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Satterfield Named Sun Belt’s Top Coach by Athlon

Athlon has tabbed Appalachian State's Scott Satterfield as the Sun Belt Conference's top coach heading into the 2016 season. Photo by Will Phillips / App State Football Video
Athlon has tabbed Appalachian State’s Scott Satterfield as the Sun Belt Conference’s top coach heading into the 2016 season. Photo by Will Phillips / App State Football Video

Appalachian State University’s Scott Satterfield is Athlon magazine’s choice as the Sun Belt Conference’s top football coach, the magazine announced in its “Ranking The Sun Belt’s College Football Coaches for 2016” article on Friday.

Athlon gave Satterfield top billing over UL Lafayette’s Mark Hudspeth, Arkansas State’s Blake Anderson and Georgia State’s Trent Miles. South Alabama’s Joey Jones, Troy’s Neal Brown, UL Monroe’s Matt Viator, Texas State’s Everett Withers (like Satterfield, an Appalachian State alumnus), Georgia Southern’s Tyson Summers, Idaho’s Paul Petrino and New Mexico State’s Doug Martin round out the Athlon rankings.

Satterfield is entering his fourth season as Appalachian State’s head coach. He has led the Mountaineers to a 22-15 record, including 17 wins in their last 19 games. Last season, App State finished 11-2, good for the most wins in Sun Belt history and the most victories ever by a team in its first full-fledged campaign as a member of NCAA Division I FBS. The Mountaineers capped the 2015 campaign with a 31-29 triumph over Ohio in the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, making them the first team to ever win a bowl game in its first full-fledged FBS season.

With 18 returning starters, Satterfield and the Mountaineers open the 2016 campaign on Thursday, Sept. 1 with a nationally televised contest at Tennessee (7:30 p.m. – SEC Network).

Season tickets for Appalachian State’s much-anticipated 2016 home schedule, which includes a visit by five-time national champion Miami (Fla.) on Sept. 17, are on sale now and can be purchased online at appstatesports.com and by phone at (828) 262-2079. Earlier this month, App State announced that 2016 season-ticket sales have already surpassed the amount sold in 2015. Due to the brisk sales, tickets in four sections of Kidd Brewer Stadium are already sold out.