The Charlotte 49ers unveiled a crisp white helmet speckled with 49ers green as the official helmet of the upstart program, Wednesday, at a ceremony overlooking the nearly completed football stadium.

"We are really excited about this look," said 49ers head coach Brad Lambert. "We have put a lot of effort into highlighting our brand -- and the logo really pops off this helmet. And from a truly football side, we showed several versions to our recruiting class and this white look was the overwhelming favorite."

Charlotte has been taking several steps towards its inaugural football season of 2013. The 49ers hired Lambert as head coach in March of 2011 and broke ground on their 15,300-seat stadium the next month. Lambert began assembling his coaching staff last year and completed it this month and the 49ers first recruiting class, signed in February, is ready to report for its first year of school in August.

In May, the 49ers announced their move to Conference USA, an FBS Conference, effective for the 2013-14 season with football beginning competition in the league in 2015.

The 49ers will begin competition as an FCS independent in the fall of 2013 with the inaugural game scheduled for Aug. 31 vs. Campbell at McColl-Richardson Field at the 49ers 49ers football stadium. This fall, the 49ers will work out, practice and scrimmage in preparation for Kickoff 2013.

"This is a great time for our program," said Lambert, whose staff expects to move into its new offices at the stadium's Halton Field House in August. "The pieces are coming together. In less than a month, we will have our student-athletes on campus. Pretty soon workouts will be underway. Everything we have been building for and planning for is getting closer and closer."