Athletics

Charlotte baseball head coach Loren Hibbs will be one of six individuals to be inducted into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame. Hibbs, a 1984 graduate of Wichita State, is set to begin his 26th season as the Charlotte 49ers skipper in February.

“What a tremendous honor,” began Hibbs. “It is always great to be recognized for your achievements. Not only for the accomplishments during my time playing and coaching at Wichita State but also for the caliber of the program we have built and maintained here at Charlotte.”

Youngstown State offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Shane Montgomery has been named to the same positions with the Charlotte 49ers. Montgomery has coached for more than 20 years, including four years as head coach at Miami (Ohio), where he coached all-America and future Super Bowl champion quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Greg Adkins and Keith Henry have joined the Charlotte 49ers football program as offensive line coach and running backs coach, respectively.

Adkins spent the past two years as offensive line coach at Oklahoma State. He coached tight ends for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills the previous two years.

Henry comes to the 49ers after spending the last three years as assistant head coach at his alma mater, Catawba College. Previously, he spent 11 years at Wake Forest University.

The Charlotte 49ers men’s soccer program, which has made two trips to the College Cup and 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including five consecutive ones, will play nine teams that made the 2015 NCAA Tournament in 2016.

The Charlotte 49ers women’s soccer schedule includes eight home regular-season matches at Transamerica Field in addition to the squad playing host to the Conference USA Championships in November.

UNC Charlotte has been named the host institution for the 2016 Conference USA Women’s Soccer Championships. It marks the second time in the last three years that the Charlotte 49ers will welcome fellow league members to Transamerica Field for the annual tournament.
This year’s event will begin with eight teams in quarterfinal round action Nov. 2. The semifinals will be Nov. 4, with the final on Nov. 6. Game times will be announced at a later date.

Conference USA has released its preliminary TV schedule for the 2016 football season, and it currently includes three Charlotte 49ers road games.

Charlotte’s season-opener at Louisville will be televised by the ACC Regional Sports Network. The 49ers game at Marshall will be televised nationally by first-year C-USA TV partner beIN Sports, and the 49ers road game at the University of Southern Mississippi will be televised by the American Sports Network (ASN). 

Conference USA has reached a new multi-year agreement for a comprehensive national television package with four leading outlets: ESPN, CBS Sports Network, the American Sports Network (ASN) and beIN SPORTS. The University is among the 14 member institutions of this athletic conference.

“We explored a number of traditional, digital and additional outlets during the negotiation process,” said C-USA commissioner July MacLeod. “Our interests are aligned, and we are very excited about the potential of these partnerships.

The Charlotte 49ers Athletic Foundation will host the 33rd annual Great Gold Rush Auction, Saturday, June 4, in Dale Halton Arena inside the Barnhardt Student Activity Center. This event begins with a silent auction at 5:30 p.m. The live auction starts at 8:30 p.m. on the floor of Halton Arena.  A food extravaganza will be available throughout the evening. All proceeds from the event go to the 49ers athletic scholarship fund.

Outstanding student-athletes were honored recently at an annual awards banquet held by the Charlotte 49ers and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Team MVP and Coaches’ Awards, as well as department-wide academic honors, were presented.

The 49ers football program awarded its Offensive MVP to all-Conference USA rusher Kalif Phillips and its Defensive MVP to leading tackler Nick Cook. The Jon Richardson Football Scholarship was awarded to defensive lineman Brandon Banks.