Share your thoughts on Alumni football meeting

I'd like people to share their thoughts on last night's Alumni House meeting about the football initiative. Here's one, please post yours in the comments section or e-mail them to me at jutter@charlotteobserver.com.

From Ron Dibble of Belmont (Class of 1996):

"I do think that the process last night was helpful. It showed me that this is not a cause that only the young alumni care about. Looking at those who attended this is clearly a subject that all alumni see as something important to the future of the university. It also pleased me that the feeling in the meeting was very pro-football. I really get the feeling at these meetings (I went to some of the committee meetings this summer) are about digging up potential obstacles now so that when we do make the push we do it with our eyes open and prepared for the challenge with out any surprises. I was prepared last night to hear some negative thoughts around football, but surprisingly heard none. It seemed everyone there knew that football will be a challenge and it will take support from many areas to make it happen, but that we all understand how important this is for the school.
"At the end of the evening they asked that each one of us record our thoughts about football on a card that the committee would read at a later time. I really felt this was an excellent way of taking the pulse of your core group of alumni. They also mentioned that the format we used would be used for 2 more meetings, one with students and the other with faculty. I am anxious to see how those play out.
"I may be off base here, but barring something crazy happening I truly believe that seeing the Niners on a football field is no longer a foolish dream."

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From Kenny Houck in Pineville, a Charlotte Football Initiative Member and former candidate for N.H. House district No. 107 in 2004:

"I was impressed by the more elder, more established Alumni showing up, & being so supportive. I'm glad to know it's not just us youngsters out there. We even picked up a bandwagoner of a guy I knew in college who thought football had no chance at Charlotte, who is now on board since the school announced a Study Committee. The meeting made it seem like the school & Athletic Dept. are really serious about getting us football so we don't get left behind at the next conference realignment like we were this time with the A-10 after getting run out of Conference USA for not having football."

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From Bill Dye, Unionville in Union County:


"I really enjoyed the meeting and appreciated the chance to a tleast 'be involved' in this process which I feel is absolutely critical in the development of this university. I was very impressed with Mac Everett (as I expected I would be) and left feeling VERY positive about the committee's work to this point. I hope that the meeting was helpful to the committee. It appeared to me that it was obvious that the VAST majority of alumni are strongly in favor of starting a football program at UNC Charlotte and feel it is exactly what the school needs to help it connect with it's alumni, the city of Charlotte and the region.


"The results of these "connections" would be multi-faceted, but most importantly (it is believed) would be increased giving from alumni and friends of the university, as well as additional opportunities to partner with many more of the local corporations through sponsorships and naming rights(especially the ones with UNC Charlotte alumni in leadership positions--BofA and Lowes, etc.). These relationships would help to promote the school/teams and put them more into the public eye in the city/region. All of these factors would benefit the university, the alumni, the city and the region."

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Kevin Harward of Cornelius:

"I thought it was a very positive experience. I thought the attendance was good. They even had to bring in more tables once the meeting started. It was great to be on campus talking about Charlotte 49er Football with some of the leaders of the sports community in Charlotte. They broke us up into groups and we had discussions on Level of Competition, Funding Sources, Facilities, and Other Considerations. All of our thoughts were recorded and will be compiled and presented to the Feasibility Committee. I walked away feeling very positive about adding football at Charlotte and glad that our thoughts were heard. This is honestly the most excited I have been about my alma mater since I graduated."

More to come.

Niners golfer ranked 29th

Charlotte 49ers senior golfer Jonas Enander Hedin (Taby, Sweden) is ranked 29th in the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews World Amatuer Rankings.

Enander Hedin, who led the 49ers to a third-place finish at the 2007 NCAA Championships with a 71.86 stroke average, has keyed the 49ers' run to their present No. 1 ranking.

“It’s terrific to see Jonas receive the accolades and acknowledgement from such an esteemed and world-renowned body in the world of golf,” said Charlotte coach Jamie Green. “It’s a long time coming for Jonas, who works so tirelessly in all areas.

"He plays with such maturity and poise and has taken his game to quite a high level. That said, I know he’ll continue to seek and find more ways to improve.”

In two events this fall, Enander Hedin owns a 69.7 stroke average. Charlotte is ranked No. 1 in the nation in both the Golfweek and Golfstat computer ratings.

Niners excel in the classroom

Nine members of the 2006-07 Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball team posted a GPA of 3.0 or higher during one or more semesters in 2006-07. Ian Andersen and E.J. Drayton both posted perfect 4.0 GPA’s during the spring, 2007 semester. In addition, with two members of the senior class graduating, Charlotte has now graduated 10 of its last 14 seniors.

Ian Andersen (Fall, ‘06; Spr. ‘07), Kyle Church (Fall, ‘06; Spr., ‘07), E.J. Drayton (Spr., ‘07), Travis Gordon (Fall, ‘06; Spr. ‘07) all earned mention on the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for posting GPA’s of 3.5 or higher during a semester.

In addition, Charles Dewhurst, Michael Gerrity, Jerell Jamison and Sean Phaler all posted GPA’s over a 3.0 in the spring semester and Dewhurst and David Booker posted GPA’s of 3.0 or higher in the fall semester.

Gordon and Drayton both graduated and Jamison is enrolled and expected to graduate in December. Over the past three years, 10 of the 49ers 14 seniors have graduated, including former C-USA Player of the Year Eddie Basden and three-time first team all-conference choice Curtis Withers.

Curtis Nash, who completed his career in 2003, also graduated this year, giving Charlotte 13 graduates among its 19 seniors over the last five years.

Soccer forward gets A-10 honor

Charlotte 49ers men’s soccer junior forward Chris Salvaggione was named Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week after scoring two goals and assisting on the other goal in the 49ers 3-0 win at Central Florida last Wednesday.

Salvaggione is the third 49ers player to claim A-10 Player of the Week honors this season. Senior forward Tom Woollard, who claimed the honor last week, and sophomore midfielder Luke Exley, who claimed the honor earlier this season, are the others.

Salvaggione leads the Atlantic 10 in assists with six and points with 16. He is tied for second in the A-10 with a team-leading five goals.

Idle Niners remain No. 1 in golf

The Charlotte 49ers golf team, idle this past week, maintained its No. 1 ranking in the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking system. In addition, Golfstat published its first ranking for the year and also tabbed Charlotte as the No. 1 team in the country.

The Charlotte 49ers golf team has placed first in both of its season-opening events, capturing the Scenic City Invitational by six strokes and the PING/Golfweek Preview by four strokes. The victory at the PING/Golfweek Preview catapaulted the 49ers to No. 1 in the nation, the highest ranking by a 49ers athletic team.

Charlotte is back in action at The Prestige in La Quinta, Calif., Oct. 15-16. The best chance for fans to catch a glimpse of the 49ers this fall is at the Callaway National Match Play tournament in Greensboro, Ga., Oct. 28-30.

The golf season runs throughout the academic year and although the NCAA Golf Championships and conference championships are held in the spring semester, competitions in the fall count toward NCAA Tournament selection.

Ozimek's play earns her honors

Charlotte 49ers women’s soccer senior midfielder Lindsey Ozimek was named to Soccer Buzz’s Elite Team of the Week after scoring three goals and recording two assists in the 49ers two Atlantic 10 games this past weekend.

This is the third time in her career that she earned this honor since she was named twice to Soccer Buzz’s Elite Team of the Week in 2005. She also earned her third career Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honor this week as well.

Ozimek contributed on four of Charlotte’s five goals in its 5-0 Atlantic 10 season opening win at Duquesne last Friday. She scored the 49ers' first and third goals in the game. She assisted on the 49ers' second and fifth goals in the game as well. She also scored the game-tying goal with just under eight minutes left in regulation in the 49ers' 1-1 double overtime tie with Fordham last Sunday.

Ozimek currently leads the 49ers and ranks fourth in the A-10 with five assists. She also leads the team with 13 points and ranks second on the team with four goals.

Niners sweep soccer awards

The Charlotte 49ers made a clean sweep of the Atlantic 10 player of the week awards in men's and women's soccer.

Senior midfielder Lindsey Ozimek was named A-10 player of the week after scoring three goals and recording two assists in the 49ers' two Atlantic 10 games last weekend.

Ozimek contributed on four of Charlotte's five goals in a 5-0 win at Duquesne last Friday. She assisted on the 49ers' second and fifth goals in the game. She also scored the game-tying goal in the 49ers' 1-1 double overtime tie with Fordham on Sunday.

Charlotte 49ers senior forward Tom Woollard was named A-10 men's co-player of the week after scoring two goals including the game-winner in the 49ers' 4-0 win at Appalachian State last Saturday.

Woollard collected his first career multiple-goal game when he scored the Charlotte's first two goals in its victory at Appalachian State, stopping the Mountaineers' eight match unbeaten streak. Woollard missed the 49ers' first four games of the season recovering from an injury.