We were not the first ones to camp outside an arena for the best available tickets to a men’s college basketball game. But we certainly were the first students in UNC Charlotte history to forgo studying for the love of our 49ers.
When the ticket window finally opened that morning in March of 1977, the 49th student pass distributed landed in my hands and I was ready to head down I-85 to Atlanta for the Final Four. Thus, there are personal reasons to believe the ’77 Final Four remains one of the most overlooked yet thrilling and memorable championships in tournament history.