App Fans

[Rekdiver]

First: our students (absent some of the profanity) really show up for games.
Second: on a work night thousands of us traveled from Piedmont cities to the game

The home side looked about 80% filled but Miller Hill was jammed. It was an impressive sight for a Tuesday night.

Few if any great programs go season after season without a decline. I will stick with my team and continue my level of fan and financial support. I hope all of you do as well.

[BambooRdApp]

Agreed. Able to see both sides from the NEZ. Great turnout on a Tuesday. This was the loudest the student section has been this season... especially when Beach Chickens had the ball. I will Ride or Die with App. St. win, lose or draw...

[proasu89]

Agreed. Able to see both sides from the NEZ. Great turnout on a Tuesday. This was the loudest the student section has been this season... especially when Beach Chickens had the ball. I will Ride or Die with App. St. win, lose or draw...

Draw, you say. I’ll take that deal right now.

[biggie]

Can’t see the students continuing the large turnout without wins though. Guess we’ll see.

[BallantyneApp]

Can’t see the students continuing the large turnout without wins though. Guess we’ll see.

We may not win them, but at least the games are exciting that will keep people coming out through the rest of the year if we end up six and six or missing a bowl next year might be a little spotty with no Marquee home game

[TractorApp]

If we are 7-5 or worse with the same coach, support and attendance will fall off a cliff. With that same record and a new exciting coach, you infuse enthusiasm into the fan base and team and we start climbing back. I trust that DG is not stupid and that he understands the realities of the situation.

[Stonewall]

He says that he does.

[pop5app]

I will offer a possible suggestion. Give SC a one year extension which takes the recruiting issue off the table temporarily. We can then see if 2024 is “the year” as some have promised. With understanding that we must win 9 games or the contract is discontinued with no buy-out. We save 1 mil, & we will have given one of our own a fair shake. Just a thought.

[Ncmtn]

Yes our fan support has been top notch for a long long time. That can change very quickly with the way the program has been trending the last few years.

[appgrad95&97]

If we are 7-5 or worse with the same coach, support and attendance will fall off a cliff. With that same record and a new exciting coach, you infuse enthusiasm into the fan base and team and we start climbing back. I trust that DG is not stupid and that he understands the realities of the situation.

Doug Gillin hired and extended Clark. I'm past the "in DG we trust" phase.

[Stonewall]

If we are 7-5 or worse with the same coach, support and attendance will fall off a cliff. With that same record and a new exciting coach, you infuse enthusiasm into the fan base and team and we start climbing back. I trust that DG is not stupid and that he understands the realities of the situation.

Doug Gillin hired and extended Clark. I'm past the "in DG we trust" phase.

And Jim Foxx , the year before he was fired , if my memory serves me correctly.

[mountaineerman]

If we are 7-5 or worse with the same coach, support and attendance will fall off a cliff. With that same record and a new exciting coach, you infuse enthusiasm into the fan base and team and we start climbing back. I trust that DG is not stupid and that he understands the realities of the situation.

Doug Gillin hired and extended Clark. I'm past the "in DG we trust" phase.

More emphasis on Doug is my take also.

[Rekdiver]

Here I am trying to be positive and getting my feet getting pee’d on

[appstate5]

Here I am trying to be positive and getting my feet getting pee’d on

I didn't get home until 1:30 last night, I don't see myself making it to another game this year. The first hour of the 2 1/2 hour trip I listened to the postgame on 97.3. Lots of hope, optimism. But also a lot of "the same things are broken and not fixed". I gave up my season tix this year and thus far I have not regretted it.
Where do we go from here, I'm not sure. Couple of dumb penalties, couple of crucial drops and of course the crucial fumble. Can't blame it all on coaching but afraid some changes may be needed.

[WataugaMan]

I will offer a possible suggestion. Give SC a one year extension which takes the recruiting issue off the table temporarily. We can then see if 2024 is “the year” as some have promised. With understanding that we must win 9 games or the contract is discontinued with no buy-out. We save 1 mil, & we will have given one of our own a fair shake. Just a thought.

SC's current contract doesn't expire until the end of season 2024, therefore, an extension is not needed.

[AppGrad20]

The attendance at Kidd Brewer should not be used as a metric to compare the state of our football program this year. It is the most infuriating narrative out there that Appalachian isn’t on the decline because we still have sell out crowds or great attendance. You can be on a decline while having loyal, passionate fans and sold out crowds.

With two big rivalry games left and plenty of season ticket holders, people will still be coming out to support this year to get their money’s worth. Current students will continue to show out. However if we continue on this same trajectory, rather than students leaving the game early with the team being up four touchdowns by halftime (like mainly of us grew accustom too), students will start to leave when we are down big. Rather than being engaged in the game, the game will be an excuse to simply get drunk.

The concern should be for next season and beyond. As someone mentioned above, there is no premier home game next year. Unless we host a quality SBC West opponent, Liberty and James Madison will be the only “big” games on the slate at home. Also, prospective students won’t be as interested in becoming a student at App if our football team continues to decline. Whether people like to admit it or not, football has been the selling point over the past two decades. Walking out of the game last night, I spoke to a current UNCW student. He shared how he keeps up with App football and contemplated transferring to App mainly for the football, but was glad he didn’t after how we’ve performed the past couple years. I’m sure there are a lot of high school and potential transfer college students thinking similarly.

Ultimately unless changes are made going into the second half of the season or in the offseason, bigger issues will stem from the decline of the team. You are lying to yourself if you say the state of program is in great shape simple due to current attendance. If you continue to coax yourself into believing it, you’ll be in for a surprise when attendance is lower next year.

Rather than it being how about them Mountaineers? The team really took it to them. It’s turned into how about them students and App fans? Man, they really show up.

[AppInDC]

I will offer a possible suggestion. Give SC a one year extension which takes the recruiting issue off the table temporarily. We can then see if 2024 is “the year” as some have promised. With understanding that we must win 9 games or the contract is discontinued with no buy-out. We save 1 mil, & we will have given one of our own a fair shake. Just a thought.

SC's current contract doesn't expire until the end of season 2024, therefore, an extension is not needed.

As of now, Shawn hasn't done enough to deserve an extension. I also think it's a problem to allow someone to be a lame duck and add uncertainty to the program by letting them lead but not being able to tell fans, recruits, staff, etc that there is long-term continuity

If App finishes strong, an extension may be warranted. Some on this board will probably be more demanding but I'll say at very least 4-2 the rest of the way. If it's .500 the rest of the season or worse, then it's probably best to thank him for his service and find a new person.

[T-Dog]

Clark's contract goes through the 2026 season. He got that extension in December 2021.

[appstatealum]

I want to hang Championship banners, not attendance banners. Participation trophies are for lesser programs that haven't achieved what we have.

[appstatealum]

I will offer a possible suggestion. Give SC a one year extension which takes the recruiting issue off the table temporarily. We can then see if 2024 is “the year” as some have promised. With understanding that we must win 9 games or the contract is discontinued with no buy-out. We save 1 mil, & we will have given one of our own a fair shake. Just a thought.

SC's current contract doesn't expire until the end of season 2024, therefore, an extension is not needed.

As of now, Shawn hasn't done enough to deserve an extension. I also think it's a problem to allow someone to be a lame duck and add uncertainty to the program by letting them lead but not being able to tell fans, recruits, staff, etc that there is long-term continuity

If App finishes strong, an extension may be warranted. Some on this board will probably be more demanding but I'll say at very least 4-2 the rest of the way. If it's .500 the rest of the season or worse, then it's probably best to thank him for his service and find a new person.

This is not the old college football world. Recruits don't give a rats ass about whether a coach will be there long term or not. They themselves won't necessarily be there long term, especially if a program isn't winning and they are good enough to go somewhere else. We need to start grounding ourselves in the reality of the new CFB landscape and we will see past these old mantras that have gotten us stuck where we are today.