Appalachian State Mountaineers men's soccer

Appalachian State Mountaineers men's soccer
Founded	1964
Folded	2020; 5 years ago (2020)
University	Appalachian State University
Head coach	Jason O'Keefe (1st season)
Conference	Sun Belt
Location	Boone, North Carolina
Stadium	ASU Soccer Stadium (Capacity: 2,000)
Nickname	Mountaineers
Colors	Black and gold[1]
Home
NCAA Tournament Round of 16
1977, 1978
NCAA Tournament appearances
1975, 1977, 1978, 1980
Conference Tournament championships
1990
Conference Regular Season championships
1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1989

The Appalachian State Mountaineers men's soccer team was an intercollegiate varsity sports team of Appalachian State University. The team was a member of the Sun Belt Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

History

Joining the Sun Belt

When Appalachian State announced that it would join the Sun Belt Conference in July 2014, it initially planned to keep its men's soccer and wrestling teams in the Southern Conference, since the Sun Belt then did not sponsor either sport.^[2] However, in February 2014, the Sun Belt announced it would reinstate men's soccer beginning in the 2014 season, with three full members (Appalachian State, fellow 2014 arrival Georgia Southern, and Georgia State) joined by three single-sport affiliate members (Hartwick, Howard, and NJIT).^[3]

Discontinuation of men's soccer

In May 2020, Appalachian State cut the men's soccer program due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4][5][6]

As a result of the men's soccer team being cut, head coach Jason O'Keefe and a soccer executive Michael Hitchcock joined up with a group of local business owners to create Appalachian FC, who play in the National Premier Soccer League.^[7]

Notable alumni

• Alec Dufty
• Mark Schwartz
• Tony Suarez
• Thompson Usiyan
• Gregory Walters

References

1. "University Colors :: University Communications Toolbox :: Appalachian State University". Retrieved March 28, 2016.
2. "Appalachian State going FBS, joining Sun Belt". ESPN.com. 2013-03-27. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
3. Cogsdale, Ben (2014-02-18). "App State men's soccer to join Sun Belt". The Appalachian. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
4. "App State Athletics Announces Program Changes". App State Athletics. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
5. Behr, Steve. "App State joins list of schools cutting sports teams". Watauga Democrat. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
6. App State men's soccer 'gone but not forgotten' by Gregory Reck and Bruce Allen Dick on wataugademocrat.com – Nov 27, 2020
7. "How a semi-pro soccer team with a Sasquatch logo arose from a college program shuttered by COVID-19". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-02-10.