RE: UAB ends football program
The hard thing is that, fiscally speaking, most of the "G5" programs are in some sort of jeopardy... So, I'm not somehow naïve about the challenges facing UC going forward nor our history.
For FBS, the optimum number of teams is somewhere around 100. Given the current numbers, that means that 25+ schools probably will be weeded out. And lets be frank for a minute... there's really no good reason why whole conferences like the SBC could not drop...en-masse...to the FCS level for FB. Heck, even the MAC, with it's storied history, probably could do quite well on the FCS level. Remember, this is purely a FOOTBALL decision; their other sports could remain at "D-1," and wouldn't miss a beat.
The sad thing is that UAB...for a number of reasons...didn't even have the option of dropping to FCS level. Their BoT wouldn't have allowed it, they didn't have the facilities, etc... Their ONLY option was to either continue at FBS or drop altogether. Likewise, Hawai'i has that hard choice in front of them as well. They cannot really do FB any other way than FBS. The UH program will be next in the "drop" category.
But let's also not be sentimental here: UMass, for example, is trying to do FB on the cheap. They want the $$$ without spending anything on facilities, etc. Some 20-odd programs have moved up from FCS to (now) FBS levels to cash in and not all of them have spent anything substantial on building their programs. Facilities, coaching salaries, promotional activities....a whole lot of schools do not make an investment but want the pay-outs. That does nothing good for college FB. (Hello, Idaho??? Hello, Georgia State???) It sucks for their fans...I get that. But UC made a decision 20 years ago when Nippert was condemned: That was the single moment where UC got off the pot and began to invest. That decision ran over into the coaching decisions where we fired Rick Minter when it became obvious he wasn't going to take us the next step and we gambled on an up-and-coming Mark Dantonio. It also spilled out onto the conference scene when we escaped CUSA to jump into the BE.
If you want to know where UAB and UC's trajectories part, look at that single decision. And it's not all UAB's "fault," but if UC had decided to marginally fix Nippert but to basically hold pat, it might well be UC making that announcement today. But we didn't. And so we have a fighting chance for the future.
I'm sorry for UAB fans and students. But it is what it is.
(This post was last modified: 12-03-2014 11:21 PM by BearcatJerry.)
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