Stake Your Claim

At UNC Charlotte, it is time to separate ourselves from the pack – to create awareness, energy, excitement, enthusiasm, and pride around the UNC Charlotte experience.

When gold miners first came to our area, they would literally stake their claim with wooden stakes and a small note proclaiming their right to this land for mining. “Stake Your Claim” engages our faculty, staff, students, alumni and community to take pride in ownership, honoring that pioneering spirit and tenacity of claiming your territory – staking your claim to UNC Charlotte.

About Stake Your Claim

Although UNC Charlotte is a young university, we have a rich history dating back to the 1940s. UNC Charlotte would have never been a reality had not Bonnie Cone and her supporters convinced the N.C. Legislature that Charlotte needed a permanent college. In 1949, Charlotte College was established. The UNC Charlotte mascot, a 49er, was chosen in recognition of the importance of the year 1949 in the history of the University and because Charlotte has a rich gold mining history. It is fortuitous that the campus is also located on N.C. Highway 49. We owe the term, “Stake Your Claim,” to the Miner 49ers of days gone by.

“Stake Your Claim” provides a platform to share the achievements at UNC Charlotte and to invite others to stake their claim here, too. The tone of “Stake Your Claim” captures the historic proportions, the rapid acceleration, amazing tenacity and unbelievable collegiate efforts at this University. “Stake Your Claim” also will let the University showcase the many ways we engage and support our community. We clearly stake our claim to Charlotte.

UNC Charlotte challenges you to “Stake Your Claim” and get involved today! Show that Niner spirit by sporting a “Stake Your Claim” temporary tattoo, attending a campus event, or downloading the fight song as your mobile ring tone. Check out the downloads page for more details.