Spectator Sports
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University, located just a 20-minute drive from Beech Mountain, fields 20 NCAA Division I varsity sports, with 19 of them competing in the Southern Conference (SoCon). The ASU football team garnered three NCAA Division I FCS national championships between 2005 and 2007, when it upset the University of Michigan. In 2008-09, the Mountaineers claimed SoCon championships in five sports – men’s cross country, football and indoor track and field, as well as women’s indoor track and field and outdoor track and field.
Lees McRae College
Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina, is a small, private, coeducational college attended by nearly 900 students from more than 20 states and countries. Students of the four-year liberal arts college have access to an athletic program that fields a total of 18 teams. The 10 sports encompassed are basketball, cross country, cycling, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway, located in Bristol, Tennessee, is a NASCAR short track with seating for 160,000 and parking for more than 12,000 vehicles. Known as the “World’s Fasted Half Mile,” the concrete track held its first NASCAR race in 1961. Despite its small size, Bristol’s extraordinarily steep banking and other distinctive features make the track one of the most popular in NASCAR.
