Kidd Brewer Stadium on the campus of Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., isn’t the biggest stadium in college football, or the oldest, or the most historic, but it might be the most beautiful—especially on a late afternoon in mid-October.
I traveled to Boone for App State’s Oct. 18 game against Coastal Carolina to film the latest installment of our Stadium Wonders video series. When we began kicking around the idea of a video centered around college football and fall foliage earlier this year, App State stood out as the obvious choice. Not many other college football stadiums are framed by natural beauty the way App State’s is. The south end zone butts up against a thickly wooded hill. Trees encroach on the east and west sides of the stadium as well, while the north end offers spectacular views of Howard Knob, a mountain peak that looms over downtown Boone. Fortunately for us, the game coincided with the peak of the fall colors in the region, making for some spectacular scenes. (You can watch the video by clicking on the player below or on Sports Illustrated’s YouTube channel.)
