Who is Tim Albin? 5 things to know about the Charlotte 49ers’ new head football coach
The Charlotte 49ers hired a proven winner as their football program’s fourth head coach.
Tim Albin, who boasts nearly a decade of head coaching experience, was officially announced as Charlotte’s new head coach Sunday morning.
The 59-year-old guided Ohio University to its first Mid-American Conference championship since 1968 in Saturday’s title game. The Bobcats dominated in a 38-3 blowout of rival Miami (Ohio), and Albin had been reported as the Niners’ next head coach by Saturday evening.
Here are five things to know about Tim Albin:
Albin developed star Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke at Ohio University
The quarterback who is currently leading Indiana in the College Football Playoff played at Ohio from 2019-2023.
Kurtis Rourke red-shirted as a freshman and was the Bobcats’ starting quarterback for the next four years, starting with the truncated 2020 season. The two-time All-MAC selection was named the MAC Most Valuable Player in 2022 after throwing for more than 3,200 yards.
Albin was named MAC Coach of the Year following that 2022 season — the Bobcats went 10-4 and beat Wyoming in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl — while Rourke was also voted the conference’s offensive player of the year.
Ohio had unprecedented football success with Albin
Under Albin’s leadership, the Bobcats have won 10 games in each of the past three seasons.
Ohio edged Iowa State in a 10-7 victory on Sept. 16, 2023, marking the program’s first win against a Power Five school in six years. The Bobcats finished last season with a 10-3 record, eventually blowing out Georgia Southern in the Myrtle Beach Bowl in South Carolina.
Ohio is currently 10-3 this season after its historic win over the Red Hawks in the conference title game, giving the program its first MAC championship in 56 years. The Bobcats are set to play Conference USA champion Jacksonville State in the Cure Bowl on Dec. 20 in Orlando.
Charlotte’s new HC was a standout wide receiver in college
Albin played four years at Northwestern Oklahoma State University and is now a member of its Hall of Fame.
Between 1985 and 1988, Albin totaled 1,811 receiving yards on 109 catches for the Rangers, who competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics at the time. He became the first player in his school’s history to be earn All-District IX honors three times.
Albin was also named to the First Team of the All-Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference following three of his four seasons in college. On top of a successful stint on Northwestern Oklahoma State’s coaching staff, Albin was enshrined into the Hall of Fame of the now-Division II school in 2009.
Albin has been a collegiate head coach multiple times
The Woodward, Oklahoma, native was once considered a top NAIA head coach.
Albin took the helm of Northwestern Oklahoma State in 1997. He was head coach for three of his final six seasons on the Rangers’ coaching staff, culminating with a perfect 13-0 campaign and the NAIA national championship in 1999 — after which he was named NAIA Coach of the Year.
Following stops at Nebraska and North Dakota State, Albin joined Ohio University in 2005 as its offensive coordinator and running backs coach. He became the Bobcats’ head coach in 2021 — and earned MAC Coach of the Year honors in two of his four seasons.
Albin joined legendary Ohio coach at Nebraska after first HC job
After three seasons as Northwestern Oklahoma State’s head coach, Albin became a graduate assistant at Nebraska.
Frank Solich, the longtime head coach for whom the football field at Ohio University is named, had been at the helm of the Cornhuskers. Albin worked with Nebraska’s tight ends for three years and was not retained following Solich’s firing in 2003.
Albin spent the 2004 season as offensive coordinator and running backs coach at North Dakota State, where he helped lead the Bison to an 8-3 record.
Solich took the helm of the Ohio Bobcats in 2005, and Albin became his offensive coordinator and running backs coach. Albin stayed in that role at the school in Athens, Ohio, from Solich’s arrival through 2020, and was named his successor.
In the fall of 2025, Albin’s coaching journey will bring him to the sidelines of Jerry Richardson Stadium, where he’ll succeed Biff Poggi as head coach of the young American Athletic Conference program.
This story was originally published December 9, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
