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Mountaineers Kick Off 2012 Football Season With Annual Fan Fest Tomorrow, Featuring Band NeedToBreathe

By Greg Hince

Photo courtesy of ASU Athletics

Aug. 17, 2012. Appalachian State will hold its annual football Fan Fest tomorrow, Saturday Aug. 18 at Kidd Brewer Stadium. The event, sponsored by Carolina West Wireless, will feature southern rock band NeedToBreathe and will be the last chance for fans to watch the Mountaineers scrimmage before they begin real action, Sept. 1 at noon against East Carolina.

Mountaineer players and coaches will sign autographs and take pictures with fan during the Fan Fest. Players will also lead on-field football drills, and Appalachian cheerleaders will paint game faces. Inflatable rides will be available for young fans to enjoy.

“This is the real kickoff to our football season,” Samantha Stevens, Assistant Athletics Director of Marketing and Licensing at Appalachian State said. “This is when we see all the faithful come out.”

The event is an annual highlight for the Appalachian State athletics program. With the influx of students arriving and returning to Appalachian, Fan Fest is a great way to acquaint students with the football program that has brought the school so much notoriety in the past few years.

“This really is the last chance to see the team before they begin the new season,” Stevens said.

Fan Fest is free for Appalachian students and season-ticket holders. Others can purchase tickets online at GoASU.com, by phone at (828) 262-2079 and in person at the Appalachian athletics ticket office, located in the Holmes Center. Tickets are $10 and will be available at the gate. The event is open to the public. It begins at 4 p.m. and the athletic aspect is scheduled to last roughly three hours. NeedToBreathe will take the stage around 8:30 p.m.

For a previous story on the event visit: www.hcpress.com/upcoming-events/southern-rock-band-needtobreathe-to-perform-at-asu-football-fan-fest-august-18.html.

A schedule of events for Fan Fest is listed below.

For the 2012 ASU football schedule visit: www.goasu.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=21500&SPID=12811&SPSID=104460

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

4 p.m. — Gates open and traditional family-friendly Fan Fest activities begin. Activities include: Mountaineer student-athletes and coaches signing autographs and taking pictures with fans, face-paining by Appalachian cheerleaders, inflatable rides for kids and access to the Kidd Brewer Stadium playing field.

6 p.m. — Appalachian State football holds its final intrasquad scrimmage of the preseason.

8:30 p.m. — NeedToBreathe performs. A nationally acclaimed Southern rock band from Possum Kingdom, S.C., NeedToBreathe is touring nationwide on the heels of their latest album, The Reckoning, debuting at No. 6 on Billboard’s top-200 chart. NeedToBreathe has sold out venues such as Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and Chicago’s House of Blues and scored an impressive number of placements in blockbuster films and numerous primetime television shows, including P.S. I Love You, Desperate Housewives and The Biggest Loser.

TICKETS

• Admission to the entire Fan Fest event, including the scrimmage, on-field activities and NeedToBreathe concert is FREE for Appalachian State football season-ticket holders and Appalachian students.

• General-admission tickets for non-season ticket holders cost just $10 and go on sale August 7 at 9 a.m. (in conjunction with single-game football ticket sales). Fan Fest tickets can be purchased online at GoASU.com, by phone at (828) 262-2079 and in person at the Appalachian athletics ticket office, located in the Holmes Center (phone and in-person sales are available Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.).

NOTES

• Tailgating will be permitted throughout the day (including during the event) in the following parking lots: Champions, Raley, Greenwood, Stadium and Rivers Street Parking Deck.

• Fans will be permitted to come and go as they please throughout the event. When exiting Kidd Brewer Stadium, fans will receive a wristband for re-entry.

• Appalachian State player autographs will be split into two sessions. The Mountaineer offense will sign autographs from 4:00-4:45 p.m., followed by the Appalachian defense from 4:45-5:30 p.m. (times subject to change).