We weren’t the first to reach out to Appalachian Football Club to find out the particulars about their announced team and bold branding. We were fortunate to get responses from both Jason O’Keefe as well as Michael Hitchcock - “Hitch” as folks call him, is behind some of lower league soccer’s other more well-received brands and should not come as a surprise that he’s involved here. But even a man of his reputation is a little stunned at the reception of the Big Foot Brand
”The response to the Appalachian FC story and brand has been amazing, both in the High Country but also all over the US. in two months, we have sold over 125 Season Seats without announcing Conference, Opponents or Schedule, secured Official Apparel Partner with PUMA, Official Bank Partner with First Horizon, confirmed an Appalachian FC canned Beer for our Inaugural Season plus other sponsors and we have sold close to $50,000 merchandise at appalachianfc.com Gear Shop. So it's fair to say the Bigfoot footy business is good so far.”
The costs of running a club at a high-level, even in NPSL, can run into the tens of thousands a year - this is great news for those who want to see a new team do well and stay around for a few years. Jason O’Keefe was able to provide some answers to our questions…

In such a tricky year to start anything new, what prompted you to found Appalachian FC and who were the primary folks involved?
Well, we have joked about that many times. The cutting of the App State men's soccer program prompted us to do this. We had discussed it for years off and on. But in August we decided to do it. Myself and Michael Hitchcock were the two speaking of it to begin.

One of the best parts of following and supporting Lower League soccer is getting to see start-up club’s express creativity and boldness we don't get from the professional ranks - what inspired your mascot?
The Bigfoot following and the region we live in and apparently, they do too:):):) It just fit our area and was unique which the high country is also. We talked about it a lot. The colors pop and it is recognizable for people in the area.

Every year we get to see fantastic new kits and there are a ton of brands to choose from - why did you go with Puma?
We had great relationships with them. Hitch has two teams which are outfitted by Puma so was a natural fit. The landscape has changed and there is a push toward grassroots endeavors. We actually had great offers from Nike and New Balance as well. We will have some special kits that the fans will love this year and beyond

Of all of the leagues to choose from, and there are a lot of choices! Why did you pick NPSL and who are you most looking forward to playing?
There are great leagues in the US. Hitch loves the business model of the NPSL. It gives great opportunity for owners to be flexible and really control their brand. It is the largest league in the US so that is another appeal. We are looking forward to building great rivalries with many teams and some from other leagues as well.

A few clubs kicked off investment campaigns this year to bolster finances; how does Appalachian FC keep the lights on and can we expect membership packages or similar investment offers?
We are locally owned, locally invested and locally supported first, however the following has grown past our early expectations which we love. We will continue to look into other avenues but the foundation will always be local first. We have a great and talented ownership group which we love.

If you could schedule two friendlies, one foreign club and one domestic, what teams would you line up against and why?
Liverpool and Charlotte FC (No reason was provided - but you can probably imagine why)