During a Bristol NASCAR race in the fall of 2008, Rich Brown, an Appalachian State Alum and avid fan, were tailgating when they noticed all the modified tailgating school buses around them. They saw the potential of having hundreds of fans tailgating around a properly modified vehicle. Rich and his three buddies, who were psychology professors at Appalachian State, came up with the idea of equipping a short school bus into App State’s most fierce tailgating machine. After finding a bus on eBay, which was originally an ice cream short bus (great find!), Rich and his friends began work to modify the bus.

The debut of the short bus came at last year’s Richmond game that included over 80 guests visits in what they call their “unorganized party.” The Appalachian State Short Bus features, music, TV, service bar, grill, second deck, removable benches, and a mounted keg tap. This year, they are getting ready to modify the bus with a new Tiki Hut that will be installed on the second deck. They are currently scheduled to finish this project by the end of the summer.

This bus currently frequents the Appalachian State football games and some NASCAR races, and is hoping to reach more events in the future.