The Charlotte 49ers hosted their first "Town Hall" Meeting to discuss the 49ers Football program, Wednesday afternoon, on-campus in McKnight Hall.

Chancellor Dr. Philip Dubois, Director of Athletics Judy Rose and Dan Van Dyke, Senior Associate at Jenkins-Peer Architects, all made presentations before opening the floor to questions.    This afternoon's Football Forum, which was the first of a set of Forum's to follow, was designed to discuss plans with the campus community which will be directly impacted, in particular, although it was open to the general public. 

"I was really pleased with the cross-section of people in attendance," said Rose.  "We had faculty and staff members, students, the Greek community, community leaders like our former Chancellor (Dr. James Woodward) and Mac Everett, who chaired our feasibility study.  There were a lot of sections represented.  And the thing that got me was the excitement.  They were out here and they were excited to be here and to participate.  That, I think, shows the interest -- an interest that will continue to swell."

Included in the presentation was a status update with regard to the 49ers head coaching search, the 49ers 2013 schedule, discussion of conference affiliation as well as Gender Equity and Title IX compliance as it pertains to women's sports to be added, game day activities, a timeline of things to come and a review of the renderings of the stadium construction, which is due to break ground, April 28.

While Rose was quick to point out that the event might produce more questions than answers and that in many cases, the answers did not yet exist, she also was eager to communicate the plans with the campus community and public at large and to inform them that plans are not being made in a vacuum, but from input from a variety of sources.

Rose introduced the chairs of seven different committees that include nearly 75 individuals who are charged with the task of unearthing issues and concerns as the process moves towards the inaugural 2013 season.  In addition, she noted that student groups were also being involved in the process.

Committees include:  Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Game Logistics, Medical/Sports Medicine, Business Affairs, External Affairs and Facility.  Committee members include both campus community leaders.

After approximately 30 minutes of presentations, the panelists answered questions from the audience, as well as the on-line audience participating in the Live Chat. 

While Rose was not in position to announce the 49ers first head coach, for instance, she did announce the scheduling of the first Bowl Championship Series opponent to be placed on a 49ers schedule.  The 49ers, she said would play at Virginia Tech in 2019.  That statement, like Dubois' mention that efforts were being made to have the light rail line that will extend to campus named the "Green Line" received a large ovation.

The discussion touched on tailgating, parking and traffic, student ticketing and homecoming, among the other various topics.

Not designed to answer all questions, the Forum did serve to communicate plans and continue dialogue between the decision-makers and those who will be impacted by football's arrival.

Additional Town Hall meetings will be held in the future with the goal of targeting different constituency groups.