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As former UAB President, Dr. Volker said decades ago: “We would do Birmingham a great disservice if we dreamed too-little dreams.”

The plan for our on campus stadium is a “big” dream. It isn’t about leaving Legion Field and having a stadium that may allow us to recruit at a higher level. It’s much more than that. It isn’t about trying to build a program in shambles to a level where the students, faculty and alumni can be proud – to a level where we can compete in our conference. It’s more than that too. This is a dream to accompany our university’s world class academics with the athletics it deserves. This is a dream to, with the help of a new baseball stadium; help rejuvenate a town in dire need of a shot in the arm. This is a dream to help give back to our community, our fans, and to all those who may one day call themselves a Blazer.

As a fan base we need to heed Volker’s words and dream more big dreams. This isn’t a time to hope for the firing of a coach, no matter how much we want a new one.

This is a time to do everything in our power to keep working towards that dream we should all share of our university one day becoming the pride of not just a community or a city, but a state.

If the only thing you can do is sign an online petition, then do that. If you can write emails to representatives and news writers, do that. Do everything you can do to help out – but don’t do it in anger to those who attend or have attended school in Tuscaloosa.

I fear we will never be able to change the makeup of the board of trustees. We can hope for more equal representation, but the fact is UAT will probably always hold the majority.

Maybe they are afraid of our institution one day eclipsing their own, maybe it’s something else. But as long as relations stay how they are now, we will forever live under their shadow. We must one day find a way to convince the board that our dreams do not have to come at the expense of their own.

If that proves impossible then we must dream of one day becoming our own university, free to make our own decisions and operate without chains holding us all the way from T-Town.

This is no time for petty dreams of revenge over a board of trustees or anger towards those who wear crimson instead of green.

Dream big. Not just for the program or the university or the city. Dream big for all three. Or else we will do all of Birmingham a disservice.

BOOM! Great post. Galvanize and mobilize, Blazers.