Thank You for 37 Years of Memories – Charlotte Athletics

Wander up to the top of the West Deck.  The view is spectacular. 

It’s a view I, personally, cannot get enough of. Nearly the entire athletics sports complex spread out before you. Belk Track and Field Center/Transamerica Soccer Field, the current soccer practice field and former playing field, The Sue, Halton-Wagner Tennis Complex and Phillips Field at Hayes Baseball Stadium. In the distance you can see the lights that spotlight the football stadium. Behind you are both Belk Gymnasium, which housed the entire athletic program and was home to basketball and volleyball when I first started, and Halton Arena, the crown jewel of the facility explosion that started in the mid-90’s. All that is missing are the Stubblefield Golf Center, up the road a bit at Rocky River Golf Club, and cross-country venues, either at Concord’s Frank Liske Park or Charlotte’s McAlpine Park.

This view – this panorama laid out in front of me — is where I spent the bulk of the last 37 years.

Capturing those years is difficult.

How do you say goodbye to a place, to the people, to the setting that brought one treasured memory after another for 37 years?

It is certainly enough to fill an office – and believe me, I’ve tried.

The photos on the walls, the memorabilia on the shelves, the trophies that abound.

They all tell a story and each one is dear to my heart.

But it’s a story that is hard to tell in a few words.  I can’t use names – there are simply too many that mean too much. I’d have to draw the line somewhere and that is a line of distinction I refuse to make. I could talk about great performances but again — I hate to list a top 10, knowing how important, enjoyable, and memorable #11 was. I’ll give it my best.

I tell people I watch sports for a living.  That’s only part of it, obviously – but it is the best part. When you have a vested interest, there is little more exciting than watching a sporting event (unless, of course, you’re competing in it!)

 

To that end, I’ve seen countless contests – in a myriad of sports – and I’ve absolutely loved it.  

Cheering our heroes (silently in the press box or at press row). Watching them excel. Watching them succeed. Watching them compete.

From this vantage point high above our many beautiful facilities, you can see it all.

I close my eyes so I can see …

The ghosts of heroes past sprinting down the field, ball in tow, making moves or passes that boggle the mind. Or the outfielder gliding towards the gap or the baserunner diving into second in a cloud of dust, the uniform now covered in that dry clay on a hot afternoon. Catch a glance of the sprinter bursting out of the blocks or better yet that blur on the backstretch that is closing in on the leaders, destined for another title. Check out the battle at the net – where individual matches spawn team celebrations – and watch how the team mobs the clinching point. It doesn’t even have to be on-campus. It could be the short drive to McAlpine or Frank Liske Park to watch runners speed through the cross-country course. Or off to Cabarrus Country Club or Irish Creek or Palisades or Rocky River, wandering the course to see the ultimate in concentration across 18 to 36 holes.

Up above baseball you can hear the roar of the Richardson Stadium crowd echo through campus as a Niner breaks free and sprints towards the end zone. I can still picture the scene of that historic inaugural game. The tailgates, the fans, the incredibly fast first touchdown – and the tears running down the faces of those who were literally seeing dreams come true.

Behind, land yourself in Halton Arena – with one net in the middle you can see the powerful kills and the all-out-diving digs – or with a net at each end, the game-winning shots, the breakaway dunks, the mesmerizing dishes – the many, many heroes. The Championships won. The sport that created Charlotte’s identity. The sport that beats through the veins of Niner Nation.

And I had a front row seat to all of it.

From pregame prep to the wonderful play to the postgame wrap. Each has its own magic.

THE PREP

The time before the game starts – when event staff and workers start arriving, before the coaches and players get out on the field. When scoreboards and sound systems are being set up and tested. When fields are being manicured. Chalk lines drawn. Flags put up. When anticipation abounds. Everything set just so for the teams to take the field or court or track. It is a special time. Filled with promise. It’s part of the pageantry of sports.

THE PLAY

And then of course, there is the game. I’ve had the pleasure to witness an array of firsts: first teams, first NCAA berths, first conference titles, first national rankings, first All-Americas. So much talent on display, so many loud-and-proud moments.

Among its record 17 NCAA appearances, men’s soccer went to a pair of College Cups, the memorable first in ’96 and the memorable title game in ’11 after “walking on air” upon securing their first NCAA bids in the early 90’s. Men’s golf copped back-to-back Top 10 NCAA finishes in 2007 (3^rd) and 2008 (8^th) with some of our fiercest competitors. Women’s basketball’s first conference title back in my early days and earning their first NCAA bids shortly thereafter. Baseball’s first league title and NCAA trip in stunning fashion in 1993. Women’s cross-country’s rare three-peat from 1992-94. Women’s soccer, born 30 years ago in 1994, earned its quick first NCAA bid in 1998.

The great run of NCAA berths in men’s basketball – that started in my first year – when Jeff Mullins and Byron Dinkins, et al. – led the 1988 49ers on their first NCAA trip since the 1977 Final Four. Many more would follow, led by an array of superstar players that delighted Niner Nation.

And don’t get me started on track and field which has dominated its conference and turned out All-America after All-America throughout the 2000’s, highlighted by this year’s two-time National Runner-Up, women’s pole vaulter Riley Felts. We’ve seen a long parade of amazing athletes from that cross-country and track and field program.

In the 2000’s, both tennis programs notched their first NCAA trips, softball won its first league title in 2006 and advanced to the NCAAs for the first time in 2023 and 2024. Women’s golf sent its first player on to NCAA competition in its fledgling years. Volleyball has been highlighted by its share of powerful attacks, amazing setters and some very special defensive specialists.

And finally football, which made an indelible impression in its first game and used a five-game win streak to clinch its first bowl bid in 2019.

Those are some of the notable firsts that have filled my timeline. But my memory bank has much more stored away. So many athletes and outstanding performances. So many stories. So many. So lucky to watch it all unfold in front of me.

THE POST

And then there is the postgame.

When all has gone quiet. The crowd had made its way home. The players and coaches have filed out of the facility, to the showers or the office and ultimately home. Some chairs folding, some confetti being cleaned up, the facility being broken down.

That time, too, has its own magic. 

A time to reflect and relive. A time to sit back and appreciate what you just saw. To take it in away from the raucous crowd and the edge of your seat. A time when the high energy has faded but there’s still a desire to let out a silent scream. A time to sit in awe.

For images of wonder,

they say the canyon’s grand

but I will always take an empty gym

viewed from the empty stands.

THANK YOU

To the many coaches and staff I had the pleasure to work with – some incredible people who poured their heart and soul into this athletic program and continually helped push it forward – driving growth and progress and victories. People I am honored to have worked with and beside in pursuit of a common goal – the success and development of the 49ers program and its student-athletes. To the fans, supporters, students and nationally-acclaimed spirit groups (yes, that includes you, Norm!), who filled our stadiums with energy and excitement. To our media colleagues – who covered the 49ers and helped shine a light on the great coaches, players and programs. To my family, who supported me through it all. Luckily, Sammy and Allie were/are huge 49ers fans and bleed green with the rest of Niner Nation. And Kim, who I worked alongside for nearly 30 years – who understood the world of college athletics and set the standard for putting our student-athletes first and foremost. 

And that is where I will end. Thanking those student-athletes – they are the ones that elevated this program. They are the ones who amazed with their tremendous performances. They are the ones that captured league championships. They are the ones that took us on NCAA trips. They are the ones who put on one heck of a show — from my first year to my last. They are the ones who created the magic.

Year in and year out, I looked forward to watching you play – no matter the sport, no matter the season – that is what I loved – watching you do what you loved.

I cannot thank you enough for all that you have given to our community, to our university, to our athletics program, to our fans and to our teams. And I cannot thank you enough, whether you know it or not, for all that you have given to me.

I will take all those memories with me. I’ll take all those moments – that lived in every nook and cranny of my office – in pictures and trophies and memorabilia.

I’ll take with me those countless stories that filled my days much as they filled my heart.

Go Niners!