James Nix - The Appalachian

The Mountaineers hope to bring home the Commissioner’s Cup for the 11th consecutive year. The cup is awarded to the top SoCon member based on a points system. ASU leads the conference with 54.5 points.

Mountaineers lead SoCon in Commissioner’s Cup point race

Josh Dernosek - Sports Beat

Appalachian State University looks to bring home the 11th consecutive Commissioner’s Cup this year, which is awarded to the top Southern Conference member that has the best all-around men’s sports program.
After the conclusion of the winter sports season, Appalachian has accumulated 54.5 points, including a pair of first place titles in cross country and indoor track and field. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is in a close second with 48.5 points and looks to take over with good finishes in their remaining spring sports schedules.
The point scale works as follows: 12 points are awarded to the team that wins the championship. The second place team receives 11 points, third place gets 10, fourth gets nine and so on. If a team wins both the regular season and the tournament, they receive an extra two points. With four remaining sports anything can still happen.
“These kind of things take care of themselves,” said head baseball coach Troy Huestess, when asked if he is taking the cup into consideration during practices.
Baseball, tennis, track and field, and golf remain for the spring season. Appalachian Athletic Director Roachel Laney believes that things look good on paper for Appalachian to bring home the cup once again.
“We should be able to ride the coat tail of track throughout the spring,” said Laney. “The remaining sports should all finish in the middle of the pack, leaving us in a good position.”
The Commissioner’s Cup is not a foreign trophy to the men’s program at Appalachian. Since the founding of the Cup in 1970, Appalachian has won the award 22 times, including 17 of the last 18 years.
“We are a target, people look at our program as a role model,” said Laney. “I take that as a compliment and would rather be chased than be the chaser.”
The women’s equivalent to the Commissioner’s Cup is the Germann Cup, named after former Southern Conference Commissioner Ken Germann.
The Lady Mountaineers won the award the first six years after its inauguration in 1977, but Furman’s Lady Paladins have won the award the last nine years. Currently, the ladies are in sixth place with 39 points, 11 behind the current leader, Western Carolina University.
Basketball and volleyball are sports that need to be competitive for the school to win the Germann Cup, believes Laney.
“The years that we have won the Germann Cup it’s because we have done well in basketball and volleyball,” said Laney.

Paul Sherar - Chief Photographer

Quarterback Joe Burchette fires a pass during the ASU’s 34-24 win over Western Carolina Nov. 10. A former Appalachian SoCon rival, Marshall, will be the Mountaineers’ first opponent Aug. 31 in Huntington, W. Va.

Former ASU SoCon foe continuing success after making jump to I-A

James Nix - Sports Beat

The Thundering Herd of Marshall University has successfully made the jump from NCAA Division I-AA football competition to I-A, the highest division of collegiate football, in just five years.

The Herd entered the premier division after winning two NCAA I-AA National Championships and did not seem to have any trouble adapting to the new level, winning Mid-American Conference Title the first four seasons.

But where Marshall has succeeded, other teams have had trouble.

Troy State University, who made the jump to Division I-A last season and played several of the top teams in the nation, had problems making the transition.

What makes Marshall the exception?

The institution was prepared and made efforts to elevate the team to I-A status before leaving I-AA.

A CONSULTANT
Chuck Neinas was hired in 1995 to examine Marshall’s football program at the time and to help decide whether or not the jump should occur, said Marshall Athletic Director Lance West.

Neinas studied the established themes other I-A teams across the nation had in regards to marketing, ticket sales and resources in order to build a strong infrastructure.

He then met with Marshall officials to set up goals to attain in order to make a successful jump. Marshall took the big jump in 1997 and has not looked back since.

Neinas has been back to Marshall twice since then to evaluate how the Herd met the goals he set prior to the jump.

A NEW COACH
Bob Pruett was named head coach of his alma mater on Jan. 9, 1996.

His first season with Marshall posed an undefeated record and a NCAA I-AA National Championship.

However, Pruett was not appointed to win I-AA championships, said West. He was appointed to make the jump to I-A successful.

And that he did.

The Herd went 10-3 their first I-A season, setting a NCAA record for most wins by a first-year, I-A team.

Pruett went on to capture the highest winning percentage in the NCAA for the first five years.

Pruett’s influence has had positive results during Marshall’s jump to I-A due to his prior experience in the division.

He served as the defensive coordinator for the University of Florida before coming to Marshall. Before that, he coached at Tulane University, the University of Mississippi and Wake Forest University.

“Bob (Pruett’s) experience in I-A football is a plus,” said West. “He has helped us make a successful transition and has had a huge impact.”

A CONFERENCE
Prior to joining the Southern Conference in 1976, Marshall was a member of the Mid-American Conference.

When the Herd jumped to I-A, the MAC seemed an obvious choice.

“It dealt primarily with geography,” said West. “We just matched best with the Mid-American Conference.”

The conference affiliation has helped Marshall tremendously with its jump and has allowed the team to schedule more home games.

Troy State, another former I-AA powerhouse who made the jump to I-A, did not have that fortune during its initial season at the higher level.

The Trojans currently are independent in I-A, which hurts the team in scheduling. Next season the Troy State will only play three home games, a daunting feat that would not be present if the Trojans were affiliated with a conference.

FANS AND SUPPORT
One thing that made Marshall’s jump a success was the support the Herd received from fans and alumni.

“We are very fortunate to have loyal fans both home and away,” said West.

The Herd’s remarkable dominance at the I-AA level in the early 90s followed by the successful jump to I-A also brought in a lot of institutional supporters, said West.

“Anytime you advance your program, it’s a rallying point for fans and institutional supporters,” said West. “The revenue dollars have been very positive.”

RECRUITMENT AND
THE FUTURE
No football program can be successful without talented players.

In Marshall’s case, the successful players started coming while the Herd was still in I-AA.

The success Marshall had in I-AA helped bring in players that could potentially compete at the I-A level, said West.

“You have to recruit against the competition,” said West. “For us to compete we had to recruit I-A caliber players.”

Now that Marshall has successfully made the jump, it seems the only place to go is up.

With the recent success in the MAC and several bowl game victories, the Thundering Herd will try to schedule higher-profile opponents, said West.

“I’m very pleased to have finished our fifth year in I-A now,” said West. “Now we can play larger teams and expand further.”