Speaker 1 00:00:11 Hello and welcome to the Roundhouse Podcast with Paul Sutro of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. Thank you for listening. We appreciate your time today. We are going to continue our series on the six editions to the American Athletic Conference. Our guest is Hunter Bailey. Hunter hosts the Highway 49 Podcast. He covers University of Charlotte Athletics for the Charlotte Observer. You can find Hunter's work on Twitter at Hunter Bailey, b a i l e y 45 at Hunter Bailey 45, and at h W Y 49 Podcast. The Charlotte Observers website is charlotte observer.com. So Charlotte is one of six schools that will be joining the conference on July 1st. It is obviously located in Charlotte, North Carolina joins the AAC after spending the past 10 years in conference. S a 49 ERs started their time in NCAA division one athletics in 1970, and notably played in the Final four in 1977. So Hunter, uh, Charlotte added football in 2013. Uh, we always talk about football on these because even though Wichita State doesn't have football, it's a, it's a driving force in all these movements. Moved to the football subdivision in 2015. Uh, take us back to that time. Why does Charlotte add football?
Speaker 2 00:01:32 Yeah, there was a, um, basically an outrage from the fans. Um, Judy Rose used to be a chancellor at the university, and for the longest there was football was a, no, they didn't want to do it. There's a lot of talk about it, seventies, eighties, and nineties. Um, and really a couple organizations got together. Um, a lot of it was fan and alumni driven to put together the groundwork for football to go be able to go to the university and say, we want football. This is how we think we could do it. And there was actually a march on campus where they carry goalposts through the campus. Um, there's a lot of, lot of pictures from that. Um, and then you're exactly right, around 2013, it was approved, or I guess it was approved a little, a little prior to that. But play started in 2013 and the fans, it, like I say, it's heavily based on, on what they did to get football to the university.
Speaker 2 00:02:32 Uh, coming, starting out in the FCS and moving to the FBS in 2015, starting in conference u s a was tough. Uh, the, I mean, when you, when you're brand new like that, that's why you're losing games. 72 to 10 or 70 to three, things like that. Uh, but as far as that goes, the university's come a long way. Funding has come a long way for the football program. And now just as we just said, 10, 11 years in, they're making move to the American Athletic Conference, which I guess is still the Power six. I'm not sure if we're calling it that or not, but that's, that's what it's been. So definitely a long journey for the football program.
Speaker 1 00:03:10 I think Michael Rusko, the commissioner, may have backed off or retired the Power six, but I'm, I'm sure he appreciates the, the shout out. How has, so how has the athletic department changed with the addition of football?
Speaker 2 00:03:23 Yeah, so I guess, so 2013 was year one, and that was still Phillip Debois as the chancellor of the university and in Steps, Mike Hills, uh, the athletic director around 2018. Uh, so football was already kind of established, but that's when I first got involved really in athletics. Uh, the 2018 year Mike Hill's, first year, that's when he brought in, um, it was Brad Lambert's last year, the football head coach, and that's when he hired Ron said Sanchez, the former basketball head coach, I would say there's been a lot of growth. Uh, they rebranded the logo that was relatively recently during Covid. Uh, the athletic program has grown. They're up to, I believe, 19 sports now across the campus. There's just been a lot of, a lot of excitement really. And there's, there's been some struggles with football and men's basketball, but really in a lot of the other sports, there's been a lot of successes, a lot of conference, u s A championships, a lot of NCAA tournament appearances, and just overall a lot of success. And I think there, while football and basketball are some of the biggest drivers, as you mentioned, uh, there's been some struggles there. So there is a little bit of tension between fans and athletic department. Uh, but overall across the entire campus, I think athletics have grown tremendously and it's continuing to go up with this move to the American.
Speaker 1 00:04:45 Definitely a lot of, a lot of success in, uh, track and field baseball. Some of those sports that we'll talk a little bit about later, uh, joining the American Athletic Conference. Uh, why is that a good move for Charlotte? Why is this the, the time for that school to take that step?
Speaker 2 00:05:02 Yeah, I think, uh, there's been some similarities from both different talking heads in the sports industry, and then, uh, Charlotte athletic director Mike Hill, about this university being very similar on a similar trajectory towards or to ucf uh, central Florida who's now made that move to the Big 12, and obviously very young, 10, 11 years in, uh, for the football program itself. But making this move to the American is big. I mean, obviously the television deal is better. Like, for example, Charlotte plays their whole schedule's in release, but there's a lot of ESPN games they're playing on n BBC this year in prime time against Maryland. There's, I mean, th this university is coming from playing on b n sports and Facebook, and you're only finding the games on Twitch or stadium. So there's a lot more notoriety in that aspect. The television deal is better, or there's more money that will be, I guess, added to the programs.
Speaker 2 00:05:59 I think it's gonna take up until year four or year five for that money up to funnel in from the actual American Athletic Conference. But overall, just more notoriety. Um, conference u s A is what we call the conference that'll never die. They're adding a lot more, adding a lot more schools from the division or the f c s level. Uh, so I think it was time for Charlotte to make this move. And when you look at the caliber schools that are making this jump with Charlotte, you mentioned the other five that are joining the aac, this is where they reside for the most part. Like I said, there's some struggles with football, but they have brought in a new head coach, Biff pji for football, and that's kind of really livened things up, especially on, on social media and whatnot from the fan base.
Speaker 1 00:06:45 Yeah. You mentioned the other schools, uh, rice, u a b, Texas, San Antonio, uh, Charlotte, and what's the sixth? What hell am I forgetting that now? And then there's a sixth
Speaker 2 00:06:57 North Texas,
Speaker 1 00:06:58 North Texas. Uh, so Charlotte, uh, you have the NFL's Panthers, you have the Hornets of the N nba. NASCAR is big there. Uh, you have an MLS team, uh, but yet you're right in the middle of the a c Territory. I'm sure you got a lot of loyalties with all the ACC schools. Do you describe Charlotte as a pro town or is it a college town? Where do you know, where's the interest lie? Where do the loyalties lie?
Speaker 2 00:07:25 I would definitely definitely say Charlotte as a pro town. You mentioned, uh, MLS team Charlotte FC just recently has gotten established about two years ago. Um, the Panthers coming about in 95, the Hornets being around, uh, the, there hasn't been a lot of continued success. I mean, the Panthers have made two Super Bowls, 2003, 2015, uh, so two, and I guess for almost to almost 30 years isn't that bad. But they haven't brought one home. The Hornets have been relatively irrelevant for a while. Uh, haven't made the playoffs since 2016, haven't won a playoff series, um, and in a very long time. So there's, there's some struggles as far as sports go in the city. Um, obviously the Panthers just got the number one overall pick in the draft. Bryce Young, the Hornets had the number two overall pick in the draft. So there is excitement levels, um, but it also shows the struggles that have been in the actual city itself, um, with, and then NASCAR as well.
Speaker 2 00:08:27 NASCAR is, you would share, this is pretty much the home of racing. Uh, but with, with Charlotte 49ers versus a lot of the other stuff, um, I always say this Charlotte's there's a lot of fun things to do in Charlotte. If you play a boring brand of football or basketball or you're not very good. There's a, a lot of other places someone could be on a Saturday afternoon or just depending on what sport it is. Uh, so there's, there's definitely some competition. And then you mentioned a C Territory, you really can't spit here without hitting a Duke, Carolina or NC State fan. Uh, and that's, and I mean there's even East Carolina App State that you pretty much graduate from there and you move to Charlotte cuz it's big banking, big finance area. And then just overall a very busy city in itself. Uh, there's a lot of transplant sports fans here as well.
Speaker 2 00:09:18 Like if the Panthers aren't really good that that Bank of America stadium is gonna be 50 50 with the, with the opposing teams fans. Uh, so how Charlotte fits in is they're still growing. Uh, there's, there's a lot of people that you talk to and they don't even know that Charlotte is a division one sport, don't even know that they're in the FBS for football or don't even know that they have a football program. Um, I think that's grown some in the past few months. Um, with football, mainly, as I mentioned, uh, PO getting the job. They've added five stars, a lot of four stars. Uh, they've got commitments on espn, which has never happened before for the program. So there is, uh, more notoriety coming about and I think kind of how this plays out on the field this year is gonna be very key to if that momentum continues or if it kind of reverts back to the, to where they were prior to the off season.
Speaker 1 00:10:16 Florida Atlantic is the school that I neglected to neglected to mention. Uh, so we've got Florida Atlantic Rice, uab, Texas, San Antonio, north Texas, and Charlotte are the six that are joining the American. So we're caught up there. Uh, Charlotte's history. Who's the most famous former Charlotte athletic athlete?
Speaker 2 00:10:36 Oof, that's a great question. Uh, the one that comes to mind is probably Alex Highsmith plays for the, the Pittsburgh Steelers. And that's just my football knowledge. I'll probably get clowned on social media for messing someone bigger than that. But, uh, <laugh>,
Speaker 1 00:10:55 Well I'll throw you the name. Cornbread Maxwell, just to maybe
Speaker 2 00:10:58 Yeah. Played in that
Speaker 1 00:10:59 May help you with the basketball fans. Yeah, yeah. Played
Speaker 2 00:11:02 Played for the Celtics, played for Charlotte in the seventies. Yeah, do know cornbread. Um, yeah, I'll probably catch some flack for that one, but I will,
Speaker 1 00:11:10 That's all right. Yeah, I put you on the spot. That's all right. We got, we got cornbread name out there. Uh, best restaurant near campus, campus dive bar. If you're visiting for a 49ers game, where should you go?
Speaker 2 00:11:23 A lot of people will go to Flying Saucer. That's a big one on campus. So the campus is kind of in a weird spot. So the campus is almost in Harrisburg, North Carolina, which is right outside of Charlotte. It's, it's technically in Charlotte, but the uptown downtown area is about a 15 to 20 minute drive. They've added in a light rail for students and really anyone who wants to, you can park on the campus and you can take the train all the way into uptown, downtown. So you can get to Panthers games on, you can get to Hornets games, you can get to the fun nightlife. It's actually, excuse me, that's actually in Charlotte. I wouldn't say that there's a ton right around the campus. There are plans to renovate that. And I would, as being a former student, I think that that would be great because there were a couple years when I was in school where there was no light rail.
Speaker 2 00:12:13 And so there really, unless you were driving or Ubering to wherever there was, it was tough. Um, and you were kind of not isolated from the city, but there wasn't as much right around. Um, but as far as dive bars right by campus, I would say the flying saucer. Uh, but really when you get into some of the great restaurants, I think you have to come towards uptown, downtown. Um, I think Boardwalk Billy's has always mentioned around the university. It's not my personal favorite, but I'm not gonna hate on it. Uh, but as you, if you come to Charlotte, if you come to a football or basketball game here, I would recommend either taking that light rail or staying in the uptown or downtown areas. There's just a lot more to do out there.
Speaker 1 00:12:57 Who is Charlotte's biggest rival on the athletic fields?
Speaker 2 00:13:01 I would say in state rivals are, are top tier here. Um, they've had their biggest football crowds against Appalachian State. Uh, the athletic departments didn't do a great job of continuing that rivalry, cuz it'll be, I believe six, almost seven years between football matchups for that. But there is a lot of excitement about playing e ECU and having a natural in state rival in the conference now. Um, and the trash talk and whatnot has already begun for that. Um, I would say Marshall is up there. Yeah, I'll go with, I'll go with those three. Just kind of intertwined. There isn't like a true, like this is who the university just despises or things like that. There is, there is nothing that serious, at least in my opinion.
Speaker 1 00:13:49 How far is Charlotte from, uh, from Greenville, the home of East Carolina?
Speaker 2 00:13:54 Uh, about three and a half or four hours. You pretty much just get on the interstate and drive straight until you get there. Uh, it's a's, uh, like I say, a lot of ECU grads moved to Charlotte right after, so there's a huge, a huge following. Um, they recently played baseball at, um, so there's a minor league baseball team here, the Charlotte Knights, I believe they're for the White Sox. Um, it's right in uptown, a couple blocks from the Panther Stadium, a few blocks from the Hornets arena and a lot of Charlotte baseball games. They'll play like some neutral psych games there. Uh, they played not too long ago and the city just gets real really energized for things like that. And there's a lot of purple that, that will show up at those games. So I definitely think, uh, there's that game. Um, when it happens at Jerry Richardson Stadium will absolutely be a sellout for sure.
Speaker 1 00:14:47 Charlotte basketball up and running quickly after it started in 1972, they beat DePaul that first season. 1976, they went to the, uh, N I t final and beat North Carolina State along the way. That was probably a, a landmark victory for the 49ers the next season. Then they went to the Final four with Cornbread Ma Maxwell. Uh, what's your sense of why was basketball so successful, so important from the start at Charlotte?
Speaker 2 00:15:13 Yeah, basketball was huge. Um, there's, so admittedly, I mean, I'm, I'm 25 years old. Uh, Charlotte hasn't Charlotte basketball, men's basketball has not made the NCAA tournament in the 18 years. So for the majority of what I can remember in my life, they've been less, they've been, they've struggled, um, I guess is a decent way to put it. Um, but there was a craze in the early two thousands. They had a lot of success under Bobby Lutz. Um, prior to that, they've, I wish, you know, you wish you were alive for some of it so I could give you more. Um, but basketball was huge. And when Halton was built, they were packing out that arena and there was a lot of, a lot of success. There were people that were, I mean, they were playing nationally televised games. They were doing a lot of big things for the program.
Speaker 2 00:16:05 And I don't know exactly when that stopped, what happened with that. But I think one thing that has really made the university struggle lately is the transfer portal and the basketball program basically becoming a stepping stone. The best athletes stay for a year or two years, and then either you're hitting the transfer portal because you want to go to a bigger school or you have NBA dreams and the scouts are telling you you need to go to a bigger school to prove that you can play against that competition every night. So the basketball program since, since I came into the world, has, has struggled some. Uh, but it was definitely, it was huge in the seventies and eighties. Uh, they had a lot of success and when you look at the accolades that it definitely shows it
Speaker 1 00:16:51 Definitely. Yeah, Lee Rose was the coach, took him to the Final Four. They had a lot of success under Melvin Watkins. They had a lot of success under Bobby Lutz, as you mentioned. Uh, last made the NCAA tournament in 2005. So that leads us into the, uh, the current upheaval with Charlotte basketball. Uh, coach Ron Sanchez resigned earlier this month. He had been there for five seasons. He's returning to Virginia to be an assistant coach under Tony Bennett. Aaron pronounce his last name for me.
Speaker 2 00:17:18 Fern
Speaker 1 00:17:19 Fern. Aaron Fern, uh, assistant coach. He is now the interim coach. Uh, update us on Charlotte basketball. Where is that program at as we start start the summer?
Speaker 2 00:17:30 Yeah, so there was a lot of momentum for the program, in my opinion, following the conclusion of last season. Um, they, they had their general ups and downs. They generally start pretty well in the non-conference, maybe eight and four, nine and three, something like that. And then when you get into the mix of conference usa, they typically taper out and end up around the 1617 win mark. That's kind of been the running trend for the program this year. They got up to 22 wins. Uh, they elected to pay to play in the C B I and it, it worked out for 'em. They overcome some deficits in that or overcame some deficits in that tournament. Uh, went on to win and there was a lot of momentum cuz you're looking at the roster, you're saying, okay, eight of the top nine scores can return. There is momentum.
Speaker 2 00:18:20 You're joining a new conference, maybe fill a couple scholarships with some upper echelon transfers, maybe some Power five transfers. They've have, they've had a couple from Ohio State, Syracuse, Clemson, they've had some eye level program dropdowns, join, join. Um, so you're looking at it like, all right, there's a chance here. Um, about a week after the C B I championship, Bryce Williams and Ali Khalifa, the two leading scores and rebounders both at the transfer portal. Ali Khalifa goes to B Y U, uh, Bryce Williams goes to Nebraska. Uh, both taking that step up, uh, and, and for the same reason I mentioned earlier as the pro potential. Um, you ha there was a player at Charlotte a few years ago, Jamir Young, he's now a point guard at Maryland. And he was recently on my podcast and said he went through the nba, uh, draft process prior to leaving Charlotte.
Speaker 2 00:19:18 And that's pretty much what he was told by scouts. As we see what you can do, we see your game, but can you do it against this top level talent? And if you, if you can't, then we, I mean there's a lot of 6 1 6 2 point guards out here that will have a shot to play in the nba. Um, so it was kind of, I guess minimal minimizing his chances. Um, so that's why I think you see a lot of these folks leave. Uh, as far as the basketball program itself recruiting following, that didn't really take a turn. So there was a lot of, a lot of frustration from the fan base. Um, and then Ron Sanchez stepped down last Tuesday. Um, and when that happened, it was kind of a sh not necessarily a huge shock. I think that there may have been a separation brewing, whether it be at the end of this upcoming season or in the future, uh, just because the program had seemed stagnant, seems stale.
Speaker 2 00:20:13 Uh, so when he stepped down, admittedly when it happens on June 6th or whatever that is, I was shocked, just cuz it's relatively out of the cycle. Summer workouts were starting in less than a week. Uh, the transfer portal window was technically closed. Uh, so I was shocked when I read it. I wasn't shocked to see him return to Virginia under Tony Bennett take his old rollback. That makes sense for Ron, that's less pressure for him going back to a familiar situation with a winning program in the ACC of, but for Charlotte, I think it puts them in a tough spot. Um, they're the only open division one job as far as men's basketball goes. Um, so the coaching cycle for the most part, you know, is, is kind of wrapped up. So they're, they're working on that. Um, I interviewed the athletic director, Mike Hill, um, earlier this week, and they're trying to get this done as fast as possible because they do know that as long as this goes on, there's uncertainty for the remaining athletes on the team in the program.
Speaker 2 00:21:15 And there's a lot of folks that want Fern to be retained, at least for the season, to lead the program as interim head coach. And then you can get back, circle around to the next cycle if Fern does Excels shows promise, you've got your coach of the future. If not, you're in a more fruitful coaching pool. Because one thing that Mike did stress was there's interest in the job, there's for sure interest. Uh, but getting people to leave their programs at this time, getting buyouts done at this time, getting things like that done quickly, um, has been a struggle. And I think that's why I'm not gonna say this, it's dragging on because it's absolutely not like it just happened. Um, but they are, they are interviewing a lot of different candidates for this role. And I think obviously whoever they pick has the task of breaking this 18 year drought, uh, for the NCAA tournament is in a brand new conference that's gonna have to find a new star player, new star players. Um, there's gonna be a l like there's an uphill battle. But I do think that when, when this university is like the actual program itself, men's basketball is good. You can, you can look at the history, you can look at the fanfare that comes when this program is trend upwards. But it just, there, like I said, this 18 year deal has really kind of caused a rift, uh, between, between the two. Right now.
Speaker 1 00:22:33 Definitely, boy, the transfer portal has become a, obviously become a, a big issue and some schools are thriving, some schools are really, really having difficulty navigating it. Wichita state's having its own, has had its own issues with it over the, over the last couple years in, in a couple different sports. Uh, so Charlotte, out of all of these six schools, uh, maybe the most well positioned in some of the Olympic sports, uh, to enter the aac, it's really had a lot of success in, uh, men's golf, in soccer, track and field has, has really dominated conference. U s a uh, baseball was in the NCAA regional eliminated Clemson, uh, softball made its first NCAA regional and won the conference title this year. Uh, give us an overall picture on the, on, on those sports at Charlotte and maybe why there's such a, seems like such a deep, broad based athletic department.
Speaker 2 00:23:26 Yeah, definitely. There's been a ton of success. Men's soccer, women's soccer, they just recently added lacrosse. You mentioned baseball, softball field, cross country. Uh, a lot of success overall and I think it's kind of, maybe not reward is the right word, but it's come to fruition. Uh, when the university announced its evergreen master plan about a year ago to upgrade a lot of these facilities, they're gonna double the size of the football stadium. They're building new softball, baseball, they're adding on, uh, locker rooms, a lot of things like that. There's a ton of a ton of projects, um, that they're working on. Phase one, it's primarily baseball, softball, uh, the football stadium, and then there's a couple others as well. Um, but really just the overall success has been, has been huge. And when you, when you walk around campus, you see, I guess one, one thing that's a lot different for me, um, from when I was a student to when I go on campus now is people wearing Charlotte colors on campus all the time.
Speaker 2 00:24:27 Whether it's, it could be tennis shirts that you got at the match, it could be soccer shirts, same deal. There's just a lot more engagement, there's a lot more band fair. And then overall it's, I mean, you're seeing the success on the field and that's the biggest thing. I said it earlier, there's a lot to do in the city. So if you're, if you have a struggling program or play a boring brand, it's tough to get, get butts and seats at these games. Um, but when you, when you look at baseball and softball, I mean there were, there were games this year where they had so many fans in attendance that they were having to build temporary bleachers and there were standing room only. So there's, there is, there's a ton of attention to that and I think it's, it's really shown lately for sure.
Speaker 1 00:25:11 So as we mentioned, uh, Florida Atlantic Rice, u a b, Texas, San Antonio, north Texas, also joining the American along with Charlotte in July, which of those schools stands out as maybe one that Wichita State fans should, uh, should pay attention to maybe a particular strong basketball team or, or program? What, how would you sum up that, that group of other five schools?
Speaker 2 00:25:35 Yeah, I mean when you look at, I mean you mentioned basketball, you can't look past f AAU right now. What Dusty May has done with that program in five years as a head coach, I mean, they just went to the Final Four and were a buzzer beater away from playing for a national title. Um, that's, it's extremely impressive. And I mean that program itself, I mean, lane Kiffin was recently there at Florida Atlanta before taking the Ole Miss job. So their, their athletics altogether have been tremendous. Um, and then another program I do wanna mention is UTSA's Football program. They are, they are a top tier. Um, they've dominated conference USSA for the past two, almost I would say two seasons. And I think they're gonna continue that under draft trailer move into the American, I mean there's a lot of, a lot of solid football programs in the American.
Speaker 2 00:26:24 So I don't know necessarily how they'll stack up, especially watching Tulane this past year as one of the returning schools. Um, but one program I would definitely say to watch out for is fau. They are, I mean, football and basketball Florida breeds a ton of talent. And when you win like that, when you put your, put your school on the map, like on a national map like that, people from outta state want to come play for you as well. And you can see what that's already done for their recruiting and their players returning. Cuz that's one of the biggest deals we talked about is recruiting your own to return to the program, especially at where, whether you call it a group of five or a mid major level.
Speaker 1 00:27:03 Yeah, I think we will see Florida Atlantic in the top five, top 10 of the, of the preseason polls because they do bring back, uh, I think all of their, all of their starters. It's a great year for conference u s a and basketball with North Texas winning the N I t and they defeated conference member U A B in the N I T championships. So really a, a good group of basketball schools that is joining the American Athletic Hunter Bailey. Uh, you can listen to his, uh, thoughts on Charlotte Athletics on the Highway 49 podcast. He covers Charlotte Athletics for the Charlotte Observer. You can follow home Homer Hunter on Twitter at Hunter underscore Bailey 45. Hunter, thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it.
Speaker 2 00:27:45 Absolutely appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 3 00:27:59 Hi, this is Rick Mema, president of Wichita State University. Check out the latest episode of the Forward Together podcast. Each episode I sit down with different guests from Chara Nation to celebrate the vision and mission of Wichita State University. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 4 00:28:28 Thank you for listening to the Roundhouse Podcast. Courtesy of Wichita State University strategic communications. We encourage you to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can find more roundhouse
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Speaker 5 00:28:44 It's over. It's over. Ladies and gentlemen. Say it slowly and savor it. Wichita State is going to the Final four for the first time in 48 years.
Speaker 6 00:28:58 Unbelievable. What a scene folks. The shocker fans are just going crazy in the stands.
Speaker 5 00:29:04 Just maybe the greatest win in the history of Wichita State Basketball.
