Charlotte Chancellor Philip Dubois has recommended to the university’s governing board that the 49ers athletics department add football beginning in 2013.

The recommendation also includes the addition of women’s lacrosse in 2016, field hockey in 2019 and a third women’s sport in 2023. The board will meet November 13.

Dubois made his recommendation after nearly two years of work by a football feasibility committee and the university. The committee made the recommendation in February, and Dubois did his own research after that proposal.

“I do believe football will enrich the student experience here, enliven school spirit and serve as one more bond of engagement between the students and the university,” he said.

“I have not faced a more difficult decision in my entire professional life. And I say that because it has required a consideration of not only what people may say they want today or what we may be able to afford today or what students can legitimately be asked to pay today, but also a consideration of what will matter to this university 20 years from now.”

The plan includes a fund-raising proposal that would sell 5,000 seat licenses for six months after board approval and a $200 student fee increase, beginning with a $25 fee per semester increase in 2010 until it reaches $100 per semester in 2013.

“I know there are some who think we should choose between being an academic institution or athletics institution,” said Athletics Director Judy Rose. “I hope that we would aspire to be an institution that doesn’t have to make those choices – that we can strive for excellence in both.”