Claim: Norm the Niner got his name for the "49er spirit" shown by CCUNC when it was saved from shut down by Bonnie Ethel Cone, who would become the founder of UNC Charlotte.
Evidence: Student vote The nickname "49ers" derives from the fact that the university's predecessor, Charlotte Center of the University of North Carolina (CCUNC - established in 1946) was saved from being shut down by the state in 1949 by Bonnie Ethel Cone, when the Charlotte Center became Charlotte College. Due to this "49er spirit" that Cone felt embodied the University, referring to the settlers that endured much hardships in traveling across the United States to seek fortune in the California Gold Rush, students of the fledgling UNC Charlotte chose "49ers" as the school's mascot. The fact that the site of the U.S.'s first major gold discovery, Reed's Gold Mine, is located nearby may also be a contributing factor to the nickname.