History of the Mountaineers
The Appalachian State Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, United States. The Mountaineers competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and were members of the Southern Conference (SoCon) between 1972 and 2014. On July 1, 2014, Appalachian State moved to the Sun Belt Conference. Appalachian State fields varsity teams in 17 sports, 7 for men and 10 for women. The football team competes in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly I-A, due to the transition to the Sun Belt. The wrestling team remains in the Southern Conference because the Sun Belt does not sponsor the sport. In field hockey, another sport not sponsored by the Sun Belt, Appalachian State joined the Mid-American Conference for the 2017 season after playing two seasons as an independent following the demise of its former league, the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference (NorPac). Appalachian State has Sun Belt rivalries with all East Division schools (Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Troy, and South Alabama). Appalachian State's main Sun Belt rivals are Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, and Louisiana, and a rekindled rivalry from the days in FCS with future Sun Belt member Marshall.
Appalachian State's football program has been successful, with the Mountaineers winning three straight national championships in 2005, 2006, and 2007. They are the only team in North Carolina, public or private, to win an NCAA national championship in football. The Mountaineers are the first FCS team to win three straight national championships since the creation of Division I-AA in 1978 and are the first Division I program to win three consecutive national championships since Army accomplished the feat in 1944, 1945, and 1946.
Football home games are played at Kidd Brewer Stadium, while basketball, volleyball, and indoor track and field events are held at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center. The school's baseball team plays at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
On May 26, 2020, Appalachian State announced that it would discontinue the men's soccer, indoor track and field, and tennis varsity teams immediately due to budget cuts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
College Sports Established
1899
Location
Boone, North Carolina
College Name
Appalachian State University
Collegiate History
1973 - Present / NCAA Division I
1971 - 1973 / University Division of the NCAA
Conference History
2014 - Present / Sun Belt Conference
1971 - 2014 / Southern Conference
Nickname
Mountaineers - Yosef is mountain talk for "yourself," with the idea being that if you are an App State alumnus, fan or friend and have a heart filled with black and gold, you are Yosef.
In preparing the layout for the 1942 edition of App State's annual yearbook, The Rhododendron, editor James Storie and associate editor Elizabeth South (who later married in June 1942) were talking with freshman Lloyd S. Isaacs and Bill Mitchell of Observer Publishing about being one picture short of a perfectly balanced annual.
The result of their chatter was the creation of a character named Dan'l Boone Yoseff from Appalachian. He was presented as a member of the 1941-42 freshman class.
Each member of the foursome deflected credit for the creation of Yosef. Although called the Mountaineers, App State had no mascot prior to Yosef. There were no plans in 1942 for Yosef to continue and evolve into what he is today.
His initial publication was such a hit that students went so far as to want to order picture packages of Yosef instead of pictures of themselves. Undoubtedly, the caricature, the name and the idea appealed to App State students.
There is a controversy as to where the original image of Yosef came from and who was responsible for the picture. Accounts mention a bookstore staff member generating a sketch but an artist in Charlotte has also been credited with the creation of the mountain man.
The next mention of the fictional character came during the years of 1946-49 when Yoseff served as a guest editorial writer in the student newspaper (The Appalachian). He wrote using mountain colloquialism with a penchant for misspelled words.
Yoseff dropped the second "f" and became Yosef in January of 1947. On Nov. 22, 1947, the University sponsored a Mr. and Mrs. Yosef contest. Skills needed for the titles included hog and chicken calling.
The first mention of Yosef as the mascot of the Mountaineers is a picture in the March 12, 1948 edition of The Appalachian. The photo tabbed him as a perennial freshman.
NCAA Championships
Baseball 0
Men's Basketball 0
Women's Basketball 0
Football 0
Soccer 0
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.