BOONE, N.C. — Even on the road, there's always plenty of visible Black and Gold.
With its national brand recognition and championship pedigree, Appalachian State Football draws big crowds at home and away from the friendly confines of Kidd Brewer Stadium.
After playing in front of 105,232 fans and a national audience on the Big Ten Network during an overtime loss at Penn State, the visiting Mountaineers have attracted the biggest home crowds of the season for Charlotte, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina. They have another road game Saturday at Texas State.
Fans in black and gold filled the temporary bleachers brought in for App State's first trip to Charlotte, which had a stadium-record 19,151 fans for the Mountaineers' 45-9 victory. That crowd exceeded the combined attendance from the two home games directly before and after App State's appearance.
The season high of 21,421 fans at Arkansas State was recorded when Appalachian State visited for a Tuesday night game in early October, and the No. 25 ranking accompanying the Mountaineers on their trip to Georgia Southern in late October helped draw a season-high crowd of 19,252 to Paulson Stadium. Meanwhile, with black and gold tents covering a tailgating lot adjacent to Coastal Carolina, which is roughly five hours from Boone, a season-high crowd witnessed App State's 23-7 victory in Conway, S.C.
The presence and noise of Appalachian fans grouped together near one end zone was noticeable when the Mountaineers rewarded their support with a fourth-quarter safety on the Chanticleers' teal turf.
The way in which Appalachian State fans travel, not just this year, but since the move up to FBS competition, has made the Mountaineers an attractive, coveted option with regard to selecting teams for bowl bids and scheduling future games.
Last season, for instance, App State's first game in San Marcos, Texas, drew the second-biggest home crowd for Texas State, surpassed only by a visit from rival UTSA. There were roughly 4,000 more fans at the App State game than the third-highest game, and App State's visit outpaced any other Sun Belt home game for Texas State by more than 5,000 fans.
Another conference game at Georgia State on Thanksgiving weekend attracted a highly visible number of fans from Appalachian, which is also about five hours away from Atlanta.
The examples continue on and on, like how Akron's largest home crowd of the 2016 season was Appalachian State's visit and the Mountaineers' game at Troy that year drew a season-high crowd that ranks seventh in school history, surpassed mostly by home openers (three of them) and/or games against Power Five Conference opponents (three of those).
The atmosphere in Boone receives high praise, as the Mountaineers have averaged 24,676 fans through three home games this season, but App State fans also do their part to fill opposing venues with Black and Gold.
