Where the Appalachian State-ETSU Rivalry Really Stands

Equals in most sports, but not perceived that way because of the Mountaineers’ football status.

Today at 6 p.m. Appalachian State comes in to Johnson City to play ETSU in baseball.

It appears there’s a desire to keep the old ETSU-Appalachian State rivalry. The ETSU website touts how this is the baseball team’s oldest rival. New Mountaineers’ head coach Dustin Kerns has expressed interest to play the Buccaneers again in basketball, and almost all of the other sports play each other at one point in the season despite ASU’s departure to the Sun Belt Conference.

Even the football teams will renew competition at the start of the next season and then again in 2024.

And that’s when a realization is going to occur to ETSU.

The Bucs will be stomped, and suddenly the programs won’t look so equal anymore.

In most sports there isn’t a great deal of difference between the Sun Belt and the Southern Conference anymore. Once upon a time the Sun Belt was a very respected basketball conference, but those days predate the berth of the contemporary players.

Last season the Southern Conference was easily the superior men’s basketball conference, and even as catastrophic as the ETSU women’s basketball season was, they managed to defeat Appalachian State.

Patrick Good transfers from Boone to come back home and play for the Bucs. Heck, even Kerns is from Kingsport.