Friday night football returns to The Rock on Halloween when Armanti Edwards and the Mountaineers host Wofford at 8 p.m. on ESPN2 (photo courtesy of Keith Cline)

ASU-Wofford to be Nationally Televised on Halloween
by Appalachian Sports Information

April 28, 2008 - BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University’s home football game versus Wofford, originally scheduled for November 1, has been moved to Friday, October 31 to accommodate a live national broadcast on ESPN2. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at ASU’s Kidd Brewer Stadium.

There are numerous intriguing storylines that make the matchup appealing for ESPN2’s national audience. The contest pits the defending Southern Conference co-champions and is the first between the two teams since Appalachian had its 17-game winning streak snapped by Wofford, 42-31, last Sept. 22 in Spartanburg, S.C. ASU rebounded from the loss to Wofford to go 13-2 en route to its third-straight NCAA Division I national championship, while Wofford (9-4) earned the SoCon’s automatic postseason bid and advanced to the national quarterfinals.

The Mountaineers and Terriers are among the Carolinas’ and SoCon’s winningest programs in this decade. Appalachian has the best record of any Division I institution in North or South Carolina at 79-27 (.745) and the best SoCon record of any conference member (46-14 — .767) since the beginning of the 2000 season. Wofford ranks third overall in the Carolinas (62-32 — .659) and fourth in the SoCon (39-21 — .650) during the same stretch.

The nationally televised Friday night contest is Appalachian’s second in the past calendar year. Last Dec. 7, ASU defeated Richmond, 55-35, in the national semifinals before an ESPN2 national audience and a boisterous crowd of 24,140, the largest for a non-championship game in NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision — formerly Division I-AA) postseason history. Appalachian is 12-0 all-time when playing on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.

To assist Appalachian and the local community in accommodating what is expected to be a large crowd, Watauga High School has moved its home game versus Morganton Freedom to Thursday evening.

“We’re very appreciative to Watauga High School principal Angela Quick and athletics director Lavell Hall, as well as North Carolina High School Athletic Association executive director Charlie Adams, for their support in giving us the opportunity to showcase Appalachian, the High Country and North Carolina football to the nation,” ASU director of athletics Charlie Cobb said. “We’re looking forward to providing our fans a festive atmosphere combining Mountaineer football and traditional Halloween activities for the whole family.”

Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the ASU athletics ticket office at (828) 262-2079. Single game tickets do not go on sale until August 5 and due to high demand are expected to be extremely limited.