The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

We get better by being able to recruit better players and have better facilities (FACILITIES). Your solution, Sundog is for us to jump from step 1 to step 5.

1. A weakened CUsA in football will hopefully allow us to win more games.
2. Win more games, go to a bowl game.
3. Go to a bowl game, recruiting improves. Attendance improves.
4. Attendance improves. On campus stadium and facilities forthcoming.
5. On campus stadium, recruiting improves even more, win even tougher games, and possible escape crappy conference.

(03-28-2013 02:21 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  We get better by being able to recruit better players and have better facilities (FACILITIES). Your solution, Sundog is for us to jump from step 1 to step 5.

1. A weakened CUsA in football will hopefully allow us to win more games.
2. Win more games, go to a bowl game.
3. Go to a bowl game, recruiting improves. Attendance improves.
4. Attendance improves. On campus stadium and facilities forthcoming.
5. On campus stadium, recruiting improves even more, win even tougher games, and possible escape crappy conference.

A few years ago, everyone thought that Western Kentucky could not compete. The same for Arkansas State, and Baylor, and Houston. You improve by playing up, not down.

All three of those schools, even Arkansas State (I have seen them) have better facilities than UAB. We have been playing one of the toughest OOC schedules in anyone in CUSA for years. Where has it gotten us?

Everyone of those schools have received support from the community and administration in order to take the steps to improve.

6 wins is all that is needed to start the process to improvement.

(03-28-2013 02:13 PM)SunDogV Wrote:  

(03-28-2013 09:55 AM)blazers9911 Wrote:  No. We need to play lesser teams and start winning games. Once we start winning, it will be easier to convince recruits to come play for UAB. Whether we like it or not, UAB is a joke of a football program right now to many recruits. We don't win. We don't draw crowds. We don't have a history. We don't have a Bowl win. We don't get guys to the NFL.(and yes I realize there are a few, but this is a generalization) From the outside, looking in, it doesn't look like much. An easier schedule should equal more wins. More wins should equal better fan support. Better fan support should increase program prestige. Better program prestige should draw better players. Better players should lead to better teams.

Play better, and play good teams better. HAHA. The Magic should probably be doing the same thing in the NBA right now, right?

So you're solution is to get better by playing worse, brilliant.

My solution is to play as many games as possible that we have a chance of winning. Going into OSU and South Carolina every year isn't going to be a winning formula. I would love for us to be the next Boise State tomorrow, but it just doesn't typically work that way. I'd rather be in a conference where 8-4 is an average season, and we go bowling every year, rather than a conference where best case scenario is we get to .500. If the team, facilities, recruiting, attendance, etc. picks up, everything else will fall into place.

Intercollegiate athletics is broken right now.

There are two solutions:

A top-down fix,
or a bottom-up fix

And then there's the status quo, which will, in fact, persist.

Please to enjoy.

(03-28-2013 11:21 AM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  

(03-28-2013 11:13 AM)HSV_BLAZER Wrote:  For all of the good basketball adds in C-USA, remember we are still adding North Texas, FAU, FIU, and UTSA as bad basketball schools. I don't think FIU beating MTSU in the conference tournament is enough to make me think they had anything more than a good year for them. The other three had 200+ RPIs this year.

It will still be a good basketball league, but the bottom of it will be worse than what we have now.

FIU has a lot of promise with Pitino as coach. Hiring him tells me they are attempting to make a committment.

But you guys continue to be negative. It must feel good for you.

Any school that is willing commit money to do this, is committed to basketball.

To my knowledge the first to adopt a crazy court design was Oregon in 2010 when they hired a new coach. They have consistently improved and are now in the sweet 16 after being greatly underestimated by the tourney committee.

(03-28-2013 01:07 PM)HSV_BLAZER Wrote:  FIU tried to show a commitment to basketball by hiring Isaiah Thomas. That didn't really work out. I'm not normally negative, I'm just trying to look at the whole picture.
`

We hired Mike Davis and it did not work out.

(03-28-2013 07:27 PM)uab278 Wrote:  

(03-28-2013 11:21 AM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  

(03-28-2013 11:13 AM)HSV_BLAZER Wrote:  For all of the good basketball adds in C-USA, remember we are still adding North Texas, FAU, FIU, and UTSA as bad basketball schools. I don't think FIU beating MTSU in the conference tournament is enough to make me think they had anything more than a good year for them. The other three had 200+ RPIs this year.

It will still be a good basketball league, but the bottom of it will be worse than what we have now.

FIU has a lot of promise with Pitino as coach. Hiring him tells me they are attempting to make a committment.

But you guys continue to be negative. It must feel good for you.

Any school that is willing commit money to do this, is committed to basketball.

To my knowledge the first to adopt a crazy court design was Oregon in 2010 when they hired a new coach. They have consistently improved and are now in the sweet 16 after being greatly underestimated by the tourney committee.

Oh no! Hopefully we don't play them there next year. You know Swing will be trying to ride that wave.

(03-28-2013 07:27 PM)uab278 Wrote:  

(03-28-2013 11:21 AM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  

(03-28-2013 11:13 AM)HSV_BLAZER Wrote:  For all of the good basketball adds in C-USA, remember we are still adding North Texas, FAU, FIU, and UTSA as bad basketball schools. I don't think FIU beating MTSU in the conference tournament is enough to make me think they had anything more than a good year for them. The other three had 200+ RPIs this year.

It will still be a good basketball league, but the bottom of it will be worse than what we have now.

FIU has a lot of promise with Pitino as coach. Hiring him tells me they are attempting to make a committment.

But you guys continue to be negative. It must feel good for you.

Any school that is willing commit money to do this, is committed to basketball.

To my knowledge the first to adopt a crazy court design was Oregon in 2010 when they hired a new coach. They have consistently improved and are now in the sweet 16 after being greatly underestimated by the tourney committee.

One of the most important imponderables of conference change is the effect on recruiting, and what new and better "doors" a better conference may open for the coaches. I believe TX A&M and UMO will find recruiting to an SEC team easier than to a Big 12 team. It may just enable new C-USA teams to improve their recruiting in the same context and shortly, they will be just as competitive as the conference "holdovers" who are now their contemporaries.

When I hear fans say "If Boise State had to play in the (name your favorite BCS conference here) a full year, their record would not be as good." If Boise was in that conference, they would very likely recruit from the same high level talent pool as its fellows, so that in a couple of years, they would be winning there as well. Right now Boise is regularly beating BCS teams (at least those who will play them) with players most of them never seriously wanted to recruit.

I believe this applies to BB as much as it does to FB.

This is assuming the new no name conference carries the same perception that it is a stronger conference. Currently the Big East only has UCONN that it can call an original member. Both UCONN and Cinci are itching to get out. I do not think there is a big difference between this new conference and CUSA.

UAB's current goals:

1. Win

I think it will be easier to do in this new conference.

I mean, what if UAB football was playing in the SEC? You can't learn to box by trying to fight mike tyson on your first day.

So yeah, we need to play weaker football teams, get 6 wins, and grow. Get better.

Basketball-- we need to try to dominate this new conference. Get the auto-bid; make it to the tournament. Let's get our name on some brackets.

You all realize that once Cincy and UConn move on, UAB and USM will be the next likely candidates to join, and I imagine we will. I guess we are now the least ugliest girl.

It's not last call yet.

(03-29-2013 10:04 PM)BhamSnap Wrote:  You all realize that once Cincy and UConn move on, UAB and USM will be the next likely candidates to join, and I imagine we will. I guess we are now the least ugliest girl.

USM, maybe. Us, I doubt it. But who cares anymore? Seriously. The fact that it's taken all this for USM to get a mention tells you all you need to know about this whole process.

Tells us what we've always known about Hattiesburg.

(03-29-2013 10:18 PM)tibber Wrote:  

(03-29-2013 10:04 PM)BhamSnap Wrote:  You all realize that once Cincy and UConn move on, UAB and USM will be the next likely candidates to join, and I imagine we will. I guess we are now the least ugliest girl.

USM, maybe. Us, I doubt it. But who cares anymore? Seriously. The fact that it's taken all this for USM to get a mention tells you all you need to know about this whole process.

Is it pertinent that UAB and USM, the "wall flowers of realignment", are the only schools whose two instate BCS schools refuse to play them in either major men's sports? Those other C-USA schools who have been invited to move up were played by at least one of their instate BCS schools.

Stop, stop, stop...Join what, the Big East, they are a basketball only conference, why is it that some here are so concerned that UAB and USM are the only original members left....
Well look no further then what some here thinks would be great to be a part of....Uconn is the only original member left...
So, Join what...join CUSA teams in an unknown named conference... ok here's an idea, lets let the new unknown named conference call it's self CUSA#2...