Photo credit: Charlotte 49ers

I was going to write an article about Mike Hill's contract extension after reviewing the recently executed document, which I requested Monday at 9:24am ET, but I'm still waiting for the document. Instead, this will have to do.

First things first, the timing was terrible and 100% a news dump (in my opinion). You don't break exciting news at NFL Kickoff on Sunday. And releasing the day after a game in which you needed a miraculous comeback to defeat an FCS opponent at home to avoid an 0-3 start, just not well-thought out. Not to mention on the heels of a snide comment aimed at the fans by the head coach.

The "bag" is 100% mixed under Mike Hill. Olympic sports are doing well, including multiple AAC championships. As much as Charlotte fans love those, they do not move the Joe Public needle, nor impact realignment attractiveness. The 49er Club has had growth every year under the Hill regime, which was something many lamented under Judy Rose. That increase is great to see, but there have also been struggles in fundraising for capital campaigns. Hill had made mention previously that would prefer to go straight to 30,000 seats at Jerry Richardson Stadium, but Charlotte will have to break this into much smaller chunks due to resource constraints. To complete the new tower and premium seating will cost Charlotte around $60 million, and the Niners are dipping into Athletics reserves to cover a portion to ensure things stay on schedule. The rebrand to the All-in-C logo, and the subsequent adaptation of this mark by the University is another win under Hill. I'd be remiss in not mentioning the move to from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference.

Revenue sports have struggled, to put it nicely. Football has been a huge disappointment so far, posting a 21-37 record during the Will Healy and Biff Poggi era (including 2-2 under Pete Rossomando). Football is unquestionably the most important sport in today's collegiate landscape and means more to conference alignment than any other sport. And Charlotte's winning at a 36% clip, with all the talk about PAC realignment, this is not where you want to be when the realignment domino is always about to drop.

Ron Sanchez improved Men's Basketball from Mark Price era, but that's a very low bar. Ultimately, Sanchez went 72-78 (39-51) before resigning and going back to UVA. Out of Sanchez's 72 wins, 2 were Quadrant 1 wins (2-8), while 41 wins came against Quadrant 4 teams. Aaron Fearne was given the reigns after Sanchez late exit back to UVA and did a solid job in year 1 (19-12, and a 3rd place finish in league play), earning a 5-year deal to lead the program into the future. I think basketball is in good hands, I love Fearne's pro level experience to deal with revolving door of players now due to the transfer portal. But at this point you can't call it a success either.

Lastly there is NIL, arguably one of the most important pieces of the athletics puzzle today. Charlotte Football has a collective that people have had a hard time donating to (Goldmine Alliance), and some fans launched the Niners Basketball Collective, which has helped men's and women's hoops so far, but sounds like there will be more opportunities on the horizon (kudos to this group for their approach and initiative). Again, I'll give this a mixed bag. You can easily see USF and UTSA athletic departments working closely with their collectives, including hosting athletic department events geared towards raising funds for the collective/s. We're behind the curve here, and the divide will only increase if Charlotte can't change/adapt quick enough.

All that said, I'm not certain what the need was for Chancellor Sharon Gaber to extend for four more seasons at this time, when the current deal was slated to end June 30, 2026. I need to see the deal and take a look at the buyout terms and language, perhaps it is a more favorable deal for Charlotte, perhaps it isn't. I also call into question the process for a decision like this apparently being made in a vacuum without Board of Trustees. I say that because there is no record of an athletics contract discussion in any recent closed session of the BOT. Chancellor Gaber has previously used the "athletics is the front porch of the University" line, and right now I don't think that porch is best positioning Charlotte for the near term. That said, it can change on a dime, but it will take Biff Poggi's team making a surge, soon. But hey, we have the "Excellence in Management Cup" to hold us over (I follow athletics really closely and I had never heard of that until Charlotte was awarded it in May), and I've since learned it comes from Texas A&M College Sports lab. There's almost no discussion about this award anywhere on X/Twitter: "excellence in management cup" - Search / X (twitter.com).

Outstanding questions

• Does this deal it really extend to 2030, or were there 2 years added onto the remaining 2 years, to make it look like 4 years?
• What is the buyout terminology if we have to move on, or if Hill is hired away, and amounts owed?
• To Chancellor Gaber, why now with 2 years remaining, and why four years?