Carolina Panthers is a professional football team and one of five teams in the Western Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). Under the league’s realignment plan, which will take affect in 2002, the Carolina Panthers will play in the South Division of the NFC. The Carolina Panthers Football team play at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, and wear uniforms of black, blue, and silver.

During the 1996 Football seasons the Carolina Panthers won their division and qualified for the playoffs. It was only their second year of existence, and this was the earliest an NFL Football expansion team had ever encountered such success. During the preceding year, the Carolina Panthers team won seven games—the most ever by an NFL expansion team.

In 1993, Carolina Panthers founder and owner Jerry Richardson was awarded the first new NFL franchise since 1976, when the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers had joined the Football league. Two years later, Carolina Panthers and fellow expansion team Jacksonville Jaguars began play. Former Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach Dom Capers was named the Panthers’ first head coach.

After losing the first 5 games of the 1995 season, Carolina Panthers won 7 of its last 11 games behind wide receivers Mark Carrier and Willie Green. During the Football season the Carolina Panthers defeated the San Francisco 49ers to be the first expansion team ever to beat a defending league champion.

In 1996 the Carolina Panthers amazed the NFL by winning 12 games and capturing the NFC Western Division title. Quarterback Kerry Collins and running back Anthony Johnson anchored the offense. Carolina Panthers put together the second-best defense in the NFC, featuring three Pro Bowl linebackers: Kevin Greene, Lamar Lathon, and Sam Mills.