Here are all of the Charlotte 49ers new uniforms and logos, and why they’re so important

Note: At the bottom of this story is a gallery that includes every new Charlotte 49ers logo and uniform available, along with the new number font that will be used on uniforms.

The Charlotte 49ers pulled back the curtains Tuesday of the rebranding that will feature new logos around campus, in athletic facilities and on uniforms and merchandise.

But 49ers athletics director Mike Hill wants the rebranding to go deeper than that.

“The whole concept, the whole design is to evoke an image of strength and boldness,” Hill told The Observer. “That we’re embracing momentum. We really feel that the competitive rise we’re experiencing coincides with the launching of this brand.”

The 49ers are replacing their familiar “C pick” (which has been the 49ers’ primary logo since 2000) with what they’ve called the “all-in C.” It features a gold-mining pick inside a 9-degree, forward-slanting “C” with beveled corners. The secondary logo features the letters “CLT,” and two more logos read “9ers” and “49ers.” Those logos have the mining pick worked into the “9.” Also, the 49ers’ primary color of green has been changed to a slightly darker hue.

“The most important part of it was making it an easy-to-produce ‘mark,’ ” said Hill, who launched the rebranding project in the spring of 2019, about a year after he placed Judy Rose. “That’s the feeling you have with iconic logos. Strong brands have pretty simple marks. We wanted something that will be timeless. This is not an exercise we want to go through every five years. It shouldn’t appear to be dated that soon.

“We wanted it to resonate with our student-athletes and with recruitable-aged students — not just athletes — so that our university and athletics program is seen as an exciting choice for them.”

The rebranding comes after the 49ers’ two most visible programs — football and men’s basketball — had resurgent seasons. The football team had the first winning season in program history and played in a bowl game for the first time. The basketball team went 16-13, the program’s first winning season since 2013-14.

The secondary “CLT” logo is an important part of the brand.

“We want to continue to develop connectivity to the city,” Hill said. “That’s hugely important to us, to be seen as Charlotte’s university, Charlotte’s teams and Charlotte’s program.”

The logos will be visible on the 49ers’ athletics facilities and around campus. The primary logo will be featured at center court of the Halton Arena basketball court, which is being refinished this summer.

And, although the primary logo will be on the 49ers’ football helmet, it will not yet be seen on the field in Richardson Stadium. Hill said the stadium’s artificial turf isn’t ready to be replaced, and placing what would be something temporary at midfield would be impractical and unsafe.

“We made the decision once the pandemic hit that we were going to delay that for at least one season,” Hill said. “The football field is still fully functional and has one more year of life. We didn’t want to replace pieces of it. You get seams in the field and they can come loose. We didn’t want to risk injury, so we decided to wait one season to replace the entire field.”

Merchandise featuring the new logos will be immediately available at the campus Barnes & Noble bookstore and online at the 704 Shop. Hill said Nike, the athletics department’s apparel supplier, was consulted on the rebranding project but didn’t have input on the design of the logos.

The 49ers worked with Luquire George Andrews, a prominent Charlotte public relations and advertising agency, on the project. Todd Aldridge, a UNC Charlotte grad and LGA’s senior vice president and executive creative director, led the effort.

The project was spearheaded by Chris Fuller, the 49ers’ deputy athletics director for external affairs. Hill said he didn’t know the cost of the project yet (LGA hasn’t sent the bill), but that it would be paid for from funds from the 49ers’ athletic foundation.

“This wasn’t a case of a new athletics director coming in and wanting to change things,” Hill said. “We just wanted to assess what our constituents and the broader community saw as our brand and what it represented. The end result was we found a mixed bag of our (former logos). There was a feeling it wasn’t representative of where we needed to be moving forward.”

Hill said the new logos were previewed for 49ers coaches, administrators and — perhaps most importantly — athletes.

“With the SAAC (student-athlete advisory committee), we kind of held our breath,” Hill said. “If they don’t like it, this is going in the trash. But they were really fired up about it.”

Said Tyriq Harris, a defensive end on Charlotte’s football team: “It’s a good change; I like it. It might take some time to grow on people, because it’s definitely different. But once people see it on us and our jerseys, it will become more of a trend. The ‘CLT’ is hot, though, I’m not going to lie. That’s super, super cool.”

49ers coaches say the rebranding will help with recruiting.

“Being able to recognize the brand when we walk into a high school, to be recognizable from the get-go,” football coach Will Healy said. “They’re going to know you’re there, prospects and coaches, and really start to identify the mark with our program. You’ve got to be able to recognize the logo. It’s extremely important that it either pops or it doesn’t, and this does.”

Women’s basketball coach Cara Consuegra said the “CLT” logo will help recruits understand the link between the university and the city.

Said men’s basketball coach Ron Sanchez: “Maybe I’m wrong, I’m not a UNC Charlotte historian, but I do believe we are this city’s university. We have a lot of schools around us. We have a lot of schools around us. If we can somehow shrink those 8 miles from campus to uptown, it can be great for us. This is a great start for that.”

This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 12:50 PM.