Search the Community

But even if the Blazers hadnt been undercut by their own trustees, they still would have had a tremendous hill to climb, one thats getting steeper every year as the gap between the haves and the have-nots of football continues to grow. UAB was in the vanguard of a recent trend of universities starting football programs from scratch with the plan to get to Division I as soon as possible, and reap the PR and financial benefits that come with a major football program. Nine other universities that are in or are about to join the Football Bowl Subdivision have started football programs since UAB did, and they share several commonalities. All of them are based in the South, and all of them felt they had a chance to succeed because of the prestige of the game and the fertile recruiting grounds in the region. But theyve found it incredibly expensive to field a competitive FBS program. They all have losing records against fellow FBS schools, and they all receive substantial subsidies in order to keep their athletic departments afloat. Theyve had trouble attracting supporters, perhaps because most football fans in the region are already loyal to other teams. And as the Big 5 power conferences start to crank up the financial pressure both with lavish spending on facilities and upcoming allowances for players its possible that some of these programs could join UAB on the sidelines. Read more: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-uabs-football-team-couldnt-even-last-20-years/

http://www.conferenceusa.com/genrel/120214aac.html Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky Statement on UAB: "We are aware of the study but disappointed with the decision to discontinue the sport of football at UAB, particularly because of its effect on the lives of the student-athletes and coaches that have worked so hard to restore the quality of the program. We don't fully understand the decision, nor agree with it, but do respect it and the authority of the UAB Administration to make it. As a conference, we will move forward in our pursuit of excellence in athletics and academics, with the primary goal of providing a positive educational experience for all of our 5,000 student-athletes. Our universities have invested in athletics, and in facilities to support athletics, and are focused on their student-athletes and the contribution college athletics makes on their campuses and in their communities. UAB has been a contributing member to the Conference since its inception and has expressed a strong interest in remaining a member, a topic that the Conference's Board of Directors will take up in the months ahead. The Conference's current bylaws require all members to sponsor football."

Alabama-Birmingham officials are expected to announce this week that they will shutter their football program, USA Today and Sports Illustrated reported on Sunday. If true, it will be a blow to Conference USA, and as such, a blow for Old Dominion’s football program. UAB would be forced to withdraw from the conference, which requires schools to play football. First-year coach Bill Clark, who guided UAB to a 6-6 record this season and bowl eligibility, will have his contract bought out and athletic director Brian Mackin will be fired as part of a reorganization of the athletic department. UAB’s football program has struggled over the years, but the school is a large, urban university in a state that is football crazy. Birmingham is the nation’s 43rd-largest TV market. Read more: http://www.hamptonroads.com/2014/11/demise-uab-football-blow-conference-usa-and-thus-blow-old-dominion

UAB has experienced a dramatic turnaround this year, as first-year coach Bill Clark has the Blazers on the verge of bowl eligibility. But behind the scenes, the future of UAB football doesn't look so bright. In a letter sent today to UAB President Ray Watts, members of an organization called the UAB Football Foundation have alleged that the Alabama Board of Trustees is considering shutting down the UAB football program after the 2016 season. The letter (which is embedded below) alleges that the board is studying the viability of the UAB football program, seeking evidence to support shutting down the program. The letter alleges this is why, unlike many of his coaching contemporaries in Conference USA, Clark was only offered a three-year contract last January — as such a deal coincides with the end of the 2016 season. UAB has zero non-conference games scheduled past 2016, which the letter also suggests is deliberate. UAB Athletics declined comment. Read more: http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2014/11/5/7164495/uab-boosters-allege-trustees-could-end-football-program

Have to think this bodes well for J-Mychal's transfer? ------------------------ BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - UAB picked up an impact transfer in the offseason when Hakeem Baxter decided to leave Maryland-Eastern Shore this spring, and he'll play for the Blazers sooner than expected. UAB head coach Jerod Haase said that a waiver was put in for Baxter, a Philadelphia native, to play right away instead of sitting out the mandatory transfer year, and the NCAA granted it. Haase declined to comment on the circumstances of the waiver. Baxter, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound guard, scored 14.3 points per game as a freshman at UMES. UAB coaches reached out to Baxter after he announced his transfer intentions and recruited him to Birmingham successfully. read more: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/10/uab_adds_more_punch_with_immed.html

BTW - if you didn't know, we are playing UAB this season.... The Blazer offense will be an improved group and could approach putting up 30 ppg. The defense is another story, as they were so bad last year that even if the improve, they will still probably allow 35+ ppg. The Schedule is tough with their tough, with North Texas, La Tech and Marshall at home, while having to travel to MTSU, FAU and WKU, in the conference and Miss State and Arkansas out of the conference. They should bag wins vs FIU and Alabama A&M at home, which means the only way they get to 3 wins will be by beating Southern Miss on the road to end the year. This is an improved team, but it will not show up in their record. KEY TREND: 1-7 ATS on the road vs a .500 or better opponent. Read more: http://pregame.com/sports/stories/b/news/archive/2014/07/28/uab-blazers-2014-football-schedule-amp-preview.aspx

UAB shot just 30 percent and allowed North Texas to shoot nearly 50 percent in a 76-65 loss at North Texas on Thursday. The Blazers shot 22-of-72. North Texas was 29-of-59, including 8-of-16 from 3-point range. UAB hit 6-of-23 from long range and was a disappointing 15-of-28 from the free throw line. "The shooting stats in the second half were abysmal to say the least," UAB head coach Jerod Haase said on the UAB postgame radio show. "We couldn't throw it in the ocean and we couldn't get stops. That's a bad combination." Read more: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/01/poor_shooting_leads_to_uabs_ro.html

The UNT men’s basketball team plays UAB at home tonight. I chatted with Alzee Williams for a few minutes about where UNT stands heading into the game in the video at the top of this blog. UNT is 1-3 in Conference USA play, but has played well at times in league play. The Mean Green had its game at Charlotte in its last outing all but wrapped up before it quit scoring for about the last five minutes of the game. Even then, UNT had a chance to win the game in the closing seconds. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2014/01/video-alzee-williams-talks-uab-hoops-thoughts-links.html/

Clark led Jacksonville State to an 11-4 record in 2013, leading the Gamecocks to the FCS quarterfinals in his first year as head coach. It was the first double-digit win season since the program won the D-II National Championship in 1992. Read more: http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/24416105/report-uab-finalizing-deal-with-jacksonville-states-bill-clark

http://joshgreer.net/other/120612FirstOffer.pdf http://joshgreer.net/ http://www.hudl.com/athlete/o/482805/

Anybody watching this one? UAB up 21-17 w/6 minutes in 3rd.

Banowsky addressed other topics: The TV deals, which expire two years after this season: "We have really good TV platforms. We play mostly on Saturdays, which is what our folks wanted to do. Fox and FS1 (Fox Sports 1) has been a great pump for us this year. We're getting great exposure on FS1. CBS sports continues to grow and they're clearly in all of our markets." On the basketball tournament, which will likely rotate venues: "We're in El Paso this year. I think, philosophically, we like the idea of moving the event around and exposing it to different fan bases around the conference. The SEC has kind of locked up Nashville, which I think would have been a great spot. I think there are other options. We've got schools like Charlotte. We've got options and we'll take our time and figure it out." Will the conference champion be tied into one bowl in the future? "We'll know as seasons develop where matchups make sense. We might be able to matchup our champion in a great setting like Dallas against a Big Ten team. I'm comfortable being flexible until the end and waiting for the best regional matchups." Read more: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/11/conference_usa_commissioner_br_1.html

UAB's version of UNT's Hayden Fry is a man by the name of Gene Bartow. If you are interested about him here a link to his site: http://www.uabsports.com/gene-bartow/ Bartow was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame and led UAB to an NIT appearance in his second year and went on to 7 straight NCAA tourney appearances including trips to the elite eight and sweet sixteen. The man is a legend and UAB basketball while not what it once was has a history and resume that not many programs can match. I like Birmingham as a town and a place to visit. A lot of history and things to do there and while not a short trip it's not too far away. I think that while somewhat in the shadow of the Tide they have managed to build an outstanding academic institution and medical school. I see many correlations between UAB and UNT actually. I like their fans that I have come in contact with and they seem to be much like us, hopeful and with a brighter vision for their future than perhaps many of the prognosticators and the status quo has. They have two talented young coaches in their major sports who are both just in their second years. Their football program has a good young coach in Garrick McGee who was a finalist for the Broyles award which is given to the nation's top assistant while at Arkansas. Their basketball coach Jerod Haase was a top assistant under Roy Williams for 13 years. That shows me that they are hiring quality and I expect this will pay off in future years. I am not like many others, in particular Sun Belt schools who want to evaluate programs on where they are today and in the most recent past. It's not just about whether or not you are winning today but where do you project to be in the future. I like to look back and see what type of heritage the program has, what history is there that could be rekindled with wins, facilities and support. I also like to look at what they could be in the future given their academics, size and location. The only thing that really separates us from UAB right now is facilities. Legion Field for football is old and needs to be replaced with an on campus facility. It would be the equivalent of us playing all our games in the Cotton Bowl. As we have learned they have tried to build a new football stadium but were caught up in politics in the State of Alabama the last go-a-round. I don't think they will be kept down on this crusade forever. The Bartow Arena for basketball just got new locker rooms and is already a pretty nice facility with video boards etc. By the way from a football attendance standpoint they have had some impressive high water marks over the last decade. In 2006 they had 36K for a game against Mississippi State and 33K the same year for Troy. In 2003 they had 45K for Southern Miss. In summary -- Welcome UAB!! I think they have many positive assets and potential that you look for if you are Britton Banowsky and C-USA. If they can get their football stadium on campus their program could really take off. I think they will be a force in basketball and have a great history with Coach Bartow's legacy to build from. GMG!

Losing Houston, UCF, SMU and Memphis might have hurt Conference USA's overall credibility, but don't look for UAB to complain. Swapping out this quartet for teams like UTSA, Florida Atlantic and others will impact the Blazers' bottom line, the quest for wins against losses, and this program will take every advantage it can get as it fights for bowl eligibility. Since the start of the 2005 season, UAB is 0-4 against Houston, 0-4 against SMU, 2-6 against UCF and 5-3 against Memphis – 7-17 altogether, compared to 14-26 against the rest of Conference USA. Not much better, but better, and UAB will take it. More good news: East Carolina, Tulane and Tulsa leave Conference USA for the American in 2014. UAB has gone 3-13 against this trio since 2005, meaning 30 of the Blazers' 43 Conference USA losses over the last eight seasons have come against teams that are currently or will soon be members of the American. Put another way, just shy of 70% of UAB's Conference USA losses since 2005 have come against teams that will not be members of Conference USA after this coming season. NO. 125 TO NO. 1: College football countdown LAST YEAR'S PREDICTION That's the long-term goal: UAB can win games, though it's not going to happen overnight. It's more likely that it takes McGee and the Blazers at least one full season to get on the same page. With a team in flux, a new coaching staff and this schedule, UAB should be tickled by whatever comes – as long as it looks like the program is moving forward. Oh, and UAB should hope that come Monday night, after Arkansas has announced its next head coach, Garrick McGee is still a Blazer. 2012 RECAP — In a nutshell: A better team than the final record might indicate, albeit one clearly finding its footing under coach Garrick McGee and the first-year staff. UAB could outgain and muddy the field against Ohio State, making the Buckeyes work to pull out a 29-15 win; the Blazers could also hang right there with Conference USA leaders like Tulsa and East Carolina, taking each game late into the fourth quarter before losing by 10 or fewer points. At the same time, UAB could give up 55 points to Tulane, struggle moving the football against Houston and lost 46-9 at home to Memphis. Perhaps this rollercoaster was to be expected. — High point: A 38-31 win over Marshall was UAB's lone victory against an FBS team with a winning record. Scratch that: UAB's lone win over an FBS opponent with a win, period. The Blazers' other victories came against Southeastern Louisiana and Southern Mississippi. — Low point: The loss to Memphis. The Tigers played some inspired football in November, but there's no excuse for losing at home by 37 points. You had a feeling UAB wouldn't show up the following Saturday at UCF, and lo and behold, the Blazers gave up 49 points. — Tidbit: UAB housed one of the nation's 61 1,000-yard rushers in 2012 – junior Darrin Reeves, who we'll touch on below, ended the year with 1,037 yards. That was great: UAB hadn't had a 1,000-yard running back since 1996. At the same time, UAB was the lone program in the country to feature a 1,000-yard rusher yet still average less than 121.30 yards per game. The Blazers ended the year ranked 112th in the FBS in rushing. — Tidbit (losing early edition): UAB went 0-8 in 2012 when trailing after the first quarter. Part of me thinks this has to do with two factors. The first is McGee's inexperience in his new position; while he'd been in dogfights in the SEC, maintaining an entire team's confidence – as opposed to just an offense's – is a different animal, as every coach will attest. The second is UAB's own inexperience: true and redshirt freshmen accounted for more than 50 starts last fall. Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/06/12/uab-college-football-countdown-2013-preview/2413679/