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

I read this blog practically daily. But I try to stay out of the conversations.

I chose UAB because of the music faculty. All had doctorates, minus 2 or 3 of them. Not every music department in the state can claim that. Despite the record on the field over the last several years the music department has seen continued overall growth. So much so that shortly after I graduated (2010) a 2nd assistant band director was added.

I know some have already mentioned this, but let us be clear about this. If UAB football goes, so does half (or more) of the music department.

With all the downtown resurgence happening: lofts, apartment complexes, the downtown publix; the growth of Avondale, lake view district, and the regions park area will ALL be affected. If UAB football goes, so does the undergraduate side of campus; so does downtown Birmingham.

If UAB football goes, then so must other sports to balance out the losses of men athletics scholarships. Campus life will also be affected. Student enrollment will suffer. And we will be left with very shiny, new apartment complexes with no student population to fill them.

I have never been more proud of the unity I see joining all the green and gold faithful together for one single cause. I've never been one to call, email, or write to those powers that be, but rest assured EVERY women's coach will get an email of appreciation for the stand they have made to help save our university!

Ever loyal, ever faithful, to dear ol' U. A. B!!!

A lot of Christmas cards may be in order.

(11-26-2014 09:48 PM)UABDrums Wrote:  With all the downtown resurgence happening: lofts, apartment complexes, the downtown publix; the growth of Avondale, lake view district, and the regions park area will ALL be affected. If UAB football goes, so does the undergraduate side of campus; so does downtown Birmingham.

If UAB football goes, then so must other sports to balance out the losses of men athletics scholarships. Campus life will also be affected. Student enrollment will suffer. And we will be left with very shiny, new apartment complexes with no student population to fill them.

This is a great point. This assault on the undergraduate side is supposedly to re-direct funds to the medical school so it can re-gain national prominence.

How does Ray Watts believe he can attract top research talent to live in a cultural wasteland? When music venues are shuttered, when parks are cordoned off because the city can't afford upkeep and can't afford police, when bars and restaurants collapse, when the big event of the year is a tractor pull at the BJCC?

No amount of money will draw that talent away from Atlanta (Emory) or Nashville (Vanderbilt) to Beyond Thunderdome.

And speaking of culturalwastelandization, those lotus-eaters over at WBHM need to get on board with us post-haste. If football falls to SOM's greed, y'all's pot-smoking necks are following it onto the block.

As a Charter Member of the Marcging Blazers, I have driven this point home more than once. I personally think that losing football and thus, the marching band will cripple instrumental music at UAB. Losing that many students will cause the loss of some incredibly gifted music faculty that love this university and their students. UAB has produced some incredible performers and music educators. Losing these programs would be a travesty.

I came to UAB in 07 and I marched bass 3 seasons. Dr. Fambrough will always be my favorite professor. I wasn't a music major and I could have quit after one or two seasons but chose to keep going because of the people that were in the drum line. It was family. I wouldn't be nearly as big of a Blazer fan if it wasn't for the drum line.

I would love to see a similar letter open letter from the music department. Hopefully the courage of the women's coaches will feed into the band so that they will have the strength to tell the administration to go flam themselves.

I hope you sent this to administration.

I was in the Marching Blazers for one season when I started undergrad, as well. I wasn't a music major, and music definitely wasn't one of the reasons I wanted to come to UAB or college in general. The scholarship the band gave me did help, though. Marching band was always a lot of fun, and it's great to go to all of the football games during the fall and cheer on the team.

(11-26-2014 11:38 PM)FNblazer Wrote:  I would love to see a similar letter open letter from the music department. Hopefully the courage of the women's coaches will feed into the band so that they will have the strength to tell the administration to go flam themselves.

That letter was a hand grenade lobbed into the president's office. It will be interesting to see if this opens the floodgates.

With this letter, I'm now leaning toward Watts/Mackin not surviving this, and I'm pretty cynical about the politics of all this.

I'm aware of some of the conversations Dr. Samuels has had with the band, but unless/until she makes a public statement, they will stay private.

Suffice it to say that they know what's up and are not happy about it.

My daughter probably will be living on campus next year and has some scholarship money to assist.

It would be nice if she was able to get some additional assistance through band opportunities.

I would like for her to go to a school that has it all together.

Up until yesterday's events I was wondering if UAB was that school anymore.

Maybe now they will be again.

(11-27-2014 10:27 AM)the_blazerman Wrote:  My daughter probably will be living on campus next year and has some scholarship money to assist.

It would be nice if she was able to get some additional assistance through band opportunities.

I would like for her to go to a school that has it all together.

Up until yesterday's events I was wondering if UAB was that school anymore.

Maybe now they will be again.

You're basing that statement just on the fact that the women's coaches sent a letter supporting the football program?

(11-27-2014 10:27 AM)the_blazerman Wrote:  My daughter probably will be living on campus next year and has some scholarship money to assist.

It would be nice if she was able to get some additional assistance through band opportunities.

I would like for her to go to a school that has it all together.

Up until yesterday's events I was wondering if UAB was that school anymore.

Maybe now they will be again.

You're basing that statement just on the fact that the women's coaches sent a letter supporting the football program?

We don't live in a snapshot world.

Things under Watts & Mackin were turning for the worse, now maybe they will turn for the better.

Still time to decide.

She has other offers from schools a little bit further away.

I was just wondering if you could explain what you meant by "up until yesterday's events I was wondering if UAB was that school anymore [that has it all together]. Maybe now they will be again"

Is your optimism based just off of the letter sent by the women's coaches? Or do you have some inside info ?

No one wants their kid to go to a school that doesn't support all programs including athletics, band, etc.

I don't have any inside knowledge on anything.

(11-27-2014 10:23 AM)Smaug Wrote:  

(11-26-2014 11:38 PM)FNblazer Wrote:  I would love to see a similar letter open letter from the music department. Hopefully the courage of the women's coaches will feed into the band so that they will have the strength to tell the administration to go flam themselves.

That letter was a hand grenade lobbed into the president's office. It will be interesting to see if this opens the floodgates.

With this letter, I'm now leaning toward Watts/Mackin not surviving this, and I'm pretty cynical about the politics of all this.

I'm aware of some of the conversations Dr. Samuels has had with the band, but unless/until she makes a public statement, they will stay private.

Suffice it to say that they know what's up and are not happy about it.

This was posted in the UAB Marching Blazers Alumni page on Fbook:

Quote:Blazer Band Friends- UAB needs your help. Please call Board of Trustee members, Dr. Ray Watts, Brian Mackin, your State representatives. If there is no UAB football, there will be no Marching Blazers!!! The department of music will be greatly affected by this issue! Please speak up and be heard!!!! Help your alma mater!!!!!

No, I don't expect any music faculty to speak out on the issue personally because they love UAB and want to keep their jobs after all of this. Privately it seems like they want the band alumni and parents to speak out on the issue. Officially, none of the staff run that facebook page, but they are members of it.

(11-27-2014 10:59 AM)The Answer UAB Wrote:  I was just wondering if you could explain what you meant by "up until yesterday's events I was wondering if UAB was that school anymore [that has it all together]. Maybe now they will be again"

Because for some days leading up to yesterday, it seemed as though UAB had become a place where honor was forgotten, where clinging to a job meant more than maintaining self-respect.

No longer. The Nine may well lose their jobs and careers and be remembered as the Winter Coaches. But regardless of the outcome, they have shown that Gene Bartow still lives in some of us.

Some of the faculty should have this wonderful thing called Tenure that can allow them to say what they please without fear of retribution!

I don't know about academia, but in the private sector being the head of a suddenly non-existent department is a lonely place.

(11-27-2014 12:11 PM)uab278 Wrote:  Some of the faculty should have this wonderful thing called Tenure that can allow them to say what they please without fear of retribution!

As I am on staff I will keep this short and my personal opinion out of it.

The directors are NOT tenure. Not sure of anyone on the instrumental side that is tenure.

We're sending a pep band to Hattiesburg. We plan on helping the UAB fans be the loudest people there.

Conversations have happened. The students are well aware of what's going on and what's at stake.

The vibe of the staff is positive.

See you Saturday. Go Blazers.