Three times this season, App State Football has won a home game, and in two of those games, fans and/or students, starting at Miller Hill, rush the field.

Despite the overdramatic “do not rush the field” warning at the two-minute timeout, it keeps on happening. Oregon State and Marshall, the only FBS home wins this season, led to a field storming.

Before this season, it happened in 2024 after the JMU win and in 2023 after the ECU win. These were both spontaneous field stormings.

The last “oh mah Gawd!” field-storming was the Troy Hail Mary, when 10,000 people got onto the field within two minutes. This led to several injuries as the iron-rod fence in front of Miller Hill collapsed in several spots. A small brick wall was installed in its place before the 2023 season.

In the last three seasons, in which the team has a 19-17 overall record, there have been four field stormings at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Each time there’s a field storm, there’s a debate on it. Some hate it. It’s beneath us! It’s dangerous! Young people just don’t respect anyone anymore!

There’s no Sun Belt rule against it like the SEC or ACC has, where fines are levied.

It seems the decree has some flexibility, because after the one 2025 home win where the students didn’t rush (Lindenwood), there was a designated time for fans to enter the field. This was scheduled for only 15 minutes before the too-many lime-green security guards moved like a slow wave, five yards at a time.

The “out of the goodness of our hearts we’re allowing fans on the field postgame” gimmick has happened once or twice a season, typically after the early-season FCS game and sometimes after the last home game.

At the Holmes Center, fans are permitted on the court after the basketball teams leave the court for a 15-minute period. It gives kids a chance to run around, shoot at the goal, meet the players and coaches and have a good time. There’s been zero downside to this and it’s every single game.

Since the Auburn home win, security formed a line in front of the men’s basketball students in the last minute of the game. Students can “rush” the court after the teams have left, but it’s nowhere near as fun as spontaneous. Students have to go to the aisles in order to storm, like during the JMU home win later the same season as Auburn. I get it, but this seems like overkill by insurance-minded people and lawyers, who ruin a lot of things. Sidebar over.

After the Marshall win, it was mostly people taking selfies with players or with their friend groups. And then the kids are running around. In other words, people are having a good time. Students jump up and down at midfield for a minute, and then everyone is merry. The vibes were quite good. Same with Oregon State.

There are a few jackasses in any crowd. For instance, one App State person is seen on the ESPN+ broadcast flipping off Oregon State players while running to midfield. Don’t be this person.

The biggest concern is the proximity between visiting players and Miller Hill creatures. It’s a potential explosive mix after three-plus hours of booing, challenges and taunts between the two groups.
If something were to happen, it would be broadcast far and wide. Jamey Chadwell claimed he felt in danger after the “oh mah Gawd” field rush following the 2021 Coastal win, but there was a camera on him the entire time and he looked in no such danger.

Another negative is that a field rushing cancels any post-game on-field concert by the Marching Mountaineers. The consequence of the 2024 JMU field rush was no senior band send-off concert with soloists. That sucks.

There can be a compromise. The time limit is fine, even if the security guards are annoying (and they are annoying). Let people get it out of their system, let it be known if there’s any foul behavior toward visiting players, there are harsh consequences, and then clear the field for the Marching Mountaineers, at least from goal line to goal line. Heck, take a bit of a page from men’s basketball and open up the gates so there’s a controllable variant.

App State is a program that has borrowed numerous traditions from bigger schools after playing them and forcing them, like “We Are App State,” the Skol clap and three separate White Outs (one was Liberty) despite white not being black or gold.

The fans called for and got a home Gold Out this year, something athletics admitted numerous times they didn’t push for, and they said, “Hey, it’s OK if you don’t wear gold.” Y’know? Gold? A school color? I’ll take a Gold Out over a White Out any day, the latter of which was enthusiastically pushed. They’re still selling White Out hoodies at extreme discounts.

Point is, like Jerry Moore suggesting they play Mountain Music by Alabama at games, or the script Mountaineers that Jerry himself wrote out, or Black Saturday, or playing Hells Bells by AC/DC on defensive third downs (this was very controversial in 2004 when it started), students rushing the field in positive energy is something that has kinda happened organically. Why stop it?

And if anyone says, “Clemson Meeting at the Paw,” then they’re wrong. It’s not a totally original tradition, like the TIGMA sign was kinda taken from something Tennessee does, but it happened in a grassroots and fun way. And as coaches say, always celebrate the wins, cause it’s hard to do, and growing increasingly harder. 93 years of NFL experience doesn’t work like it use it.