Niner Times: School spirit? Not here

Seeing other schools stuff on our campus used to piss me off. However, after being on several other campuses this type of thing happens everywhere. I’ve seen State and Duke stuff in Chapel Hill, Carolina stuff in Raleigh, even Nebraska/Iowa/tOSU stuff in Madison at UW. So, while it still sucks and there is a definite need for increased school spirit (football) I don’t really care all that much anymore about what some kid wears on campus.

[quote=“X-49er, post:17, topic:27641”][quote=“ninermike, post:10, topic:27641”]“Anyone who truly believes that Charlotte’s football team is capable of having a winning season this fall, the first football season ever for the Charlotte 49ers, is in for a rude wakeup call.”

Maybe I’m in for a rude wake up call. I thought we’d go 9-3 this year in football but truly can’t say I’ve evaluated the talent we have at this point.[/quote]
Where did that quote come from? [/quote]

ninermike put quotes around it from the article but I think that’s just “Elizabeth Weihsmann” sorry ass opinion… hell she probably doesn’t even know what our schedule looks like…

While it’s not where it needs to be, if it was as dire as this article paints it then we would never have sent so many to Alabama for a soccer game. Does it need to be better? Yes. Could it be worse (as it is at many of the D-I universities)? Yes.

So first thing - people that think there is no school spirit here should hop in the Delorean and go back to 1991. When I arrived on campus is was VERY rare to see anyone wearing a Niner shirt, the bookstore had squat and no one cared. That didn’t stop the team from winning, moving to the Metro or getting Halton on the building schedule.

I think people have a unrealistic view. Similar to the fact that people think Halton should be filled up every night. Sure we all want that, but most schools don’t sell out their basketball EVERY night. I have walked around Chapel Hill and NC State and Duke and have seen plenty of people wearing other schools shirts. So lets be realistic. It can be better lets just not expect something insane.

The next thing is that yes we are in a metro area - which means the city has drawn people from all over so naturally it is going to be more of a challenge for us than if we were in a small college town. I accept that challenge.

Next is remember to really build spirit it means some type of success in the two sports that really matter - football and basketball. Our basketball has sucked for 10 years and we didn’t have football. Add into that that IMO football is a far bigger driver it is no surprise we struggle.

Anyone who says winning cures everything while that is true you can have more spirit without the winning. It is hard yes, but it can be done. It means the AD has to do a better job of marketing. I mean even when we were winning and dancing every year it isn’t like it solved the problem. The AD has to take advantage of when we are winning and make those connections to both students and alumni.

And finally alumni and students need to have a better connection. We do a piss poor job of allowing students and alumni to mingle. I really really feel strongly that our student spirit would be far greater if they interacted with alumni who were passionate. When all you hear and read is ACC and SEC garbage we have to counter that some way. It all starts at SOAR and we drop the ball royally.

In all honesty - I am pretty impressed with the spirit we have at this point given that our AD sucks at reaching out, we had no football and basketball has been in the crapper.

When you have orientation couselors at SOAR asking kids whether they are Duke or UNC fans, you are going to foster an environment of shitty school spirit.
From day one, we need to pound home the theme of “you are now a NINER, no longer a (insert other team here)” to the freshmen.

[quote=“Chisox17, post:25, topic:27641”]When you have orientation couselors at SOAR asking kids whether they are Duke or UNC fans, you are going to foster an environment of shitty school spirit.
From day one, we need to pound home the theme of “you are now a NINER, no longer a (insert other team here)” to the freshmen.[/quote]

Most of the orientation counselors are the kind of people that have never gone to any Charlotte athletic event, and have no idea what is going on with our athletic programs.

[quote=“Timo99, post:26, topic:27641”][quote=“Chisox17, post:25, topic:27641”]When you have orientation couselors at SOAR asking kids whether they are Duke or UNC fans, you are going to foster an environment of shitty school spirit.
From day one, we need to pound home the theme of “you are now a NINER, no longer a (insert other team here)” to the freshmen.[/quote]

Most of the orientation counselors are the kind of people that have never gone to any Charlotte athletic event, and have no idea what is going on with our athletic programs.[/quote]Would be nice if we could find a way to have student-athletes give tours.

[quote=“2k, post:27, topic:27641”][quote=“Timo99, post:26, topic:27641”][quote=“Chisox17, post:25, topic:27641”]When you have orientation couselors at SOAR asking kids whether they are Duke or UNC fans, you are going to foster an environment of shitty school spirit.
From day one, we need to pound home the theme of “you are now a NINER, no longer a (insert other team here)” to the freshmen.[/quote]

Most of the orientation counselors are the kind of people that have never gone to any Charlotte athletic event, and have no idea what is going on with our athletic programs.[/quote]Would be nice if we could find a way to have student-athletes give tours.[/quote]

Or just make sure it’s someone who cares about the U. It can’t be that hard. I have been an advocate of allowing active alumni to have participation in SOAR.

I think the perception of school spirit at other schools is greatly overrated. Of the people I know that actually graduated from Chapel Hill, the majority of them don’t even follow the sports teams. Unfortunately that doesn’t make up for the many Wal-Mart shoppers that wear ACC school gear.

I graduated in '91 and heard similar complaints then. I have to say that school spirit is much higher than 20 years ago. Niner gear is more prevalent as well. My son’s high school in Concord had a college apparel day and he told me that there was much more Charlotte gear being worn than any other school.

It’s none of your business what the orientation of the counselor is. :))

[quote=“ninermike, post:29, topic:27641”]I think the perception of school spirit at other schools is greatly overrated. Of the people I know that actually graduated from Chapel Hill, the majority of them don’t even follow the sports teams. Unfortunately that doesn’t make up for the many Wal-Mart shoppers that wear ACC school gear.

I graduated in '91 and heard similar complaints then. I have to say that school spirit is much higher than 20 years ago. Niner gear is more prevalent as well. My son’s high school in Concord had a college apparel day and he told me that there was much more Charlotte gear being worn than any other school.[/quote]

clt agrees.,

Winning solves everything.

Solves the spirit in the here and now - but if the AD and school don’t use that winning to make inroads with the community, students and alumni then 5 years later you are right back where you were. We have had two periods of winning in mens basketball and neither time did we sustain it and neither time did the AD and the school use that. They just enjoyed it while it lasted.

Solves the spirit in the here and now - but if the AD and school don’t use that winning to make inroads with the community, students and alumni then 5 years later you are right back where you were. We have had two periods of winning in mens basketball and neither time did we sustain it and neither time did the AD and the school use that. They just enjoyed it while it lasted.[/quote]

Emphatically agree.

[quote=“ninermike, post:29, topic:27641”]I think the perception of school spirit at other schools is greatly overrated. Of the people I know that actually graduated from Chapel Hill, the majority of them don’t even follow the sports teams. Unfortunately that doesn’t make up for the many Wal-Mart shoppers that wear ACC school gear.

I graduated in '91 and heard similar complaints then. I have to say that school spirit is much higher than 20 years ago. Niner gear is more prevalent as well. My son’s high school in Concord had a college apparel day and he told me that there was much more Charlotte gear being worn than any other school.[/quote]

This!

Our support at the College Cup Final proves that our fan base and students want something to rally behind. I bet our first bowl game will have a good Charlotte crowd ;). 2015? :slight_smile:

I can’t argue with this.

Alumni who went to school during key events during the life of a university are more likely to stay attached after graduating. At Charlotte there is a big drop off in giving for the classes between '81 and '87. I suspect that the onset of football will be a big momentum changer that should last 4 years win or lose. After that bowl appearances would be the next game changer along with NCAA appearances in bball.

If the baseball team would make it to Omaha, or at least to a super-regional, it would help too, partially by bringing fans that are not fans of our basketball or football programs. The SEC conference is proof of this. They have fans of SEC baseball teams that are not that big of a fan of the other teams.

Regarding the statement about fans from the '81-'87 period… We made the FInal 4 in the 70s, yet I am one of the few grads from that era that have anything to do with the school. During that period, we sold out the old Charlotte Coliseum and games at the Mine Shaft were always at capacity but most alums from that era forgot all about us by the time we made it to CUSA. If we had maintained our status instead of going through the downturn in the 80s, more fans from that era may have hung around or been more likely to come back. It seems important to maintain some level of success to retain some fans for the long haul.

In my opinion, one man from Charlotte changed fan loyalty for other schools in the state who were not members of the ACC. Every Tuesday or Wednesday night and on weekends in the early 80’s to mid-80s the Wal-Mart fan before they were Wal-Mart fans could watch the ACC play hoops at home in their living rooms. Sports on television meant that more people from Charlotte could watch the Tar Holes without driving over to Crapel Hill. I grew up in eastern NC watching college basketball as a big fan, but didn’t even know Charlotte had a team until 1997. That is because outside of the ACC nothing was accessible on antenna TV.

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Rick Ray was a program manager at WCCB in Charlotte when he proposed that WCCB produce more basketball games. Ray thought that they would be very profitable for WCCB, given North Carolina’s reputation as a college basketball hotbed. However, station management turned him down. Not long after setting up shop, Ray put together an early-season basketball tournament which became the Great Alaska Shootout.

Two years later, Raycom made what would prove to be its biggest splash when it teamed up with Jefferson-Pilot Communications to take over production of ACC basketball games after longtime producer C. D. Chesley retired. The two companies formed a joint venture, Raycom/JP Sports."