Charlotte – For the first time in football program history, the Charlotte 49ers will host an SEC team.

Hot off its first bowl bid, Charlotte has announced a home-and-home series with Ole Miss during the 2026 and 2027 football seasons. Ole Miss will travel to Charlotte’s Jerry Richardson Stadium, Sept. 12, 2026 and the 49ers will head to Oxford, Miss. for a road contest, Sept. 4, 2027 at Vaught Hemingway Stadium. Game dates are subject to change.

“What an incredible opportunity for Niner Nation to enjoy an SEC opponent on our campus, and then make a return trip to one of the most legendary settings in college football -- The Grove,” said Mike Hill, Charlotte 49ers Director of Athletics. “As our program continues its competitive ascent, expect to see more exciting match-ups of this caliber.”

“Anytime you’re competing against the Southeastern Conference, you’re obviously talking about the big time,” said 49ers head coach Will Healy. “It’s huge for our student-athlete experience to play in those types of ACC and SEC atmospheres, but also great to get those programs to our place. It’s a priority for us to continue to build the fan experience here, and having Duke, Maryland, North Carolina and now Ole Miss coming to our place is a great way to do that.”

Ole Miss is the first SEC team to schedule a game at Charlotte. The 49ers have played at Kentucky (2015) and Tennessee (2018) and are scheduled to play at Tennessee this coming season, at South Carolina in 2022, at Florida in 2023, and at Georgia during the 2025 season.

Charlotte has played a team from a Power Five conference in each of its five seasons at the FBS level and has such a team currently scheduled from 2020 through 2027 with home games slated for the 2021, 2022, 2025 and 2026 seasons.

Next season, ACC member Duke becomes the first Power Five school to play at Charlotte. The 49ers will also host the Big Ten’s Maryland in 2022 and the ACC’s North Carolina in 2025 before welcoming Ole Miss in 2026.

In other schedule news, the 49ers will now host Gardner Webb in 2021 in place of a previously scheduled contest with Duquesne.

Thanks to a five-game win streak to close the regular season, Charlotte posted a 7-6 record (5-3 in Conference USA) and advanced to the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl in 2019. It was the 49ers first-ever bowl appearance and came in Healy’s first season at the helm.

Charlotte vs. Ole Miss Series Details:
September 12, 2026 – Charlotte, N.C.  (Jerry Richardson Stadium)
September 4, 2027 – Oxford, Miss. (Vaught Hemingway Stadium)

The NCCA is pleased to announce the coaches for the 2021 East-West All-Star games.

As has already been announced, the 2020 NCCA East-West All-Star games have been canceled due to the uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 this summer.

Consequently, the NCCA has invited the 2020 coaches to coach in next year’s games. All have accepted.

The East-West games will be played next July in Greensboro, and the Carolinas Classic is tentatively scheduled to be played in Wilmington in March.

Athletes from the canceled 2020 games are invited back next year to be recognized during halftime.

2021 All-Star Coaches

East Football:
Head:  Paul Cornwell  Ayden-Grifton HS
Asst:    Russell Dove    S Columbus HS
Asst:   Ryan Gieselman Kinston HS
Asst:   Jake Thomas Cape Fear HS
Asst:   Greg Williams Richmond Co HS
Asst:   Steven Wright Cardinal Gibbons HS

West Football:
Head:  Doug Robertson      Page HS
Asst:    Clint Bland E Rutherford HS
Asst:    Chuck Cannon Wilkes Central HS
Asst:    David Devine Burns HS
Asst:    Nick Eddins Crest HS
Asst:    Wayne Hicks St. Stephens HS

The Charlotte 49ers, UNC Charlotte’s Division I intercollegiate athletics program, today unveiled a highly anticipated new brand identity that is expected to become a rallying point for all of Niner Nation and the broader Charlotte community. This is the first update to the Charlotte 49ers athletic mark since 2000.

“The new identity captures the energy that will drive our programs to championship-level success,” said 49ers Director of Athletics Mike Hill. “It’s an exciting time for Charlotte athletics. We enjoyed our first football bowl game last season, set a record for home wins in men’s basketball, won league titles in men’s and women’s track and field, advanced to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament second round, and saw multiple teams continue their dramatic competitive ascent.

To build on that, we’re thrilled to have our new bolder identity that not only reflects our commitment to excellence but encompasses the pride this community has for our institution as well as our strong connection to our dynamic city.”

The centerpiece of the new look is a distinctive mark called the “All-In C.” An evolution from the current Charlotte athletics logo, it places the classic 49ers’ gold-mining pick inside a collegiate-inspired “C” with beveled corners, an aggressive stance and a 9-degree forward tilt that illustrates the brand’s positive energy and forward momentum.

“It looks incredible,” said Head Football Coach Will Healy. “It will look great on the side of a helmet. It will look great in the middle of a basketball court and on jerseys. When you have a cool logo to go along with Nike on the other side, it’s going to help us in recruiting. It’s going to help our player experience here, where they feel really good about where they are playing. I think adding ‘CLT’ to the mark is a big step. We’ve been focused on how we incorporate the city into our brand. How do we make sure we are Charlotte’s Division I university? This is a big step forward for our program.”

The new brand identity is tentatively set to debut during fall seasons, which are dependent on how college sports return in the coronavirus pandemic. Fans can expect it to appear on football team helmets, a variety of sports jerseys and signage at athletic facilities, including the basketball court in Halton Arena. The athletic department is also working closely with the Trademark Licensing Office and the Collegiate Licensing Company to provide retail distribution for merchandise featuring the new marks.

“I’ve seen this University and the city transform,” said Women’s Basketball Coach Cara Consuegra. "We’re a young city, an energetic city. We’re a young university, an energetic university. The branding brings the city and the University together into that forward momentum. It has energy.”

Charlotte 49ers athletics partnered with Luquire George Andrews (LGA), a Charlotte-based strategic communications firm that has several UNC Charlotte alumni on its roster. The year-long collaboration was led by LGA Senior Vice President/Executive Creative Director Todd Aldridge, a distinguished alumnus of UNC Charlotte’s College of Arts + Architecture.

“This was really a labor of love,” said Aldridge, who represents one of three generations in his family with connections to the University spanning nearly 50 years. “UNC Charlotte means so much not just to its alumni, faculty, staff and students, but to the entire community. As the school’s impact on our region reaches new heights, we were determined to develop an identity that reflected a positive, forward trajectory.”

In April of 2019, the athletic department and agency team completed internal and external research during the assessment phase of the project. This included a brand articulation session with a broad cross-section of University stakeholders, in-depth interviews with selected administrators, supporters and licensees, and extensive online surveys targeting alumni and students.

The results of the assessment phase led to the crafting of an internal brand promise for the Charlotte 49ers: “Fearlessly Embracing Momentum.” The assessment and brand promise helped inspire the development of new creative concepts to represent the Niners athletics brand.

“We leaned into the words that emerged in the research phase about how people described Charlotte 49ers athletics,” said Chris Fuller, the 49ers’ deputy athletic director for External Affairs. “Words like inspiring, dynamic, youthful, energetic, excellence and growth helped shape the brand promise and a new look. We saw a need and an opportunity to strengthen and simplify our logo to make it more distinctive and recognizable and we feel confident this has been achieved.”

“Our team is in the process of exploring all the ways to bring our new brand identity to life,” added Fuller. “And it couldn’t come at a better time, with students, faculty and staff returning to campus in September. This will be a great way to kick off the new school year.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) -- The Big South Conference announced today the 2010-19 Football All-Decade Team presented by Hercules Tires. The league’s All-Decade Teams were first unveiled as part of the Big South’s 30th Anniversary celebration in 2013-14 to recognize the student-athletes and coaches who excelled in their respective sport in each decade since the Conference’s founding in 1983.

A 15-person committee of Big South Conference administrators served as the official voting panel to determine the All-Decade Team, with fan voting comprising 20 percent of the overall total. The 2010-19 Football All-Decade Team is listed below in alphabetical order by position and features one quarterback, three running backs, four wide receivers, one tight end, five offensive lineman, four defensive lineman, four linebackers, four defensive backs, one placekicker, one punter, one long snapper, two kick return specialists and one head coach. In case of ties, additional honorees have been added.