Athletics

The Charlotte 49ers football program is asking fans to celebrate the life of the late Phil Ratliff, the 49ers offensive line coach who died in August, by committing random acts of kindness on Ratliff’s birthday, Thursday, Nov. 12.

Ratliff was known for reaching out and connecting with people, for his love of life and his love of others.

Employees can kick off the season with four free admission tickets to games as the Charlotte 49ers open the Mark Price era of men’s basketball. Games included in this deal are the men’s exhibition match at 7 p.m., Monday, Nov. 9, and the Opening Day Doubleheader on Friday, Nov. 13, when the women face Ball State at 5:30 p.m. and the men take on Elon at 8:30 p.m. The first 2,500 fans in attendance on Opening Day will receive a commemorative Mark Price jersey T-shirt. 

The annual Basketball Madness event, which is presented by UNC Charlotte housing and residence life, will be at 9 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 22, in Halton Arena. The night consists of men’s and women’s basketball team introductions and members of men’s basketball (Braxton Ogbueze and Ridell Camidge) and women’s basketball (Lefty Webster and Ciara Gregory) participating in a three-point shootout. The Gold Dusters, Charlotte 49ers Cheerleaders and Norm the Niner will be on hand.

Monday, Sept. 21, is Faculty/Staff Night for the volleyball contest against the University of Texas at El Paso. Employees can pick up four free tickets at the Charlotte 49ers Athletic Ticket Office outside the Barnhardt Student Activity Center prior to the 6 p.m. game.

For more information, call 704-687-4949.

The Charlotte 49ers, who are making their debut in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) this fall as a member of Conference USA, have scheduled a home-and-home series with UNC Chapel Hill in 2024 and 2025.

Charlotte will play at UNC Chapel Hill, Sept. 7, 2024, and the Tar Heels will return the trip to Charlotte’s Richardson Stadium, Sept. 6, 2025.

Today’s game in Atlanta marks the start of Football Bowl Subdivision play for the Charlotte 49ers. The team is taking on the Georgia State Panthers at the Georgia Dome; the game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. in front of a national television audience on ESPNU.

“We’ve had a lot of firsts in starting this program, but this is probably the biggest,” said head coach Brad Lambert. “In my humble opinion, this is the greatest time of the year. The boys are all are getting ready to take the field. It doesn’t get any better than what we are getting ready to embark on.”

The Hunter and Stephanie Edwards Promenade, which houses the University, coaches and media boxes and broadcast booths at Jerry Richardson Stadium, honors a generous contribution from a pair of proud UNC Charlotte alumni.

“This is a major commitment from this couple, and it will have a major impact,” said Chancellor Philip L. Dubois. “To achieve our goals (in football), we knew we would need the support of generous donors. It is especially meaningful today that the two individuals we are honoring are both graduates of this institution.”

The Charlotte 49ers football game against Temple University scheduled for Friday, Oct. 2, in Richardson Stadium, will be televised, and University leaders anticipate a large crowd for this event. Traffic is expected to increase significantly in the early afternoon as thousands of fans arrive for the game.

The University will observe the following plan for the Oct. 2 game day:

CLASSES AND LABS

Classes are not canceled when the University is required to host weekday football games.

The Charlotte 49ers and UNC Charlotte Cable Television are partnering to broadcast 10 fall sporting events that will reach 500,000-plus subscribers to Time Warner Cable and AT&T UVerse in the Charlotte region.

Men’s soccer will have four home matches broadcast; while women’s soccer and volleyball will each have three.

On campus and in Mecklenburg, Union and Iredell counties, these broadcasts will be on Time Warner Cable Channel 22.

The “49ers Uptown Live,” the official coaches’ show, will again broadcast from Blackfinn Ameripub, located in the Epicentre in Uptown Charlotte.  The first show of the 2015-16 school year will be at 7 p.m., Monday, Aug. 31.

Hosted by Matt Swierad, “49ers Uptown Live” will feature weekly appearances by head football coach Brad Lambert or men’s head basketball coach Mark Price, along with guest appearances by other coaches, players and Athletic Department officials.  Swierad is the voice of the 49ers for football and basketball.