Students, in droves, attend exhibition

Could the Charlotte 49ers' exhibition win over Pfeiffer on Thursday night be a sign of things to come this season? And we're not talking about wins and losses here.

By game time Thursday, 3,025 student tickets were distributed, including 1,799 that were requested prior to the day of the game, according to officials in the 49ers ticket office.

To compare, in the 2006-07 season, there were 518 students tickets picked up in advance for the exhibition game. In 2007-08, 606 advance student tickets were requested for the exhibition.

In the 9,105 seating capacity of Halton Arena, 4,500 seats are reserved for students. It is possible that either at the season opener next Friday or the Nov. 22 home game against Clemson - or both - Charlotte could reach full capacity in student tickets.

Last season during the regular season, student ticket distribution averaged about 2,800 per game, according to the ticket office. With the most student tickets distributed last year about 3,600.

With more than 3,000 students attending this season's exhibition, it will be interesting how this season's numbers compare.