Charlotte 49ers take interim tag off men’s basketball coach Aaron Fearne

Aaron Fearne got his interim tag removed Monday.

Charlotte 49ers athletic director Mike Hill named Fearne as the 14th head coach of the men’s basketball team. Fearne had been serving in an interim role since June 2023, when former coach Ron Sanchez left to return to Virginia. Fearne had been an assistant under Sanchez.

“It is an unbelievable honor to lead Charlotte basketball,” Fearne said. “I am thankful to the players and staff for believing in me last summer and wanting me as their head coach and I am humbled that Mike, Chancellor Gaber, and the board of trustees believe in me as well.”

Sanchez coached at Charlotte for five seasons and his annual salary was $650,000, with $450,000 being university funded. Hill told The Observer that Fearne’s contract is for five years and up to $750,000 annually.

And Fearne’s impact on the 49ers in his first season has been significant.

Charlotte, which hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2005, won 22 games and earned a CBI Championship last season under Sanchez. But after that, the team’s top two players — Brice Williams and Aly Khalifa — left for Nebraska and BYU, respectively.

Charlotte was picked to finish 13th in the American Athletic Conference. But under Fearne, the 49ers have won nine of 10 games, have beaten a nationally ranked Florida Atlantic Team and are one game out of first place in the league following Sunday’s 73-70 win at Temple. That was the first time the 49ers had won a game in Philadelphia.

The Florida Atlantic win was Charlotte’s first home victory against a ranked opponent in 14 years.

“From the moment he took over the basketball program last summer, Aaron Fearne has demonstrated that he is the right man for this job,” Hill said. “In our first year in the AAC, he has our team competing for a league championship and has completely re-energized our fan base. The players believe in him and so do we.”

Before joining the staff at Charlotte, Fearne spent nine seasons as head coach and eight seasons as an assistant with the Cairns Taipans of Australia’s National Basketball League. He led the team to the NBL finals twice and won coach of the year in 2015.

This season, Fearne has led Charlotte to its first eight-game conference win streak and has also generated excitement in the program. Students camped out in front of Halton Arena before a game against East Carolina earlier this month, a game which became the school’s first sellout in 11 years.

The students named their camp “Fearneville.”

“I am beyond grateful to my family, the students, the fans, and the community that has rallied behind us over the past nine months,” Fearne said. “This all would not be possible without their support. I am looking forward to facing the challenges and successes that lie ahead together.”

No first-year Charlotte coach has had a better record than Fearne through his first 23 games since Bobby Lutz in 1998-99. Charlotte (15-8, 9-2) will host UTSA Thursday at 7 in Fearne’s first game in his now permanent role.

“Coach Fearne has done phenomenal work since assuming the role of interim head coach,” UNC Charlotte chancellor Sharon L. Gaber said. “In just a few months, Coach Fearne, his staff and players have won the hearts of students, alumni and Niner fans everywhere. We look forward to a bright future under his leadership.”