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

Good luck to UAB and all Blazer fans in these coming months as you fight for your university. A decade ago I attended UNCW and watched a blossoming athletic program be torn down by the hands of an incompetent administrator. My alma matter is still recovering from her actions. I hope you are all successful in your fight to save your program and your university from another incompetent authority figure.

I have been following this situation and have a question about the upcoming vote. What happens if/when the No Confidence resolution passes? I do not believe Watts has to resign, but would he be able to lead the university after the faculty senate used their biggest weapon against him? He appears to be a very stubborn individual, so would he try to ignore the vote and continue with his vision of learning from "our mistakes"

I don't think he will. He will probably accept it and then place it in the boards hands and will follow their recommendation, at which point they will say he has learned from his mistakes and watch UAB further crumble.

I think Watts and his PR firm are preparing for life after a no confidence vote...

Yeah I don't thnk that will do it either, but he will tire of never being able to speak in public again and will give up the ghost somewhere down the line. The colder the revenge the sweeter it gets.

(12-16-2014 08:12 PM)solohawks Wrote:  Good luck to UAB and all Blazer fans in these coming months as you fight for your university. A decade ago I attended UNCW and watched a blossoming athletic program be torn down by the hands of an incompetent administrator. My alma matter is still recovering from her actions. I hope you are all successful in your fight to save your program and your university from another incompetent authority figure.

I have been following this situation and have a question about the upcoming vote. What happens if/when the No Confidence resolution passes? I do not believe Watts has to resign, but would he be able to lead the university after the faculty senate used their biggest weapon against him? He appears to be a very stubborn individual, so would he try to ignore the vote and continue with his vision of learning from "our mistakes"

With all do respect, I hope the movers and shakers for our movement have Contemplated there next engagement because the BOT has probably done there due diligence i.e.Watts resigning. I am afraid it may end up in the hands of the Alabama voter once the legislation is passed. There appears to be two roads, BOT president replacement with another stooge or the voters of Alabama"Free UAB".I can only imagine the media tactics they will use to persuade the voter. But I guess for now just wait and see what the senate faculty does with this 40 page package.Then go from there. Just airing out concerns ,don't be to hard on me.

Many in the faculty are convinced Watts will not resign after vote of no confidence. This could get ugly, folks. I'm remaining vague on this former for the foreseeable future, so don't ask.

(12-16-2014 09:26 PM)Agent Orange Sauce Wrote:  Many in the faculty are convinced Watts will not resign after vote of no confidence. This could get ugly, folks. I'm remaining vague on this former for the foreseeable future, so don't ask.

10-4

He'll have to be dragged out kicking and screaming, and don't expect the BoT to do anything to help.

We need chanting students and a pep band under his window the day school starts back. With drums. Lots of drums.

If the vote passes and Watts doesn't resign, then what? We just go on like nothing ever happened?

He doesn't seem like the type to step down. Ego, pride, and all.

(12-16-2014 09:41 PM)tibber Wrote:  If the vote passes and Watts doesn't resign, then what? We just go on like nothing ever happened?

Continue digging, try to keep his name in the news negatively. Just like the BBA today, let anybody he works with know that he's an incompetent, lying, backstabbing sack of crap and make him so toxic he leaves, hopefully the state.

(12-16-2014 09:41 PM)tibber Wrote:  If the vote passes and Watts doesn't resign, then what? We just go on like nothing ever happened?

If you consider the possible damage to his prestige, like whats happening on the BBA facebook page as we speak . Some of those members are true business leaders and do not want to be affiliated with this nuisance. They don't need a side show at the carnival. I find it amusing that the BBA,or should I say the chair-elect officials is more or less stating to the metropolitan area leaders, we know better than you about finances and how the loss of UAB collegiate sports does not affect you.

(12-16-2014 09:41 PM)tibber Wrote:  If the vote passes and Watts doesn't resign, then what? We just go on like nothing ever happened?

Then it goes to the BOT. They can remove him. If they don't, I don't know what happens next officially. But I do know that if the faculty votes no confidence, and he ignores their wishes and stays on the job, it will be hard for him to talk to them about shared governance and open dialogue.

(12-16-2014 10:07 PM)thebernreuter Wrote:  

(12-16-2014 09:41 PM)tibber Wrote:  If the vote passes and Watts doesn't resign, then what? We just go on like nothing ever happened?

Then it goes to the BOT. They can remove him. If they don't, I don't know what happens next officially. But I do know that if the faculty votes no confidence, and he ignores their wishes and stays on the job, it will be hard for him to talk to them about shared governance and open dialogue.

The shared governance Watts speaks of is a ruse anyway intended to quell the uproar. He is a BOT puppet through and through and will continue with their agenda as long as he is able. They'll prop him up as long as possible, probably using some "dirt" along the way to discredit where they can. Or, at some point, he will have to answer the lies and actually speak in public. You cannot run a major or minor university from a bunker...

Should Watts be fired, it definitely needs to be done by text message. Preferably read out by a dude wearing shades and standing in the back of a pickup truck.

First, I am not sure that the no confidence vote is a slam dunk. A lot of pressure can be brought to be bear on the faculty before their January meeting. And if they go after him they had better win.

That said, the Watts is is either a BOT puppet or he is absolutely convinced that he is doing the right thing, perhaps both. In any case I don't believe that he will go quietly into the night if the vote goes against him. Nor do I believe that he will willingly reinstate football. However, if he doesn't resign or reinstate football, I would bet that the students will be back marching and protesting in greater numbers than ever and this time some of the faculty might join them. I wouldn't be surprised if the campus is in greater chaos than ever.

At that point it will be up to the BOT. They may not be able to direct a university President on how to run his programs, but there is ample evidence that they can fire a President who doesn't their bidding.

Remember at the same time the Faculty Senate will be meeting, the legislature will starting their secession. At that point the BOT will be able to better assess the possibility of the control of the board being taken away from them. That too will affect their decision.

Then it can go one of two ways depending on the political climate and how stubborn they are. I think the chances or about 50%/50%.

They may decide to dig in their heels and fight, making the decision to leave Watts in office. Their narrative would be that the man was simply making the hard decisions that a leader has to make, so they have to support him. If they get enough support in the legislature, their victory will be complete and UAB will be firmly under their heel for a long time. On the other hand, if they see they might lose in the legislature, they will be looking to make a deal.

They may choose instead to sacrifice Watts as a scape goat, to cast him aside as damaged goods. They could have him sign a NDA and pay him to go away. Who the put in his place will depend on how afraid they are that the legislation to change the board's structure and member replacement policy might pass. If they feel they might lose in the legislature, they might be willing to make a deal to install an independent President. If not, they will simply install one of their puppets again.

Whether we get our football team back sooner or later is unknowable right now, but obviously our changes are better under some scenarios than others.

If you agree with the scenarios I have laid out, you know it isn't important whether or not Watts willingly resigns or not. What is of utmost importance right now is whether enough support can be generated in the legislature to restructure the board or not. That's why influencing our legislators is the most important thing we can be doing right now.

Will you commit to winning that fight?

He scurries around campus like a hunted animal. He's turned the administration building into an armed camp.

He's not the dictator of some third world banana republic. He's the president of a major public research university, and a damned well-paid one at that.

I don't know how long he can keep that up.

The legislature doesn't go into session next year until early March. If Watts doesn't quit then look for the marches to start back up in early January.

I like the lots of drums idea. Lots of Drums. Lots...

Watts is a lever. His likely refusal to resign could work in our favor (as does just about everything that narcissistic toad does).

He is not going to be fired. id love to see students chanting "WATTS MUST GO!" Outside the Kremlin in January