Niner Nation Gold ramping up

With the 2008-09 basketball season about to kick off for the Charlotte 49ers, Niner Nation Gold is set to unveil what it hopes is its most successful season yet. If you aren't familiar, NNG is a student-led booster club based on campus under the direction of current president Robert Demetrious. The organization is in its second year and has already doubled its enrollment to 340 active members.

The group's goal is to help create school spirit, loyalty, tradition and honor and pride in the school and its athletic programs. Students, alumni and fans may join NNG. The cost is $20, which goes to the athletic fund.

Those contributing get an official Niner Nation Gold T-shirt; eight loyalty points that roll over as alumni and counted toward FSLs in football; a 49ers car decal and lapel pin; opportunity for priority lower level seating for men's and women's basketball; and the opportunity to meet 49ers coaches and players.

For more information, you can visit the organization's Web site or watch a promotional video.
You can also register at the 49ers ticket office. For more information, call the ticket office at (704) 687-4949; or Demetrious at (910) 297-0912.

Women's soccer: NCAA gametimes set

Update on Charlotte 49ers women's soccer schedule this weekend:

On Friday, The North Carolina Tar Heels, the No. 1 seed in the region, will play Western Carolina at 5 p.m. at Fetzer Field. Later the same day at 7:30 p.m. Tennessee, the SEC tournament champion, will play Charlotte, the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament champions.

The winners of the two first-round games will meet on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Fetzer Field in the second round. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. Call the ticket office at (800) 722-4335 for more information.

Reservations for FSLs exceed 4,000

At the close of business on Friday, the Charlotte 49ers had received reservations for 4,010 Forty-Niner Seat Licenses (FSLs). At a price of $1,000 each, that could translate into more than $4 million for the creation of a football program.

At this time, no money is being accepted by the ticket office. The 49ers must await the final decision of the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees, which will come this month, before money can be accepted. The recommendation of the school's chancellor, Dr. Philip Dubois, called for the sale of 5,000 FSLs within six months of the board's approval.

Interested fans and corporations can add their names to the reservation list by calling the 49ers ticket office at (704) 687-4949 or the 49ers Athletic Foundation at (704) 687-4950.

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.

Former Niner Busch is MLS' top goalkeeper

Former Charlotte 49ers men's soccer all-American, Jon Busch, who now plays for the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer, has been named the 2008 MLS goalkeeper of the year. The award is voted on by MLS players, general managers, coaches, referees and media.

Busch, who has played in the MLS the past six years, has started and played all 2,700 minutes of the Fire's 30-game regular season during which the Fire finished second in the Eastern Conference with a 13-10-7 record. He leads the league in shutouts (10), saves percentage (.782) and is second in goals-against-average (1.10).

At Charlotte, Busch helped lead the 49ers to the NCAA Tournament semifinals and a school-record 19 wins in the 1996 season, during which he recorded a career-high 12 shutouts and a career-low 0.89 goals-against-average.

Soccer, volleyball notables

Some more Charlotte 49ers notables this week:

• Senior men's soccer forward Chris Salvaggione earned several weekly awards after scoring four goals in Charlotte wins over Duquesne and St. Bonaventure last weekend. He was named Atlantic 10 player of the week and was also named to the College Soccer News national team of the week. Salvaggione leads the A-10 with 15 goals.

• Senior setter Courtney Cowles of Charlotte recorded her first career triple-double with 43 assists, 13 digs and 10 kills in the 49ers' 3-1 volleyball win over Presbyterian. Cowles was named A-10 co-player of the week.

49ers tip off with 'secret' scrimmage vs. UNCW

The Charlotte 49ers got a completely unofficial - and secret - start off to the 2008-09 men's basketball season Saturday, putting in a well-rounded and dominating performance over UNC Wilmington at Halton Arena in the teams' non-public preseason scrimmage.

Official statistics were not kept, but the Observer received several reports highlighting some individual performances from the game. They include:

- Charlotte was much more physical than the Seahawks and had a big advantage inside. Senior forward Lamont Mack was deadly from 3-point range and center Phil Jones continued his strong preseason play in the post.

- Small forward An'Juan Wilderness and point guard DiJuan Harris played well as did redshirt freshman Javarris Barnett, who knocked down a pair of 3-pointers. Sophomore Charles Dewhurst continues to improve in his role as backup point guard to Harris.

- The 49ers missed some free throws and RaShad Coleman struggled at times, but did a good job taking the ball to the rim. Charlie Coley had a pair of dunks.

The 49ers play their only public scrimmage of the season on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Halton Arena against Division II Pfeiffer.