Charlotte 49ers
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| Charlotte 49ers | |
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| University | University of North Carolina at Charlotte |
|---|---|
| Conference | Atlantic 10 |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | Judy Rose |
| Location | Charlotte, NC |
| Varsity teams | 16 |
| Football stadium | Transamerica Field |
| Basketball arena | Dale F. Halton Arena |
| Mascot | Norm the Niner |
| Nickname | 49ers |
| Fight song | Charlotte 49ers Fight Song |
| Colors | Green and White
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| Homepage | Charlotte49ers.com |
The Charlotte 49ers is the name for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. This consists of sixteen teams (eight for each gender) that compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference of the NCAA's Division I.
The school's official colors are green and white, though black also features prominently in the school's athletic logos and uniforms and gold prominent in all logos. The nickname 49ers derives from the fact that the Charlotte Center for the University of North Carolina, a night school created to educate returning World War II veterans, was saved from closing in 1949 by Bonnie Cone. The school was rechristened Charlotte College that year and became UNC Charlotte in 1965.
The best national finish by a 49ers athletic team is 3rd, accomplished by the men's golf team at the 2007 NCAA Golf Championship. In September of 2007, the golf team became the first Charlotte athletic program to reach a #1 national ranking.
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[edit] Overview of teams
| Sport | Coach (since) | Facility |
| Baseball | Loren Hibbs (1993) | Hayes Stadium |
| Basketball (M) | Bobby Lutz (1998) | Halton Arena |
| Basketball (W) | Karen Aston (2007) | Halton Arena |
| Cross Country (M/W) | Brad Herbster (2002) | |
| Golf (M) | Jamie Green | Rocky River Golf Club |
| Soccer (M) | Jeremy Gunn (2007) | Transamerica Field |
| Soccer (W) | Jon Lipsitz (2005) | Transamerica Field |
| Softball | Aimee DeVos (1995) | Phillips Field |
| Tennis (M) | Jim Boykin (1994) | |
| Tennis (W) | Michaela Quinn (2004) | |
| Track/Field (M/W) | Robert Olesen (2003) | Belk Track |
| Volleyball (W) | Chris Redding (2007) | Halton Arena |
[edit] Overview of conferences
[edit] NAIA
- Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1965-1970)
[edit] NCAA Division I
- Independent (1970-1976)
- Sun Belt Conference (1976-1991)
- Metro Conference (1991-1995)
- Conference USA (1995-2005)
- Atlantic 10 Conference (2005-present)
[edit] Name Issue
Even though the university's official name is The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the athletic department opted in 2000 to shorten the university's name to Charlotte for athletics purposes. This decision was prompted by the constant misrepresentations of the school's name in the media at the local and national level.
[edit] Facilities
Athletic facilities at Charlotte have improved dramatically over the past decade. In 1996 men's basketball returned to campus full-time for the first time in nearly 20 years with the opening of Dale F. Halton Arena. A new outdoor sports facility, the Irwin Belk Track and Field Center, opened in 1999 and serves as the home to the 49ers track and field teams in addition to both men's and women's soccer. Tom & Lib Phillips Field, the baseball facility, underwent a $6 million overhaul that was completed in 2007; the facility was renamed Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium in honor of the renovation's benefactor and her late husband. The golf team's new practice facility at Rocky River Golf Club in Concord was completed in October 2006.
[edit] Football at Charlotte
UNC Charlotte does not have a football team. When the University was still the Charlotte Center of the University of North Carolina, there was a football team, but it was disbanded after a short time. Founder Bonnie Cone is sometimes credited with the initial ban on a football program that has persisted throughout the University's history, but this is inaccurate. There have been several myths that have been spread as to why the University doesn't have a team and many still persist to this day, but the reality is that CCUNC students voted to disband the football program.
The April 1, 2004 issue of the campus newspaper, The University Times, parodied this controversy by claiming on the front page that alumnus Clay Aiken was in the process of donating millions to the university for the creation of a football team.
In 2006, a student and alumni organization formed in an effort to bring an NCAA Division I-A football team to UNC Charlotte. So far the organization, Charlotte 49er Football Initiative, has set up a website in order to get a list of supporters and pledges supporters would like to make, if there were a team. They have also begun selling t-shirts and stickers to further bolster support. An on campus student version has been created and the organization as a whole has begun receiving attention, including that of the media.[8]
Near the end of 2006, a poll was undertaken to see if the topic of football should go to an official student vote. There were over 4,000 votes cast, 97% of them being for the 'yes' option.[1][2]
On February 26, 2007, the Student Government Association released the results of a 2-week official student opinion poll in which nearly 40% of all students (over 8,000) voted, making this the highest turnout achieved in the state system's history. The results were:[3]
- 22% of students participating voted in support of no fee increase
- 78% of students participating voted in support of a fee increase
- 52% of students participating voted in support of paying at least $200 per year
- 59% of students participating would attend 5 to 6 home games
- 72% of students participating would travel more than 5 miles to attend home games
- 56% of students participating would travel more than 10 miles to attend home games
- 59% of students participating would be more interested in 49er Athletics as a result of football
- 12% of students participating would not consider attending football games after graduation
- 62% of students pariticpating had attended at least one college football game at another school the previous season
In February of 2007, the Board of Trustees voted to establish a Football Feasibility Committee to be headed by outgoing Board President Mac Everett. The Committee held several meetings throughout the summer of 2007 and conducted three public forums in the fall of 2007. Following these meetings, the committee unanimously voted in favor of making a pro-football recommendation to the Board of Trustees regarding the feasibility of adding a football program at Charlotte.
Chancellor Dubois is in the process of reviewing the committee's results and determining his final recommendation to the Board of Trustees at the September board meeting. He has presented the findings of his own internal review to the board at the June meeting which included estimates from stadium design firm HOK Sport Venue Event which significantly bumped facilities construction numbers from the feasiblity committee figures and which are significantly higher then those for the much larger facility recently constructed for the University of Central Florida's Bright House Stadium. These figures high costs in relation to UCF's new stadium and a similarly priced new construction for the University of North Texas have raised doubts about the Chancellor's desire to pursue football.
The Board will vote at the September meeting for or against adding football. The team would likely begin play in the Fall of 2013.
[edit] Accomplishments
[edit] Soccer
- NCAA Final Four 1996 - Led by Striker Jonathan Mabee
- Atlantic 10 Finalist 2007
[edit] Baseball
- First season: 1979
- Conference Championships (5)
- 1993, 1994, 1995, 2007, 2008
- NCAA Tournament Appearances (4)
- 1993 (0-2)
- 1998 (0-2)
- 2007 (2-2)
- 2008
- Retired Jerseys
- 5 Joey Anderson
- 7 Barry Shiflett
- 15 Tim Collie
[edit] Golf
- Consensus #1 in the nation by three major polls: Golfweek, Golfstat, and Nike - Fall 2007 (First National Number 1 Ranking in any varsity sport for Charlotte)
- Atlantic 10 Champions
- 2006
- 2007
- 2008
- NCAA Championship 3rd Place - 2007
- Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year 2007 - Jamie Green
[edit] Men's Basketball
- First season: 1965
- Conference Championships (9)
- 1969, 1970, 1977, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2004
- NCAA Tournament Appearances (11)
- NIT Appearances (6)
- 1976 (Finals), 1989, 1994, 2000, 2006, 2008
- Retired Jerseys
- 4 Byron Dinkins
- 4 DeMarco Johnson
- 23 Jarvis Lang
- 32 Melvin Watkins
- 33 Cedric Maxwell
- 34 Henry Williams
- 45 Charles Hayward
[edit] Women's Basketball
- First season: 1975
- Conference Championships (3)
- 1990, 2003, 2006
- NCAA Appearances (1)
- 2003 (1st Round)
- NIT Appearances (6)
- 1990, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
[edit] External links
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