletes are collaborating with their colleagues on campus to develop innovative ideas that go hand in hand with the mission of college athletics. Under Chancellor (Sheri) Everts' leadership, with the path and growth of the University, it's an exciting time to be at Appalachian State.
After the football and men's cross country teams won conference championships in the fall, we're proud that so many of our teams had strong winter seasons. Trophies are nothing new to coach
JohnMark Bentley's wrestling program, but even with a young and inexperienced group, they showed remarkable growth in winning a third straight Southern Conference title, dominating the Southern Conference Championships in Charleston and sending four wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in Cleveland.
It was great to see the progress of the men's basketball team, which received a No. 5 seed in the Sun Belt, and the women's basketball team with both winning games at the conference tournament in New Orleans. And congratulations to Ryan Hastings of the men's indoor track and field team for winning a Sun Belt title in the 800 meters.
Go Mountaineers!
