Chancellor Phil Dubois announces his recommendation that UNC Charlotte add football to the Board of Trustees, Sept. 18, 2008. |
Chancellor Dubois Recommends 49ers Add Football
Sept. 18, 2008
Charlotte, N.C. -
Transcript of Presentation Made By Chancellor Dubois in PDF Format 
Video of Dubois, Shaw and Rose addressing Media
Chancellor Dr. Philip Dubois, this morning, recommended to the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees that the university add a football program to the 49ers athletic department, beginning in 2013. The Board of Trustees, chaired by Dr. Ruth G. Shaw, will take the recommendation under consideration and vote on the matter at its November 13th meeting.
The recommendation by Dubois comes after 21 months of deliberation and research by a football feasibility committee, Dubois and others at the university. Dubois completed months of his own fact-finding "due diligence" following a unanimous recommendation by the football feasibility committee in February.
"I do believe football will enrich the student experience here, enliven school spirit and serve as one more bond of engagement between the students and the university," Dubois said during his presentation. "I can say that, in my entire professional life, I have not faced a more difficult decision. And I say that because it has required a consideration of not only what people may say they want today or what we may be able to afford today or what students can legitimately be asked to pay today, but also a consideration of what will matter to this University twenty years from now. Nearly twenty years ago, our third Chancellor Jim Woodward observed that Charlotte was the largest city in the country that did not have a doctoral granting research university. He set us on the course of building a doctoral granting research university, and look where we stand today. We have 18 doctoral programs; we enroll over 700 doctoral students and our faculty is producing a growing body of research and creative activity of national and international significance."
In his recommendation, today, Chancellor Dubois proposed a fundraising plan that included the sale of 5000 49er Seat Licenses (FSL's) in the six month's following the Board's final approval. The university and the 49ers athletic department will await that approval in November before beginning the sale of those licenses, although interested individuals and corporations can contact the athletic ticket office at 704/687-4949 or the Athletic Foundation at 704/687-4950 to submit their name and contact information.
"I commend the Chancellor for taking on this task," said 49ers Director of Athletics Judy Rose. "He has given us the opportunity to make football a reality. It's up to us. The folks that have vehemently been so strongly in support of football have got to step up. It's up to our alums and its up to this community. It's imperative that the corporate community adopt this university. It's a challenge. But I'm known as the eternal optimist when it comes to fundraising that helps us achieve our goals. I am confident."
Dubois' recommendation also called for a $200 student fee increase, well below the previously considered increase of $300. The fee increase would begin with a fee of $25 per semester in 2010, $50 per semester in 2011 and 2012 and $100 per semester in 2013.
"I know there are some who think we should choose between being an academic institution or athletic institution," Rose added. "I hope we would aspire to be an institution that doesn't have to make those choices -- that we can strive for excellence in both."
The recommendation also calls for the addition of women's lacrosse in 2016, women's field hockey in 2019 and an appropriate third women's sport in 2023 to meet Title IX obligations.
