UNC Charlotte Football

[ah59396]

15 minutes ago, SouthEndCLT811 said:

Rice - 14,306
FIU - 13,939
ODU - 12,589
Eastern Michigan - 15,080
Elon - 15,807

Seems to be in line with the attendance to other games this season.  Granted this is the box score reporting so I'm not sure if that's sales and a lot of people no showed.  But numbers alone don't support that reporting.

Correct.  I'm always suspicious of box score figures, especially in a stadium with FSL's (like the Panthers have).  I read in a couple message boards that the true attendance was woeful.  That's why i'm looking for input from someone that was actually at the game.

[DavieNative]

44 minutes ago, ah59396 said:

I read that the attendance for the Rice game was underwhelming.  Was that the case?  or just poor reporting?  If so, what do you think is driving the attendance issue?  That was arguably the biggest game in Charlotte's history.

Attendance wasn't awful, but was not impressive. I would say the problem is that no one other than die hard fans knew it was a big game. The average football fan probably thinks we're still terrible because all they've seen are our bad home losses.

Clearly Charlotte has no home field advantage. We can't seem to buy a home win even against an inferior opponent. I have no idea how to explain that one.

[allthingsplanes]

As a UNC Charlotte staff member, I will say that one of the big problems in my opinion is that they've NEVER had a ticket structure to promote growing a fan base.  They have one ticket price, period.  I have 2 young kids and would look to bring them to games (even if we're bad) except it costs a lot of money for my family.  I figure if my kids grew up going to games, they would want to continue to support the team as they get older.  But there's no incentive to pay that money to watch what has been really bad football.

[Niner National]

2 hours ago, ah59396 said:

I read that the attendance for the Rice game was underwhelming.  Was that the case?  or just poor reporting?  If so, what do you think is driving the attendance issue?  That was arguably the biggest game in Charlotte's history.

It was just okay at the start of the game. A ton of people left at half time though. I guess they thought we were going to continue the rout of Rice and it was getting a bit cold (with people not really dressed for it).

The coaching staff is just so, so awful. Even the games we won weren't because we had an amazing game plan, we just outplayed them because we have a few really good players on the team.

[ah59396]

1 hour ago, Niner National said:

It was just okay at the start of the game. A ton of people left at half time though. I guess they thought we were going to continue the rout of Rice and it was getting a bit cold (with people not really dressed for it).

The coaching staff is just so, so awful. Even the games we won weren't because we had an amazing game plan, we just outplayed them because we have a few really good players on the team.

I wouldn't harp on the coaching staff too hard.  Winning in the FBS is really hard.  Especially when you're a startup program comprised of half FCS and FBS players.  The fact that you already have 4 W's in year 2 is a very nice accomplishment.  

 It's got to be a tough sell to bring kids to Charlotte, even against some regional FCS powers.  I don't mean that as a slight at all.  I just imagine it's a challenge.  A brand new program has a limited pipeline of high school coaches for recruiting, a lack of current NFL alums to point to and say "see, they made it" nor tradition/trophies to revere.  Lambert has done a nice job.

Also, the half time exodus is not unique to Charlotte.  App has the same issues, regardless of the score, particularly among students who are more interested in getting drunk than watching a close game.  I think it just comes with G5 college football.  Alabama we are not, haha.

 

3 hours ago, allthingsplanes said:

As a UNC Charlotte staff member, I will say that one of the big problems in my opinion is that they've NEVER had a ticket structure to promote growing a fan base.  They have one ticket price, period.  I have 2 young kids and would look to bring them to games (even if we're bad) except it costs a lot of money for my family.  I figure if my kids grew up going to games, they would want to continue to support the team as they get older.  But there's no incentive to pay that money to watch what has been really bad football.

That's interesting.  Will that be something they look at in the future?

4 hours ago, DavieNative said:

Attendance wasn't awful, but was not impressive. I would say the problem is that no one other than die hard fans knew it was a big game. The average football fan probably thinks we're still terrible because all they've seen are our bad home losses.

Clearly Charlotte has no home field advantage. We can't seem to buy a home win even against an inferior opponent. I have no idea how to explain that one.

FWIW I'm by no means a Charlotte fan and I was aware of the importance for you all.  But you are right, winning fixes everything.

 

[cjd5050]

On 11/14/2016 at 6:17 PM, ah59396 said:

II wouldn't harp on the coaching staff too hard.  Winning in the FBS is really hard.  Especially when you're a startup program comprised of half FCS and FBS players.  The fact that you already have 4 W's in year 2 is a very nice accomplishment.  

 It's got to be a tough sell to bring kids to Charlotte, even against some regional FCS powers.  I don't mean that as a slight at all.  I just imagine it's a challenge.  A brand new program has a limited pipeline of high school coaches for recruiting, a lack of current NFL alums to point to and say "see, they made it" nor tradition/trophies to revere.  Lambert has done a nice job.

You're on point with the difference between FCB and FBS players.  Looks like a lot of the depth chart consists of 5th year Seniors, who were players that went to UNC Charlotte for the 2012 season that was just practice.  Not sure how much of a ceiling you can expect on those players, regardless of how much development time they have had.  What I do like is it appears they red shirt almost everyone, which is a good sign of a staff looking to build a program rather than chasing an extra win or two early on.

Not sure I agree on the difficulty in selling Charlotte.  At least depending on who they go after.  I don't think kids being recruited to a Conference USA team should be sold the NFL as the odds of that even happening are really slim.  As for the school, I think the campus is pretty awesome and Charlotte itself is an amazing city to spend 4 or 5 years in.  Compared to some of the other locations of course.  

I think the biggest challenge that UNC Charlotte faces is that it's in a NFL city.  A lot of the local fans that fill up stadiums at other schools have options NFL options here.  It's difficult to get people to give up large portions of both Saturday and Sunday.  What I think would be a cool idea is if the Panthers and 49ers could find a way to work together on ticket packages.  Something like buy 1 or 2 Panthers tickets and get 3 or 4 tickets to 49ers games for one price.  

[Niner National]

1 hour ago, cjd5050 said:

You're on point with the difference between FCB and FBS players.  Looks like a lot of the depth chart consists of 5th year Seniors, who were players that went to UNC Charlotte for the 2012 season that was just practice.  Not sure how much of a ceiling you can expect on those players, regardless of how much development time they have had.  What I do like is it appears they red shirt almost everyone, which is a good sign of a staff looking to build a program rather than chasing an extra win or two early on.

Not sure I agree on the difficulty in selling Charlotte.  At least depending on who they go after.  I don't think kids being recruited to a Conference USA team should be sold the NFL as the odds of that even happening are really slim.  As for the school, I think the campus is pretty awesome and Charlotte itself is an amazing city to spend 4 or 5 years in.  Compared to some of the other locations of course.  

I think the biggest challenge that UNC Charlotte faces is that it's in a NFL city.  A lot of the local fans that fill up stadiums at other schools have options NFL options here.  It's difficult to get people to give up large portions of both Saturday and Sunday.  What I think would be a cool idea is if the Panthers and 49ers could find a way to work together on ticket packages.  Something like buy 1 or 2 Panthers tickets and get 3 or 4 tickets to 49ers games for one price.  

If you haven't watched the team, it's hard to really know what I mean when I criticize the coaching. They just make boneheaded decisions that cost us games. Bad and predictable play calling, poor clock management.

We have as much or more talent than all but the top 4 or so teams in the conference. There have been several instances where the players have put us in a position to win, but then mind boggling decisions from the coaches cost us the game. Mostly on the clock management side of the ball, but they also made bad personnel decisions out of loyalty. They also have a policy of no fair catches, which cost us the game against Rice. The returner caught the punt with defenders bearing down on him, he got popped immediately, and fumbled inside the 20. 

CUSA puts a lot of kids in the NFL. Football isn't really like basketball. A lot of kids from non-power conferences get into the NFL, although first round is certainly a bit of a rarity. La Tech (a CUSA school) had a first rounder last year...drafted by none other than the Panthers.

Charlotte has one of the best defensive tackles in the country. NFL Draft Scout has him ranked as the 8th best DT in college football. He will likely get drafted in the third round. Khalif Phillips is a running back that would start for almost every G5 school and even a lot of non-elite power conference teams. He will likely be playing on Sunday next year as well.

I don't disagree about the challenges of being in an NFL city. Although we don't have amazing attendance, it isn't terrible either. Our official numbers are a pretty accurate reflection of butts in seats. A lot of schools inflate the hell out of their numbers. Georgia State and FIU for example will claim 13-16,000 people per game, but in reality, they'll have 2-4,000 people at the game. Charlotte has a decent group of core fans, largely created by the basketball success in the 70's (NIT finals, NCAA Final Four) and 90s/early 2000s (8 NCAA appearances in 10 years and several top 25 rankings). Those fans will eventually stop showing up though if we don't give them a quality product to watch. If they go, we're not better off than the Georgia States or FIU/FAU's of the world.

The stadium needs to be slightly expanded though. It has been confirmed that other coaches use the fact that we have the smallest stadium in FBS football against us in recruiting. We got a solid 3 star WR out of South Carolina to commit this week and he mentioned the school would be upgrading the stadium soon. I'm hoping at a minimum that means we'll add some suites on the student concourse and expand the sound system. I'd like to see a small upper level added to both sides. We're going to need it with App, UNC, Duke, and Maryland all on the home schedule over the next 9 years. I imagine we'll see games with Wake and NCSU or ECU added as well. I think 25,000 seats is a good number. The original plan for 40,000 seats is never going to be necessary unless Charlotte somehow lucks into a power conference invitation many years down the road. BoA is always available if we can convince teams like Clemson, USC, Tennessee, Georgia, or WV to play us in Charlotte.

[kermit]

Next year they should include a Blue Line day pass with every ticket.

[Niner National]

A beer garden is being added to the north side of the stadium. 

[DavieNative]

Disappointed with an 0-5 start and years of mismanagement. Time for change!

http://firejudyrose.com

#FireRose #FireJudyRose 

[ah59396]

On 10/5/2017 at 7:06 AM, DavieNative said:

Disappointed with an 0-5 start and years of mismanagement. Time for change!

http://firejudyrose.com

#FireRose #FireJudyRose 

Should have stayed FCS and built up your program.

[End_The_Sprawl]

Today during homecoming, someone flew a plane with "FIRE JUDY ROSE! HELP WANTED NEW A.D. NEEDED!" on a banner. 

I agree with this tbh, considering football being 0-6 and the basketball team going falling in quality.

Edited October 21, 2017 by End_The_Sprawl

[Niner National]

The buyer was a former athlete.  The school apparently called law enforcement to try to have it removed.  

More initiatives to come to keep the heat on.

[SgtCampsalot]

So what's the problem?

[Niner National]

3 hours ago, SgtCampsalot said:

So what's the problem?

Charlotte usedto be a relevant program playing in a conference with Cincinnati's Louisville,  Marquette, Memphis,  Houston, and other good programs. We had the 2nd best winning percentsge in mens hoops in that conference despite louisville, cinco, marquette, and Memphis being regulars in the top 25. This is when cincinwas at their peak and often top 5.

 

Since 2005 we have fallen farther than basically any program in the country.  We have made poor coaching hires, extended and overpaid those poor coaching hires, and seen attendance drop from over 7000 per game (top 25% in country) to 3-4,000 on a good night.

As fans have left the profram, so too have donations. Judy has done an abysmal job managing the athletic department, but has a few whale donors that love her so she's been able to keep her job.

 

The few thousand fans that still really truly care have had enough. She's been at the school for 30 years as athletic director. Nobody should ever be athletic director at one school that long. If you're good, a bigger school will hire you. If you suck, you're fired.  Only two other ads have been in place longer than her and they are both at vert successful programs.

[cjd5050]

Huge news for UNCC as Judy Rose announces retirement.   Even a successful AD should not be in that position for 28 years and she was far from being successful.  

UNCC could / should be so much farther along than it is right now...

 

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

28 minutes ago, cjd5050 said:

Huge news for UNCC as Judy Rose announces retirement.   Even a successful AD should not be in that position for 28 years and she was far from being successful.  

UNCC could / should be so much farther along than it is right now...

 

 

 

Which is absolutely ridiculous with her track record, esp the last decade.  Charlotte is a sleeping giant and with the right leadership/coaches - can be great.  Today was a massive step in the right direction.

Link to official announcement:  http://www.charlotte49ers.com/news/2018/1/4/general-49ers-iconic-ad-judy-rose-announces-retirement.aspx

CO: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/college/article192916614.html

Edited January 4, 2018 by CharlotteWkndBuzz

[SouthEndCLT811]

Also recently saw Shane Montgomery is leaving Youngstown State to be Charlotte's offensive coordinator.  Was Big Ben's coordinator at Miami of Ohio prior to being their head coach for a few years.  

 

[tozmervo]

UNC Charlotte's athletics department has been expanded substantially under Judy Rose's tenure, including some very impressive fundraising numbers to build many of the very nice athletic facilities that the campus now has, add sports & expand their sports scholarship program. UNC Charlotte also boasts a pretty solid graduation rate & accompanying GPAs for their athletes, which is impressive.

But I mean the football team sucks, so Judy Rose is obviously a career failure. 

[Scribe]

7 minutes ago, tozmervo said:

But I mean the football team sucks, so Judy Rose is obviously a career failure. 

What happened to basketball over the last ~5 years?  It's not just football.

People want to defend Judy Rose... her time has passed. Just like Orr with CLT airport, they were both good for 90% of their tenure, but it is time to get someone new that can keep up with the times.

[Dale]

Football is king in the South. If you can't make it in football ...

Frank Sinatra probably had something to say about this.

 

 

[deleted]

2 hours ago, tozmervo said:

But I mean the football team sucks, so Judy Rose is obviously a career failure.

I wouldn't say that she is a career failure.  It appears that a lot was accomplished during her tenure.  However, she fired Bobby Lutz (he had a lot of success but his later years were underwhelming).  She hired and (essentially) fired Alan Major and she hired and fired Mark Price (maybe justifiably but she certainly didn't give him a lot of time to fix things he inherited).  Why shouldn't she be held to the same standard she imposed on the most essential program at the University.  When I moved here, the men's basketball team was nationally ranked and in the NCAA tournament.  Football was destined to fail but this should be a better basketball program than it's been and Rose is responsible for the people she hired.

[Jack152]

11 minutes ago, JBS said:

When I moved here, the men's basketball team was nationally ranked and in the NCAA tournament. 

UNCC used to be a fixture in the NCAA tournament. They always got bounced in the first round, but they were there. It's been 13 years since they've been there.

I don't believe that football is that much of a factor. This past season aside, they've done a decent job building a program from scratch.  But the basketball program is in shambles.

[cjd5050]

5 hours ago, tozmervo said:

UNC Charlotte's athletics department has been expanded substantially under Judy Rose's tenure, including some very impressive fundraising numbers to build many of the very nice athletic facilities that the campus now has, add sports & expand their sports scholarship program. UNC Charlotte also boasts a pretty solid graduation rate & accompanying GPAs for their athletes, which is impressive.

But I mean the football team sucks, so Judy Rose is obviously a career failure. 

What are you comparing this substantial success to?  The reality that while UNCC has grown it's a fraction of what it should be.  The majority of schools have those GPAs and Grad Rates. That's failure but you keep the lipstick on I suppose.

[AuLukey]

Bowl eligible and lookin like a 7-5 finish if this game keeps up. That’s after a 2-5 start. Here’s hoping a bowl invite will come somewhat locally.

Where ya at now, @monsoon?

Edited November 30, 2019 by AuLukey