Cullowhee, N.C. – A football series that has not seen a new entry in nearly a century is set to be revived on Saturday afternoon as No. 17 Western Carolina raises the curtain on its home schedule and kicks off the 50th season of Catamount Football at E.J. Whitmire Stadium as it hosts the Campbell Fighting Camels. Kickoff on Bob Waters Field is scheduled for 1 p.m. in a game that will be regionally televised in the "Ingles SoCon Game of the Week," and simulcast on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required).
The best game-day atmosphere in The Southern Conference springs back to life in western North Carolina on Saturday in anticipation of the first of five action-packed home dates for the Catamounts. Parking lots on campus open at 8 a.m. with sanctioned tailgates permitting alcohol consumption three and a half hours before kickoff – beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday before the 1 p.m. start.
WCU looks to "White Out Whitmire" with the fans asked to mirror the Catamount football team which will wear their white Nike uniforms by wearing white to the game. WCU will also keep the legacy "The Cats" logo in white on the right-side of its purple helmets. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a commemorative white T-shirt. Additionally, for Western Carolina students, the first 4,000 through the gates will receive Thunderstix to crank up the stands in support of the home squad.
And though white is known as achromatic – or lacking color, hue, or saturation – Saturday's schedule of festivities in Cullowhee is far from deficient.
The home opener kicks off the season-long celebration of 50 years of Catamount football at E.J. Whitmire Stadium. The facility has served as WCU's home since 1974 – a season that saw the Catamounts make a run to the NCAA Division II postseason. The Catamounts have won over 55 percent of their home games since moving to the south end of the Cullowhee campus.
To help commemorate the 50-year celebration on Saturday, over 200 Western Carolina football alumni, coaches, and staff are returning to campus. A special pregame tailgate is scheduled for the grass area between the stadium and the Ramsey Center beginning at 10:30 a.m., and all returning Catamounts will be honored in a special halftime ceremony.
Saturday's activities also include the first performances of the "Pride of the Mountains" Marching Band and WCU spirit squads leading to the 13th annual "Freshmen Run" where members of WCU's Class of 2028 precede the Catamount football team from taking the turf for the first time in competitive action in 2024.
Western Carolina's first home game in 2024 is set to be broadcast live on the Nexstar family of stations (
see station clearances below) and simulcast on
ESPN+ (paid subscription required). The game can also be heard through the Catamount Sports Network with the Pepsi Tailgate Show airtime at Noon ahead of the 1 p.m. start. Fans across western North Carolina can hear the broadcast locally on five CSN affiliate frequencies: in Sylva, 105.7 FM and 540 AM WRGC "The River"; 104.9 FM and 1050 AM WFSC, "Franklin's First Voice" in Franklin; 1310 WISE Sports Radio in Asheville; and through
live streaming audio options at Catamountsports.com.
Fans can also follow the game with
live stats accessible online at CatamountSports.com with timely in-game updates on Twitter using @Catamounts and @CatamountsFB.
Both teams enter Saturday's match-up coming off losses against NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) competition to open the season in mirrored 17-point defeats. FCS-ranked Western Carolina went toe-to-toe with FBS-ranked North Carolina State before running out of steam in the fourth quarter as the Wolfpack escaped Carter-Finley Stadium with a 38-21 win. Campbell likewise did some nice things in their road meeting with Liberty in Lynchburg, Va., taking a three-point, 10-7 second-quarter lead before the Flames seized control in a 41-24 loss last weekend.
Officially, the two teams share the field for the first time since 1939 – and for only the third time overall with both previous matchups played in Cullowhee and resulting in Campbell victories. WCU is looking to claim its first win in the series, falling 7-6 in the first game in 1937. The Catamounts also dropped a 20-0 decision in 1939 to the Buies Creek-based squad which doesn't count those two 1930s games, listed in its history as its junior college era. The Camels meanwhile are hoping history repeats itself as their last trip to Cullowhee resulted in that victory and an eventual junior state championship title.
A combined 13 preseason all-conference selections between the two teams square off on the gridiron Saturday. The Catamounts saw 10 players honored in SoCon's preseason predictions, led by junior QB
Cole Gonzales as the league's preseason Offensive Player of the Year. A trio of Camels collected preseason accolades in a tight Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), represented by linebacker CJ Tillman – Campbell's sole All-CAA selection – while wide receiver and return specialist VJ Wilkins and senior long snapper Bobby Cleary were named honorable mentions.
WCU has won two of its three home-opening games under head coach
Kerwin Bell including two straight – matching a school single-game scoring record in a 77-21 thrashing of Presbyterian back in 2022 and last season's dismantling of then No. 7/8 Samford, 30-7. Since making the move to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1976, the Catamounts are 36-12 in home openers with a 36-14 mark since 1974 at Whitmire Stadium.
Pass-happy behind Gonzales in its season opener at NC State – doubling the yardage with 241 through the air and 120 on the ground – Bell looks for his squad to find more balance between the ground and aerial attacks this week. He again stressed the importance of winning the battles up front along the offensive and defensive line that would lead to overall team success. On defense, the Catamounts found some of that individual balance on the stat sheet at State as eight players each posted five or more total tackles. Preseason All-SoCon safety
Samaurie Dukes and all-conference cover corner
CJ Williams lead the Catamounts with six stops apiece against the Pack.
On defense, WCU looks to return stand-up defensive end
Micah Nelson from an injury that sidelined him all of last season. He will help spearhead a defensive unit under first-year coordinator
Jerry Odom that looks to keep tabs on what has shown to be an explosive Camels' offense. Campbell had two touchdowns from over 27 yards out with a long rush of 64 yards by Mark Biggins and a 74-yard pass from QB Chad Mascoe to Sincere Brown who finished with 126 yards on just five catches (25.2 yds/rec).
Picked 11th in the 16-team preseason CAA poll, Campbell (0-1) plays its second of three straight away from eastern North Carolina to begin the season. First-year head coach Braxton Harris – the third head coach since the school reinstated football back in 2008, 17 seasons ago – is in his second stint with the program after serving as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator back in 2021 and 2022.
While Campbell's offense has shown the ability for the big play, the Camel defense did allow a few chunk plays to Liberty in the opener. But hemorrhaged 533 yards in Lynchburg in the opener including 279 on the ground and 254 through the air to a squad that averaged 499 yards per game a season ago – fourth in the NCAA FBS.
Kickoff for the revival of the Catamount vs Camel series is set for 1 p.m.
ADDITIONAL GAME NOTES:
- Familiar Faces: Western Carolina's transfer DB Tyquez Royal will see a familiar shade of orange and many of his same teammates from a year ago as the Campbell transfer suits up against his old squad … Royal played in nine games over two seasons in Buies Creek with 11 total tackles … Royal earned his bachelor's degree in sport management from Campbell … On the other side, Campbell transfer OL Antwann Fann knows his way around Cullowhee, playing in 13 games for WCU in jersey No. 52 from 2021 through 2023
- Whee Climb: Following the mid-week upset bid by the Catamounts in the state capital last Thursday, Western Carolina climbed in both national polls. The Purple & Gold moved three spots in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 from the voting media and two positions in the AFCA Coaches Poll, entering the weekend with matching No. 17 rankings nationally.
Game 2: Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 • 1:00 pm
Location: Cullowhee, N.C. (Bob Waters Field / E.J. Whitmire Stadium – 13,790)
Records: Campbell (0-1) at #17/17 Western Carolina (0-1)
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
TV: Nexstar Media Group
CW62, WYCW – Greenville/Spartanburg, N.C.
MyNetworkTV 12, WMYT – Charlotte, N.C. / Rock Hill, S.C.
Ch. 61, WDSI – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Video Stream: ESPN+ (
subscription required)
PBP: Pete Yanity; Color: Jared Singleton
Live Stats Link
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
PBP: Daniel Hooker; Color: Jeff Bryson
CSN Affiliates:
Sylva – 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC
Franklin – 104.9 FM / 1050 AM WFSC
Asheville – 1310 AM WISE Sports Radio
Online:
CatamountSports.com
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports) and Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountsFB).
