How do you explain a belief?
For Boone, North Carolina, a town nestled into the Appalachian Mountain Range and part of the historic High Country, it’s a year-round plight. Fighting to show the world that the things they believe in truly do exist. That they can exist in our world alongside us.
Some of these topics include the legendary Bigfoot and the prospect that down-home moonshine is the best drink you can have. Others are even more unbelievable.
Enter Appalachian FC, in only its third season of competitive play. A team born out of the pandemic with pieces from the college and international level. A team with a Sasquatch logo that’s loved by its community for reasons that go beyond the success it’s had on the field.
“All sports teams at every level, from the major leagues to the amateur level, have a unique opportunity to give back to their communities,” said co-founder and investor Michael Hitchcock. “Really have a positive impact on so many different levels.”
The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) team is preparing for a first-ever Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match later on this month. They’ll host North Carolina amateur institution Fusion U-23 on March 22.
It’s a game that didn’t seem possible three years ago.
A Sasquatch Rises From The Ashes
In May 2020, with the country two months deep in the COVID-19 pandemic, Appalachian State University announced it was cutting three sports teams effective immediately. Included on that list were the Mountaineers men's soccer team.
This left four-year head coach Jason O’Keefe with a dilemma. After years of struggle the program had been doing better. Sure, its heyday in the 1970s had long passed, but the Mountaineers had just achieved their best record in almost two decades. Attendance for games was up, including multiple matches that drew over 1,000 fans. He had players who still wanted to play and a community that was, seemingly, starting to fall for soccer.
Enter a man with (possibly) more lower-league teams to his name than anyone else. Michael Hitchcock, a soccer executive with previous experience at Major League Soccer teams like FC Dallas and LA Galaxy, has spent the last decade working at the amateur level. A founder and investor in (at that point) three NPSL teams, Hitchcock is a firm believer in the sport having a positive effect on the community it’s in.
“I thought [the program getting cut] stunk and I wanted to do something about it,” explained Hitchcock, who vacationed in Boone as a kid. “So I decided this was going to become a cause for me personally.
