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 Former Catamounts Michael Reeder (left) and Justin Clark (right) hoist 'the Jug' following the dramatic win in Cullowhee back in 2004. |
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Oct. 30, 2007
History of the "Battle for the Old Mountain Jug"
Cullowhee, N.C. - The annual gridiron grudge match between Western Carolina and Appalachian State known as the "Battle for the Old Mountain Jug" will be televised nationally on ESPNU, the network announced Tuesday. The Catamounts and Mountaineers will square off at ASU's Kidd Brewer Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 10 with the same game time of 3:30 pm with the tape-delayed broadcast airing on ESPNU at 10:30 pm.
The game will be Western's second-consecutive nationally televised game on ESPNU as last Thursday's thrilling match-up with the then-11th ranked Wofford Terriers was carried by the same network. It will also be the fifth of six televised games for the Catamounts this season, with the season-finale against Furman to be carried by CSS.
This marks the 71st all-time meeting between Western and Appalachian State with the moonshine jug replica trophy to be awarded for the 32nd time this season. In the mid-1980s, Sports Illustrated magazine designated the series as "the best football rivalry you've never heard of."
The WCU-ASU game will mark the sixth time since 1978 that the Catamounts have appeared on the ESPN family, including parent company, ABC. Western's first-ever television appearance came regionally on ABC in 1978 against arch-rival Appalachian State in Cullowhee. The following year, 1979, in just the second game ever telecasted by ESPN, Western dropped a close 35-27 affair with arch-rival, Appalachian State, in Boone.
In 1983, ABC aired Western's appearance in the I-AA National Championship game with Southern Illinois nationally, with the two most recent ESPN broadcasts originating from Cullowhee in 1988 against East Tennessee State - a 33-23 Catamount victory - and this season versus Wofford in a 47-44 defeat.
A very limited number of tickets remain for the ASU-WCU showdown. Tickets can be purchased through the Appalachian State ticket office by phone at (828) 262-2079 or online by visiting www.GoASU.com.
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