How the bricks on Charlotte’s campus influenced 49ers’ new football uniforms

There’s no bigger billboard for a university’s athletics program than the football team’s uniforms, and the Charlotte 49ers unveiled a new look to kick off the Tim Albin era.

Amid an off-season of change, including Albin taking the reins as the program’s fourth coach (in 13 years), a roster littered with new faces and a schedule loaded with notable teams in primetime spots, Charlotte decided it was time for a new look.

The Observer spoke with Charlotte’s director of football equipment, Dale Usry, on the change and why now was the right time.

49ers’ traditional look

“If you look at it from the Will Healy era to the Biff Poggi era, now to the Albin era, all of them have had a different mentality on uniforms,” Usry told The Observer. “So, we tried to fit something that would be traditional but still be clean.”

The two new uniforms feature green and white, tied together by stripes on each shoulder and the return of “Charlotte” on the chest. The lack of gold on the new uniforms was an intentional decision, pointing back to the school’s alma mater.

“In the alma mater, it says our colors are green and white. We wanted to make sure there was an emphasis on that, but we also understand the gold standard,” said Usry. “We wanted to make sure that the gold uniform had a special meaning behind it, which is why the gold jersey is its own thing.”

Charlotte unveiled its gold helmets and jerseys in the 2024 season opener against James Madison and, most memorably, in the 55-24 blowout victory over East Carolina.

“Nike came out with a new template when we came out with the gold uniforms (last season), so we wanted to get all of the jerseys to match the same template from a feel standpoint. We knew we were getting new jerseys and started having that conversation in late August.”

Charlotte will retain those gold uniforms, with the slight difference being the brick stripe across the helmet. In 2025, the 49ers will wear two helmets (white and gold), three jerseys (green, white, and gold) and two pairs of pants (all white and white with a green stripe). The 49ers plan to bring back green pants in the 2026 season.

And despite the comparisons likening Charlotte’s new jerseys to the Ohio Bobcats’, the helmet stripe was Albin’s only involvement in the new look.

“We were kind of in a weird window with the coaching change, so we left the coaches out of the situation last year,” Usry said. “We brought in a couple of players (DB Dontae Balfour and QB Max Brown) to ask their input. Once we had a jersey design we liked, coach Albin was still at Ohio, so we moved forward.

“The brick stripe was coach Albin’s only involvement in the new uniforms. That was something he was very adamant about. When he came on campus, the first thing that caught his eye were the brick buildings and the beautiful bricks around campus,” Usry continued. “We’re building a wall brick by brick, step by step. He wanted to tie that into the team.”

Following Albin from Ohio, linebacker transfer Shay Taylor talked about the coach’s mentality for the helmets.

“That was coach Albin’s idea. I like that coach Albin is coming here and making something new,” Taylor said in a recent appearance on the Highway 49 Podcast. “He’s already selling out the games, so he’s doing something right.”

What about the gold chrome helmets?

For fans clamoring for the return of the gold chrome helmets, it doesn’t sound like they will be returning in the foreseeable future, Usry explained.

“I’ll never say never. The gold chrome is very difficult for a couple of reasons,” said Usry. “First, chrome helmets are naturally hotter, meaning they attract the sun. ... Second, it’s very hard to paint-match from the equipment side of things. Due to the vendors’ finishing process, all of the helmets have a slightly different texture to them. Third, the cost. Three helmets was a lot to uphold and maintain, so that was the idea of going down to two.”

For 49ers fans playing EA Sports College Football 2026 video game — released this week — the new jerseys are in the game and the old (2024) jerseys should be available after the game launches.

“My understanding is that all of the other combinations that were available last year should be in (College Football 2026). If they aren’t right away, they will be after the first patch.” Usry said. “With the initial release (of the game), we wanted to make sure the new uniforms were in, which is why we released them when we did.”

This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 6:30 AM.