Athletics

The Charlotte 49ers 2015 Green-White Spring Game will start at 6 p.m., Saturday, April 18, at Jerry Richardson Stadium. The game will wrap up the 2015 spring practice season under head coach Brad Lambert.

It also will be the first game played under stadium lights added earlier this year.  The lights will allow more flexibility in scheduling game times and make the Charlotte 49ers available for greater television exposure through Conference USA’s television package, according to officials with the Charlotte 49ers.

Mark Price, an assistant coach with the Charlotte Hornets, was introduced as the Charlotte 49ers head men’s basketball coach Thursday.

 “I’m extremely excited about joining the Charlotte 49ers as the new basketball coach,” Price said. “I’m excited to get to know the current players as we move forward and start a new era. I’m looking forward to putting a team on the court that plays an exciting brand of basketball that our students and fans will enjoy watching.”

Highlights from the recent Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball game against Southern Mississippi; the team led by 15 at the half and extended their lead for a 28-point victory.

The Charlotte 49ers have announced their 12-game 2015 football schedule. It will mark the 49ers first season as an FBS program competing in Conference USA.

Judy Rose, the University’s director of athletics, is among the first members appointed by the NCAA Board of Directors to the Division I Council, which is the newest level of leadership in Division I.  She is one of 27 athletic directors named to the 40-person council, which holds its first meetings today in Washington, D.C.

 Charlotte 49ers head football coach Brad Lambert has hired Matt Wallerstedt as the 49ers defensive coordinator. Wallerstedt is a veteran coach with more than 20 years of coaching experience, including a six-year stint at Wyoming and recent stops at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Louisiana-Lafayette. During his career, he has spent eight seasons as a defensive coordinator at four institutions.

Charlotte 49ers head men’s basketball coach Alan Major will be taking an indefinite medical leave of absence, effective immediately.

Major, who took a similar medical leave during the summer, approached Director of Athletics Judy Rose to request the leave due to a return of health conditions.

An alcohol-free tailgate for the Charlotte 49ers Nov. 8 football game against Coastal Carolina has been scheduled. The “Straighten Up” sober tailgate will be held at the tent in the Black parking lot from 7:30 a.m. until game time. The event is sponsored by the Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC); Center for Wellness and Promotion and Foundations Recovery Network.

The tailgate, which is open to anyone who attends the game, will feature:

UNC Charlotte’s marching band will not perform until fall 2015, but it has a uniform and a name: the UNC Charlotte “Pride of Niner Nation” Marching Band.

The Office of Parent and Family Services and the Alumni Association invite Niner Nation family members to the 2014 Fall Family Festival on Saturday, Nov. 15.

“The Office of Parent and Family Services is excited for the Niner Nation family to have a second opportunity to attend a 49ers tailgate and football game,” said Kesha Williams, assistant director for parent and family services. “We are expecting an even bigger crowd then Family Weekend.”