Countdown to Kickoff: 54 Days - #54 Retired - worn by Art Byrd (1946-49)

It's now 54 days until kickoff of Catamount football at Western Carolina's E.J. Whitmire Stadium. The Catamounts open the season on Thursday, August 30, 2012 against Mars Hill College.

To help pass those long summer days until football season starts, and hopefully get the Catamount faithful more excited about the upcoming season, we'll continue the 100 day football countdown.

#54 Retired - worn by Art Byrd (1946-49) 

First football All-America selection at Western Carolina University, playing guard on both the offensive and defensive side of the football ... Helped the Catamounts to an 8-2 regular season mark in 1949 and their first North State Conference title ... That team additionally holds the distinction of being WCU's first to earn a postseason bid, playing in the Smoky Mountain Bowl in Bristol, Va. ... Is the first Western Carolina student-athlete to have their jersey retired ... Inducted into the Western Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990, WCU's first-ever induction class.

Courtesy WCU Sports Information