Dear Appalachian Family,
Thursday marks two years since my arrival at Appalachian State and it continues to be a joy and privilege to serve as Director of Athletics at this great university. Working with App State's Chancellor, Sheri Everts, university leadership, student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni and our community on a daily basis continues to be an honor.
Throughout my two years, I have shared our core values for App State Athletics; academic integrity, social responsibility, competitive excellence, and providing a world-class experience for our student-athletes. I wanted to take a moment and share the strides we have made and our vision for sustained comprehensive excellence throughout App State Athletics.
App State's student-athletes continue to exemplify Academic Integrity with nine consecutive semesters of a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Fourteen of our 20 teams had a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the fall and our single-year APR for was higher than the four-year average for 13 programs, while three programs continue to maintain a perfect 1,000 APR (women's soccer, women's tennis, women's golf). The Mountaineers are excelling in the classroom and it continues to be our highest priority. We have worked with our colleagues in academic affairs to add additional resources and staff support for our student-athletes.
We continue to be very proud of the Social Responsibility our student-athletes exude with their commitment to serving the Boone-area community, our university community, and beyond. Our student-athletes have spent over 3,000 hours of community service throughout the past year. As an example, we had nine of our teams join elementary students across our community during read across America week in March. We have also been intentional in seeking out collaborative opportunities to engage with students and our university colleagues. We are currently working with the College of Business on an Economic Impact study. We continue to work with the Reich College of Education on the Mountaineers Reading Program. We are also in the preliminary stages of expanding our working relationship with the Beaver College of Health Sciences regarding student-athlete testing and research. Finally, we have recruited students interested in sales to assist us in outbound calling for football season ticket sales.
App State's first Sun Belt football championship, a second consecutive Camellia Bowl win, a Sun Belt women's cross country championship, and four wrestlers competing at the NCAA Championships last month in St. Louis highlight our Competitive Excellence to this point in the athletic year. Football thrived on a national stage all season, finishing 10-3 while playing a school-record eight games on national TV including five on ESPN's Family of Networks. A strong fall propelled App State into the lead for the Sun Belt's highest athletic award, The Bubas Cup, through the fall.
We continue striving to Provide a World-Class Experience for Our Student-Athletes. This encompasses improving their day-to-day experience at App State through programs like App Fuel, Mountaineer Rise, leadership development opportunities, improved academic support, enhanced counseling resources, and social events like last week's tailgate at the baseball game against Wake Forest, and tonight's APPSPYS Awards. Our main focus continues to be the health and well-being of our student-athletes.
Last month, we launched A Mountaineer Impact, a Drive for Excellence. Our initial response to this initiative, and the engagement from fans and donors, has been very positive, which reinforces that it is an exciting time to be a Mountaineer. An anonymous seven-figure gift, historical growth in the Yosef Club, and increased commitment from our donors has the initiative off to a strong start. We have a long way to go to reach our goals of increased scholarship support, enhanced facilities, growth in our endowment, health and well-being of our student-athletes, and the overall commitment to the sustained comprehensive excellence of App State Athletics. The start to the initiative is promising and shows the pride and commitment all of you have for App State.
In addition, we are also focused on improving our fan experience and gameday atmospheres. We will be installing state-of-the-art video boards at both Kidd-Brewer Stadium and the Holmes Center this summer. In the last three months, long-term football series with North Carolina and East Carolina have been announced, both of which will visit The Rock in coming years. In addition to a record crowd against Miami last year, and with Wake Forest on the horizon for this fall, three ACC schools will visit Boone in a seven-year stretch, all for the first time. Our goal is to continue to bring the best possible opponents to Boone and bring the most excitement and value possible to our fans.
It continues to be a privilege and honor to a part of the Appalachian Family. Thank you for your continued support as we build a bright future for App State Athletics together.
Define The Moment,
Doug Gillin
Director of Athletics
