List of Appalachian State Mountaineers football seasons This is a list of seasons completed by the Appalachian State Mountaineers football team of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Division I Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) . The Mountaineers fielded their first team in 1928 under Graydon Eggers and are currently coached by Jerry Moore . The Mountaineers celebrate their 80th season in 2009 and have played over 800 games , appeared in nine bowl games , and participated in the FCS ( formerly I - AA ) playoffs a total of 16 times . Historically , Appalachian State has had a successful college football program , winning over 500 games . In 1931 the Mountaineers joined the North State Conference and finished in first place under coach C . B . Johnson . Kidd Brewer took over coaching duties of the Mountaineers from 1935 to 1938 , winning another North State Conference championship . An All - America n at Duke , Brewer ' s 1937 squad is best remembered for going unbeaten and unscored upon during the regular season , outscoring opponents 206 – 0 before losing a postseason game to the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss , 7 – 0 . E . C . Duggins coached the Mountaineers from 1947 – 50 and again from 1952 – 55 . Appalachian State went to seven bowl games and won three North State Conference championships under Duggins . After three coaches during a five year span , the Mountaineers got back to their winning ways under Jim Duncan , who coached for five years , 1960 to 1964 , and won 31 games . In 1961 the North State Conference became the Carolinas Conference and Appalachian State left after the 1967 season to play as an independent for four years . Jim Brakefield was hired as head coach in 1971 , vacating the same position he held at Wofford . A year later , in 1972 , Appalachian State accepted an invitation into the Southern Conference . Credited as overseeing the transition into Division I football , Brakefield had his most successful season in 1975 , guiding the Mountaineers to wins over East Carolina , Wake Forest , and South Carolina . Appalachian State won the first of nine Southern Conference championships in 1986 under Sparky Woods , who also led the Mountaineers into the playoffs for the first time . Another conference championship and playoff appearance followed in 1987 . Woods won the " Wallace Wade Coach of the Year Award " three straight years in 1985 , 1986 , and 1987 , becoming the only coach in conference history to do so . Woods left to coach South Carolina after five years and Jerry Moore was hired as the Mountaineer ' s 19th coach in 1989 . Moore is the winningest coach in conference history , and under his leadership the Mountaineers have won seven conference championships . In addition , the Mountaineers have posted nineteen winning campaigns to go with one losing season during his tenure , allowing Moore to claim Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors a record six times . He was also the 2006 recipient of the Eddie Robinson Award , presented to the division ' s most outstanding coach . Under the stewardship of Moore , players such as two - time Buck Buchanan Award winner Dexter Coakley have gone on to play in the National Football League . Appalachian State became the first team since the playoffs began in 1978 to win three straight national titles in 2005 , 2006 , and 2007 , and the first team to accomplish the feat since Army in 1944 , 1945 , and 1946 . They are also the first Division I school in modern times to claim three straight undisputed national titles . On September 1 , 2007 , in what was hailed as one of the biggest upsets in United States sports history , the Mountaineers shocked the fifth - ranked Michigan Wolverines , 34 – 32 . The win helped Applachian State become the first FCS team to ever receive votes in the final Associated Press ( AP ) college football poll on January 8 , 2008 . The Mountaineers received five points in the poll , tying South Florida for 34th . The conclusion of the 2008 season saw quarterback Armanti Edwards win Appalachian ' s first Walter Payton Award , presented annually to the most outstanding offensive player . Playoff results . When Division I - AA was formed for football in 1978 , the playoffs included just four teams , doubling to eight teams in its fourth season of 1981 . In 1982 the I - AA playoffs were expanded to 12 teams , with each of the top four seeds receiving a first - round bye and a home game in the quarterfinals . In its ninth season of 1986 , the I - AA playoffs were expanded again , to the present 16 - team format , requiring four post - season victories to win the title . In April 2008 the NCAA announced that the playoff field will again expand to include 20 teams beginning in 2010 .