The Charlotte 49ers football program represents the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...
in
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
. The UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees officially voted to add a football program on November 13, 2008, after a unanimous recommendation by the Football Feasibility Committee. It was made possible by Student Government initiatives starting in 2006 by then-student body president Benjamin Comstock and student body vice president Jordan Van Dyne, namely the first step of organizing a transparent student vote on football that disclosed possible hikes in tuition fees as a result of football. The online poll was approved by the Student Senate and administered in collaboration with the University's IT Department. Despite the possibility of potential rises in student fees, the vote clearly displayed a student interest in a football team. The program began play during the
2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season
The 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The season began o ...
.
History
Origins
In 1946, 22 young men began practice as the
Charlotte Center of the University of North Carolina Owl's first athletic program: a football team.
The team finished the season 2–4, with wins over
Pembroke State and
Belmont Abbey, and losses to
Davidson
Davidson may refer to:
* Davidson (name)
* Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan
* Davidson Media Group
* Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA
* Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
* ...
JV,
Catawba College
Catawba College is a private college in Salisbury, North Carolina. Founded in 1851 by the North Carolina Classis of the Reformed Church in Newton, the college adopted its name from its county of origin, Catawba County, before moving to its c ...
JV, and
Clemson's "B" team.
The team hosted 2 home games that year at
American Legion Memorial Stadium
American Legion Memorial Stadium is a 10,500-seat stadium located on 7th Street in the Elizabeth community of Charlotte, North Carolina. It is located on a complex with the Grady Cole Center. Both are located next to Central Piedmont Community Col ...
.
In part due to the effects of fewer
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
veterans entering college in the late 1940s, the football program ended after the 1948 season. The final football game was played on October 27, 1948.
On July 12, 2006, a group of 15 UNC Charlotte students and alumni held the inaugural Charlotte 49er Football Initiative (CFI) meeting. The mission of this group was to "promote the creation of a Division 1 college football program at Charlotte," eventually employing methods such as a promotional website, merchandise sales and a pledge campaign. A student organization, Charlotte Football Advocates (later CFI Students), became a part of the larger CFI group during the fall of 2006. In February 2007, UNC Charlotte students voted overwhelmingly in favor of football in an official campus-wide vote and the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees voted to authorize $150,000 to study adding 49ers Football, and establishing a Football Feasibility Committee to be headed by outgoing board president and prominent Charlotte businessman Mac Everett. The committee held several meetings throughout the summer of 2007, plus three public forums in the fall of 2007.
In December 2007, the Football Feasibility Committee voted unanimously to recommend the addition of 49ers football. In September 2008, a major student-led March to the Endzone rally was held on campus. On September 18, 2008, Chancellor Dubois officially recommended adding a 49ers football program with the condition that its fans first raise $5 million to help fund the stadium complex. On November 13, 2008, the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees voted to add a Charlotte 49ers football program by 2013.
Chancellor Dubois originally recommended that the university start
Division I football at the
FCS (formerly Division I-AA) level with no timeline to move up to
FBS. The team played their first full season in the fall of 2013 as an FCS Independent. On May 4, 2012 Charlotte agreed to rejoin
Conference USA
Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...
for all sports except football in 2013, with football joining in 2015 (the first year the 49ers would be eligible due to the NCAA requirement that start-up programs play a minimum of two years in FCS). Charlotte moved to the FBS in 2015 and became FBS bowl eligible in 2016. The 49ers were founding members of C-USA from 1996 to 2005, but they did not compete in football during that time period. Other schools to join C-USA with Charlotte include
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...
,
Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...
,
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activ ...
,
University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a public research university in San Antonio, Texas. With over 34,000 students across its four campuses spanning 758 acres, UTSA is the largest university in San Antonio and the eighth-largest by ...
,
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...
, and
Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...
.
Brad Lambert era (2013–2018)
![2017-0720-CUSA-BradLambert](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/2017-0720-CUSA-BradLambert.jpg)
On March 1, 2011 the 49ers introduced
Wake Forest defensive coordinator
Brad Lambert as the program's first head coach.
The 49ers played as an Independent during their two years in the FCS subdivision. Charlotte Football officially joined the FBS subdivision and C-USA Football on July 1, 2015.
On November 18, 2018, Charlotte Athletics Director
Mike Hill announced that after 8 years and 6 seasons as head coach, Lambert would not be retained following the season. Lambert had compiled a record of 22–48 during his tenure, including the program's first win in the inaugural game and winning the program's first
FBS game. Lambert would finish his career at Charlotte a week later with a season-ending road victory against the previous season conference champion
FAU.
Will Healy era (2018–2022)
On December 5, 2018
Austin Peay
Austin Peay (June 1, 1876 – October 2, 1927) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Tennessee from 1923 to 1927. He was the state's first governor since the Civil War to win three consecutive terms and the first to die ...
's
Will Healy
William Livingston Healy (born January 16, 1985) is an American football coach. He was the head coach at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina from 2019 to 2022. At the time of hire on December 4, 2018, he wa ...
was announced as the Charlotte 49ers second head football coach. The 2017
Eddie Robinson Award
The Eddie Robinson Award is awarded annually to college football's top head coach in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). The award was established by The Sports Network, since merged into Stats Perform, ...
by
STATS for FCS Coach of the Year, had a 8-1
FCS record and a 7–1 record in the
Ohio Valley Conference
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Divisi ...
in his second season with the Governors, who previously had a 1–46 record before Healy took over the previous season.
On August 29, 2019, Healy recorded his first win as the head coach of Charlotte in a 49–28 victory against
Gardner–Webb. On September 14, he recorded his first career victory over a
Football Bowl Subdivision
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...
(FBS) opponent with a 52–17 win against
UMass. Healy would record his first
C-USA
Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are ...
win against
North Texas
North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wor ...
on October 26. Healy and the 49ers both would reach bowl eligibility for the first time following a home victory over
Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
November 23 in his first season at the helm. Then on September 3, 2021 in his third season, he would lead the 49ers to their first ever win over a
Power Five opponent with a score of 31-28 against
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
at home.
Charlotte fired Healy on October 23, 2022, after a 1–7 start to the season. Pete Rossomando was named interim head coach for the final four games of the season.
Francis "Biff" Poggi era (2022–Present)
News was released on November 15, 2022 that
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
associate head coach
Francis "Biff" Poggi was named Charlotte's third head coach in the modern era.
Conference affiliations
* Independent (1946–1948)
* ''No team'' (1949–2012)
*
FCS Independent (2013–2014)
*
Conference USA
Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...
(2015–''2023'')
* ''
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
(2023)''
Bowl games
Charlotte has participated in one bowl game, and has a record of 0–1.
NFL Draft Picks
Charlotte has had 4 players selected in the NFL Draft as of the 2020 Draft.
Additionally,
Brandon Banks
Brandon Desean Banks (born December 21, 1987) is an American Canadian football wide receiver and return specialist who is currently a free agent. He was most recently a member of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He wa ...
signed with the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
and recorded one career tackle, and
Austin Duke
Austin P. Duke (born August 3, 1993) is a former American football wide receiver for the Barcelona Dragons of the European League of Football (ELF). He played college football for Charlotte and later professionally for the Carolina Panthers of ...
signed with the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
, as an undrafted free agent in 2017.
Benny Lemay signed with the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Ben Deluca signed as an undrafted free agent in 2021 with the Chargers and participated in 3 games
Head coaches
''(*) Interim head coach''
Homecoming History
Since coming back as a program in 2013, the 49ers have had a Homecoming Game, generally held in the middle of the season. They have a 3–6 program record on Homecoming.
All-time record vs. In-State NCAA Division I teams
Official record (including any
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current In-State NCAA Division I opponents.
''(*)FCS Opponent''
''(°)AAC Conference Opponent''
All-time record vs. C-USA teams
Official record (including any
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current C-USA opponents.
''(*)Division Opponent''
All-time record vs. AAC teams
Official record (including any
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current C-USA opponents.
''(*)Non-conference game''
Forty Niner Seat Licenses
To generate financial support for the launch of the football program, Chancellor Dubois created a program called Forty Niner Seat Licenses, or FSLs, which essentially served as seat deposits for season tickets. The Chancellor initially set forth a goal of 5,000 FSL reservations within 6 months. However, due to the tremendous level of support for the new program, the goal was met in only 2 months.
In February 2008, a fundraising capital campaign was established and led by prominent community leaders. These leaders included Mac Everett, Johnny Harris and Gene Johnson. Additionally, three other UNC Charlotte alumni were introduced as executive chairs: David Hauser, chief financial officer for Duke Energy Corporation; Bob Hull, chief financial officer for Lowe's Companies, Inc.; and Joe Price, chief financial officer for Bank of America Corporation.
Seat licenses are being sold in three tiers of seating: Green, Gold and White Gold. Green seat licenses are being sold at $1,000 per seat and will be located between the 30 yard line and the end zone; Gold seat licenses at $2,500 per seat and will be located between the 30 yard lines; and White Gold seat licenses at an undisclosed amount in a block of exclusive seating. Seat locations will be determined by the ticket holders' Charlotte 49ers Athletics Foundation rank which is determined by the amount of the cumulative financial contribution the donor has made to the Foundation.
Stadium
Chancellor Dubois conducted a lengthy review process of the committee's results before making his final recommendation to the Board of Trustees. He presented the findings of his own internal review to the board at a June meeting which included estimates from stadium design firm
Populous. The estimates significantly increased facilities construction numbers from the feasibility committee figures. They were also significantly higher than those for a much larger facility recently constructed for the
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...
's
Bright House Stadium
FBC Mortgage Stadium (formerly known as Bright House Networks Stadium and Spectrum Stadium, also known as the Bounce House) is an American football stadium located in Orlando, Florida, United States, on the main campus of the University of Central ...
.
On February 12, 2010, the
University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
Board of Governors approved a debt service fee increase to fund the construction of the football stadium and football center,
and on August 2, 2010
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Bev Perdue
Beverly Eaves Perdue (born Beverly Marlene Moore; January 14, 1947) is an American businesswoman, politician, and member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who served as the List of governors of North Carolina, 73rd Govern ...
signed the debt service fee bill into law to clear the way for stadium construction.
Designed by the architecture teams of Jenkins-Peer Architects and the
DLR Group
DLR Group is an employee-owned integrated design firm providing architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design. Their brand promise is to elevate the human experience through design. A self-described advocate for sustainable design, the ...
, its location was shown near the campus entrance at
Highway 29 north of
Hayes Stadium
Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium at Tom and Lib Phillips Field is a baseball venue on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The playing surface has been the home of the Charlotte 4 ...
.
On April 28, 2011 Charlotte held a
groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...
ceremony for the football stadium.
The stadium was completed in summer 2012. The 49ers' first game was a 52–7 win over
Campbell Campbell may refer to:
People Surname
* Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell
Given name
* Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer
* Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...
on August 31, 2013.
Future non-conference opponents
Announced schedules as of November 21, 2022.
Attendance
The largest crowd for a Charlotte football game at Jerry Richardson Stadium is 19,151, which was achieved on September 8, 2018, against
Appalachian State
Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...
University. The previous record was 18,651, set in the season home opener in 2017.
Single Game Attendance
Attendance by season
Note:
† 2020 season attendance figures were affected by state and university quarantine decisions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. For specific details see the 2020 season page
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte 49ers Football
2013 establishments in North Carolina
American football teams established in 2013