Announcement at 4 pm re UAB Football reinstatement.

My biggest concern would be throwing good money after bad with all these donations.

Instead of resuscitating a low-level FBS program that drew 11k a game two years ago and considers 21k a great attendance, why not take that money and build an elite FCS program?

An elite FCS team plays up to 15 games a year, actually gets paid to try and upset a big school once or twice a year and, in a talent-rich area, can still draw plenty of damn good players. Transfers from SEC schools who leave because of depth chart there could play right away at UAB.

I think you'd see more games, more wins and even more NFL prospects in Birmingham if UAB stepped to FCS.

But if they're so hell-bent on sticking in a weakened C-USA instead...

 

Because it really would not save that much. The majority of the deficit is the usual BS accounting regarding scholarship money, which goes out of one university pocket and into another. Dropping out of C-USA would cost about $2m a year in lost conference money and besides if there is no FBS football UAB gets booted out of C-USA and has to try to find a new conference. Lesser conference affects all other athletic programs, even if the drop was to the MVC, which is probably the best realistic option, certainly the best choice for MBB. Joining them would cost a $400k entry fee and all travel expenses would increase.

Staying in C-USA they can still schedule a couple of body bag games for money, draw the same transfers and injured/overlooked players.

21k is not great attendance, it's more like back to the baseline. They're talking about building a 30-35k stadium. If attendance gets to 25k a lot more season tickets will sell. Everything is GA at Legion Field because there is no pressure to get a decent seat in a 70k stadium. The BoT refused to let us build the OCS, but it really hits the attendance and cash return playing at Legion Field. It's an old dump in the projects, and UAB has to rent it from the city. All concession and parking money goes to the city. Compare that to an OCS that the students can tailgate and walk to, which had all 22 luxury suites pre-leased at $100k/yr, with concessions, parking and naming rights going to UAB. It was a no-brainer, but it was removed from the agenda without a vote by Paul Bryant, Jr in his role as President Pro Tem of the board.

 

Baby Bear sounds like he's as big an asshat as Bobby Lowder.

 

Telling a D-I school, albeit a lower-rung program like UAB, that their best option is I-AA for football. Is like telling a bench player in Major League Baseball that he should leave the show and enjoy a nice, long career in AAA.

I'd also like to extend my thanks to NC for keeping the board up on UAB. Has been fascinating to get a more local perspective.

 

I lived here through Lowder and my wife went to Auburn. I truly believe that the UAB situation is worse. Bryant got on the BoT by means of replacing a member who resigned, which meant that he did not have to be approved to be seated on the board. It has never been proven that the resignation was specifically to enable Bryant to get on the board, but there has been wide speculation that it was. Depending on the timing, from a quarter to a third of the board were either employed by Bryant Bank or their spouse or child was. Hell, the Governor's son works for Bryant Bank, which I mention both because he is the Governor and because he is the titular President of the BoT. Bryant created the athletic committee, which must approve athletic expenditures, and allows two or three votes to cancel them. Bryant, Finis St.John, and Joe Espy, the three most consistent opponents of UAB athletics on the BoT, were on that committee.

SACS looked at AU and forced Lowder out. SACS just reviewed both UA and UAB, after the UAB president had received votes of no confidence by the undergrad students, the grad students, the national alumni society, and the faculty senate, and while the formal report has not been released yet the exit summary indicated that there were no problems. SACS received at least fifty third party complaints in the run up to that inspection, but those seemed to be more of an irritation to them than something to take seriously. I know, I wrote one of them.

I have not been able to run down a link, but Bryant told the Birmingham Quarterback Club years ago "UAB will never get a stadium". When the on campus stadium came up, Trustee John McMahan said that it looked good, and that he expected no problems with it at the next board meeting. It was a 30,000 seat expandable plan, all of the luxury boxes had been pre-sold at $100k/season. It was nice, but care was taken to make it pretty bare bones and no frills. Given that this was in 2011, the economy was bad, building materials, construction costs, and interest rates were all near all time lows. It was an ideal time to build it. Bryant removed the proposal from the agenda without a vote, saying "There is not enough support on the board for a stadium plan to go forward." The decision not to allow it to go forward was never voted on. Check his comments in this link, and how they are worded. Note that the stadium was not on the agenda because Bryant, in his role as President Pro Tem of the board, *removed* it from the agenda. Paul Bryant Jr. says UAB's proposed football stadium project is dead | AL.com

Lowder was a banker who put friends, business partners, and people who owed him money on AU's board and pulled the strings. Bryant is one of the richest and most influential men in the state, and he routinely operates in a very quiet and clandestine manner. Things that he wants to happen, or not happen, tend to fall his way, either because people have worked behind the scenes to make it so or because people don't want to cross him and deal with the consequences.

Bryant has hit mandatory retirement age and has attended his last board meeting. I believe he is still a board member until someone takes his seat at the next board meeting. However, much as in the case of Gary Neal Drummond, Bryant will still wield huge influence on the board as a Member Emeritus even if he no longer holds a vote. He's a mean, vindictive old SOB with a long memory and a longer reach.

 

Another Reason to Bring Back UAB Football: Bill Clark

 

I was still in the Palouse when Idaho began its quest to become I-A. Seems like the requirements were something like 3 years of attendance of 30K plus per game (on average). They played their home games at WSU's Martin Stadium (bigger venue than Idaho's Kibbie Dome) and were willing to get their butt kicked by anyone if it was a name drawing a crowd. I can't recall: once you get I-A status, it can't be taken away unless you give it away, right?

 

I thought at one point, the NCAA put a baseline attendance of a 15,000 average for schools to remain I-A? Then, if I'm recalling right, a bunch of MAC schools complained and the rule was ignored.

 

The next salvo in the Tuscaloosa-Birmingham war will come ... in the ring?
WBC heavyweight champion Devontay Wilder wanted to have his first title defense in UA's Coleman Coliseum. He's from Tuscaloosa, is a big Alabama supporter, and wanted to show his pride in his hometown.
The University of Alabama wouldn't return their phone calls, before finally coming up with some lame excuses about a schedule conflict with a gymnastics and basketball camp and other campus activities that make it too busy -- in the middle of June -- to host an event that would be no more disruptive than a typical basketball game. So Wilder and his team called Birmingham, which jumped at the opportunity and will host it at UAB's Bartow Arena on Saturday night.

Why isn't WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder making his first title defense at Coleman Coliseum in his hometown? | AL.com

 

The NCAA has not yet ruled on how this will work. I don't think there is any precedent for a school closing a program and re-opening it six months later. How that ruling is worded will decide whether players can transfer back without sitting out, how recruiting will go etc. So far as I know the plan is to stay in C-USA, play a mixed schedule with some conference and some FCS. No one knows yet. We would prefer to restart in 2016, go on and take the lumps rather than starting in 2017 and sitting out 2 1/4 more years.

 

Coming back in 2017:

UAB To Resume Rifle This Year, Bowling Next And Football In 2017 - UAB Athletics Official Athletic Site

 

Yeah. Fans are not happy about the pace and lack of urgency but it will probably be for the best. Clark signed the first player for the new team last week.

There is a lot of anger and distrust over Clark's contract extension not getting done. It's seven weeks since they announced that football would be returning. The problem isn't Clark's money. It's that Clark is wanting ironclad language committing to the facilities to be built. Considering that they didn't build what they promised him on his last contract, I don't blame him. It may drag into September.

The money quote: "The NCAA informed UAB that the Blazers’ football program will not be subject to FBS requirements for a period of three academic years, beginning with 2015-16, and that it would be counted as an FBS opponent once it begins participating in outside competition. UAB would be eligible for postseason bowl competition should it meet qualifying standards and also would be eligible for Conference USA championships."