BOONE, N.C. — With another academic year about to begin, there's still time to reflect on the accomplishments that Appalachian State Athletics, its teams, coaches and student-athletes are attempting to build upon in 2018-19.
From individual and collective achievements on the field and in the classroom, to the signs of growth in countless areas around campus, the 2017-18 year was filled with App State success stories.
The Mountaineers brought several trophies back to Boone, with the football team following a run to a second straight Sun Belt Conference title with a victory in the Dollar General Bowl, the wrestling team securing a third straight Southern Conference championship and an extremely young men's cross country team winning a Sun Belt title on its home course in Boone. The men's and women's basketball teams both won Sun Belt tournament games in New Orleans, while the field hockey team made the MAC tournament as a league newcomer and the men's golf team posted a breakthrough victory at the Patriot Intercollegiate.
Along the way, Appalachian State had 62 all-conference picks in its 20 sports, and there were 248 members of the spring 2018 honor roll as a product of Appalachian's student-athletes achieving a collective GPA of at least 3.0 for a 12th consecutive semester. The cumulative GPA of 3.12 after the 2017-18 academic year was the highest in App State's recorded history, and the Mountaineers also doubled the number of recorded community service hours from the previous year, increasing the total to 4,576 hours in 2017-18.
In support of the educational mission at Appalachian State, led by Director of Athletics
Doug Gillin, App State Athletics strives to protect and promote the safety, health and well-being of student-athletes, guide and support them in their quest for excellence and engage the University community in becoming part of the plan for success.
Thanks to the generous support and funding through A Mountaineer Impact, A Drive for Excellence, $33 million had been raised as of early June 2018. That number included 62 gifts or commitments of more than $10,000, and 1989 Appalachian alumnus Mark Ricks made a record $10 million commitment during a November announcement that was attended by student-athletes representing every University athletics program.
The new Holmes Center videoboard that greeted visitors for the well-attended event was just one facility enhancement of note, as Kidd Brewer Stadium added a new videoboard that was three times the size of its predecessor, making it the largest of its kind among the Group of Five conferences. App State wrestling Hall of Famer Wayne York contributed an $85,000 gift to help the program move toward a goal needed to make desired facility improvements in Varsity Gym, the volleyball team opened a new locker room in the Holmes Center and the golf programs unveiled two new Skytrak Golf Simulators in their Golf Performance Lab.
Plans are being finalized for the highly anticipated Kidd Brewer Stadium end zone project that is currently in the design phase, and the field hockey program is preparing for the opening of a new team facility at Brandon & Erica M. Adcock Field.
With regard to the safety, health and well-being of student-athletes,
Marisa Faibish was named App State's first Director of Performance Nutrition in October. App State restructured its sports medicine division, which is under the direction of Associate Athletics Director
Jon Mitchell, and 1990 Appalachian graduate
Anthony Glass returned home in May to become the Director of Strength & Conditioning for Olympic Sports.
While
JohnMark Bentley was a finalist for national coach of the year in wrestling and
Michael Curcio was named the men's cross country coach of the year, members of the Appalachian State community gathered in May to celebrate the retirement of track & field and cross country legend John Weaver, a 43-time conference coach of the year.
During his retirement ceremony, Weaver declared, "It's not about the championships won. It's about the champions who win them."
With the 2018-19 academic year about to start, App State will pursue more titles thanks to the dedicated student-athletes, coaches, administrators, staff members, program supporters and fans who make championship-level success possible.
