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(02-16-2015 08:46 PM)kdblazer Wrote:  You have false assumptions. First thing we haven't allowed anything the BOT has hamstrung the athletic department from the beginning. If UAB was allowed to follow it's own path we probably would be more like Georgia Tech or UCF from a marketing and rights standpoint. When your governing board is trying to figure out ways to undermine the university year in and year out it is amazing we are even at that 194. Lets not forget history for we will be doomed to repeat it.

#FreeUAB!

We had plenty of problems in the Athletic Department that were not caused by the Trustees, though it is absolutely true that the Trustees, through their instrument Ray Watts, did not allow these problems to be addressed and instead chose amputation over surgery in the manner of a drunken 17th century pirate ship's barber/surgeon.

UAB has one of the highest administration overhead levels among CUSA athletic departments. Why were none of those fundraising associate athletic directors fired?

UAB has a sports information director who spends his days volunteering for the SEC. Why was he retained?

Ray Watts is the 11th highest paid president among American public universities. Does UAB rank anywhere close to #11 in ANY positive category among American public universities?

While paying all of these overpaid fundraisers, UAB spent $2,500 marketing football. I am struck speechless trying to craft a metaphor for the level of stupidity that reveals.

What was never discussed, and apparently was never studied, was the efficiency of UAB's athletic department, and whether and how it can be improved. And the fact that Ray Watts has no apparent interest in that subject should be enough by itself to wake up anyone still naive enough to think that basketball will be just fine in Ray Watt's World.

Let me hit that point again: the strategic plan study was supposed to identify needed changes to "compete at the highest level." Instead Ray Watts whacked three programs with a dull meat axe and made absolutely no changes to anything else.

Why not? You can all connect those dots. It's foolishly wasted effort to paint your old car before sending it into the crushinator, is it not?

Meanwhile, down Tuscaloosa way the athletic department records a profit of $33 million and returns $9 million to the school. Where did the other $24 million go? The Trustees need to be made to answer that question.

[/quote]

You have false assumptions. First thing we haven't allowed anything the BOT has hamstrung the athletic department from the beginning. If UAB was allowed to follow it's own path we probably would be more like Georgia Tech or UCF from a marketing and rights standpoint. When your governing board is trying to figure out ways to undermine the university year in and year out it is amazing we are even at that 194. Lets not forget history for we will be doomed to repeat it.

#FreeUAB!
[/quote]

No, I don't. I am tired of assuming that everything wrong that happens to this University is directly the fault of the BOT. Coach Bartow built a great athletic problem with the same BOT. The truth is that support for the football program, both from a fan and financial support standpoint, was too little, too late. Was it unfair. Yes, unfair as all hell, but it was me, and you, and everyone else who gave them the knife. They just put it in and twisted it. IF football is restored, we must never, ever put it in their hands again. And the way you do that is build a winning, fan supported, alumni supported, donor supported program that stands on its on. That way, they can't touch it. Ever.

I am concerned about the psyche of this University. There is way too much of "look how badly we've been treated" and not near enough of "what are we going to do to fix it." We should shut up and go to work to build this program. With whatever limitations they put on us. Work harder, sacrifice more, support more. It is the only way.

I've seen enough.

(02-16-2015 10:28 PM)the_blazerman Wrote:  I've seen enough.

Agreed.

(02-16-2015 10:28 PM)the_blazerman Wrote:  I've seen enough.

(02-16-2015 08:35 PM)PTBlazer Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 07:26 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  This is as relevant to UAB athletics as Bama's possible next basketball coach and it's impact on our recruiting...which was deemed not Blazer related and moved to the Bar and Grill.

I disagree. I think as UAB people we need to be highly attuned to the financial aspects of athletics. Because, as we have seen, for us, it really, really matters. We've got to be supportive of our athletic teams at all levels (which I have not always done), demanding of transparency of all our athletic department actions, financial and otherwise, and willing to go the extra mile from a contribution standpoint (which we have not always done, me first). As a people, the Blazers should now understand we can't rely on anyone, particularly to the Southwest, to support our athletic program, and indeed, we must continually work to protect them from judgment from outsiders. So, I do think it is important to know what the competitive landscape looks like.

According to the article I linked above, UAB is 194 out of 230 programs from an athletic profitability standpoint, or in the bottom 17% of programs. Is that acceptable? Would it be acceptable if the Medical School was in the bottom tier? The Business School? The Engineering School?

The answer is no, it wouldn't. Then why are we willing to allow this to happen to our athletic programs?

I'll probably get blasted for this, but frankly my dear....... Who in the hell's side are you on?!!!!! Okay, let's say you are not a plant, well then you sure missed your calling.

And by dude, WE didn't let this happen to our athletic department. WE had a lot of help. If you don't understand that you are either a plant or a lot less bright than I gave you credit for.

(02-16-2015 11:39 PM)CajunBlazer Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 08:35 PM)PTBlazer Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 07:26 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  This is as relevant to UAB athletics as Bama's possible next basketball coach and it's impact on our recruiting...which was deemed not Blazer related and moved to the Bar and Grill.

I disagree. I think as UAB people we need to be highly attuned to the financial aspects of athletics. Because, as we have seen, for us, it really, really matters. We've got to be supportive of our athletic teams at all levels (which I have not always done), demanding of transparency of all our athletic department actions, financial and otherwise, and willing to go the extra mile from a contribution standpoint (which we have not always done, me first). As a people, the Blazers should now understand we can't rely on anyone, particularly to the Southwest, to support our athletic program, and indeed, we must continually work to protect them from judgment from outsiders. So, I do think it is important to know what the competitive landscape looks like.

According to the article I linked above, UAB is 194 out of 230 programs from an athletic profitability standpoint, or in the bottom 17% of programs. Is that acceptable? Would it be acceptable if the Medical School was in the bottom tier? The Business School? The Engineering School?

The answer is no, it wouldn't. Then why are we willing to allow this to happen to our athletic programs?

I'll probably get blasted for this, but frankly my dear....... Who in the hell's side are you on?!!!!! Okay, let's say you are not a plant, well then you sure missed your calling.

And by dude, WE didn't let this happen to our athletic department. WE had a lot of help. If you don't understand that you are either a plant or a lot less bright than I gave you credit for.

Yes, you're right. There was a lot of help. I'm just frustrated. Sorry guys. I guess I just wish I had done more earlier on, and that everyone had. Maybe it would have made a difference, but maybe not. This just sucks all the way around.

Anyway, that's all.

UAB football tried to better itself by doing the things people said we should do:

Get a better coach; we had a handshake agreement with the hottest head coaching prospect in the country get nixed on the tarmac. (said prospect hoisted a crystal football not long afterward)

Get the hell out of Legion Field; we proposed a small, conservative on-campus stadium to have it removed from the agenda without debate or a public vote.

And investment? Point out to me one permanent structure on UAB's campus that says "We played football here". Just one.

And the dentist's office with "FOOTBALL" painted down the side doesn't count.

That is ALL on the Board of Trustees. Every damn bit of that dirt.

(02-17-2015 12:03 AM)PTBlazer Wrote:  Yes, you're right. There was a lot of help. I'm just frustrated. Sorry guys. I guess I just wish I had done more earlier on, and that everyone had. Maybe it would have made a difference, but maybe not. This just sucks all the way around.

Anyway, that's all.

There's no equivalency here. The Trustees have broken their oaths. They have broken SACS regulations. They have broken their own laughably weak regulations. They have broken the law.

We ... maybe should have encouraged a few more people to go to a few more football games?

No amount of third-rate PR massaging can change those fundamental facts or create any measure of equivalency.

We took no oaths. We are not bound by state Ethics laws. We are not bound by SACS regulations. We are not bound by the Alabama Open Meetings Act.

Tell your Trustees that they have succeeded in one thing: They have given rise to a movement. Three months ago we were just sports fans. Now we have purpose, we have unity. We fight.

(02-16-2015 08:46 PM)kdblazer Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 08:35 PM)PTBlazer Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 07:26 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  This is as relevant to UAB athletics as Bama's possible next basketball coach and it's impact on our recruiting...which was deemed not Blazer related and moved to the Bar and Grill.

I disagree. I think as UAB people we need to be highly attuned to the financial aspects of athletics. Because, as we have seen, for us, it really, really matters. We've got to be supportive of our athletic teams at all levels (which I have not always done), demanding of transparency of all our athletic department actions, financial and otherwise, and willing to go the extra mile from a contribution standpoint (which we have not always done, me first). As a people, the Blazers should now understand we can't rely on anyone, particularly to the Southwest, to support our athletic program, and indeed, we must continually work to protect them from judgment from outsiders. So, I do think it is important to know what the competitive landscape looks like.

According to the article I linked above, UAB is 194 out of 230 programs from an athletic profitability standpoint, or in the bottom 17% of programs. Is that acceptable? Would it be acceptable if the Medical School was in the bottom tier? The Business School? The Engineering School?

The answer is no, it wouldn't. Then why are we willing to allow this to happen to our athletic programs?

You have false assumptions. First thing we haven't allowed anything the BOT has hamstrung the athletic department from the beginning. If UAB was allowed to follow it's own path we probably would be more like Georgia Tech or UCF from a marketing and rights standpoint. When your governing board is trying to figure out ways to undermine the university year in and year out it is amazing we are even at that 194. Lets not forget history for we will be doomed to repeat it.

#FreeUAB!

Most national articles like the one in the NY Times pick up the termination of the UAB football program at 12/2/14 which was the final act. The vendetta against UAB and its athletic programs was carried out by the UABOT and has been actively pursued for over two decades.

The present leadership of the BOT is the modern personification of the Bourbon aristocracy that dominated Alabama from its beginnings and still controls the state's political machinery today (an individual governor or legislator notwithstanding). Its refusal to reapportion itself (no one else can do it) based upon the two additional campuses under its control since 1969 resembles the early 20th century state rural leaders who refused to reapportion the state legislature to reflect growing cities for almost 70 years (1901-1966 - and then only when the federal court ordered it). If Rep. Williams and friends don't get change from the state legislature, the federal courts may be UAB's only recourse to accepting the present subservient relationship as permanent.

(02-17-2015 12:36 AM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 08:46 PM)kdblazer Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 08:35 PM)PTBlazer Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 07:26 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  This is as relevant to UAB athletics as Bama's possible next basketball coach and it's impact on our recruiting...which was deemed not Blazer related and moved to the Bar and Grill.

I disagree. I think as UAB people we need to be highly attuned to the financial aspects of athletics. Because, as we have seen, for us, it really, really matters. We've got to be supportive of our athletic teams at all levels (which I have not always done), demanding of transparency of all our athletic department actions, financial and otherwise, and willing to go the extra mile from a contribution standpoint (which we have not always done, me first). As a people, the Blazers should now understand we can't rely on anyone, particularly to the Southwest, to support our athletic program, and indeed, we must continually work to protect them from judgment from outsiders. So, I do think it is important to know what the competitive landscape looks like.

According to the article I linked above, UAB is 194 out of 230 programs from an athletic profitability standpoint, or in the bottom 17% of programs. Is that acceptable? Would it be acceptable if the Medical School was in the bottom tier? The Business School? The Engineering School?

The answer is no, it wouldn't. Then why are we willing to allow this to happen to our athletic programs?

You have false assumptions. First thing we haven't allowed anything the BOT has hamstrung the athletic department from the beginning. If UAB was allowed to follow it's own path we probably would be more like Georgia Tech or UCF from a marketing and rights standpoint. When your governing board is trying to figure out ways to undermine the university year in and year out it is amazing we are even at that 194. Lets not forget history for we will be doomed to repeat it.

#FreeUAB!

Most national articles like the one in the NY Times pick up the termination of the UAB football program at 12/2/14 which was the final act. The vendetta against UAB and its athletic programs was carried out by the UABOT and has been actively pursued for over two decades.

The present leadership of the BOT is the modern personification of the Bourbon aristocracy that dominated Alabama from its beginnings and still controls the state's political machinery today (an individual governor or legislator notwithstanding). Its refusal to reapportion itself (no one else can do it) based upon the two additional campuses under its control since 1969 resembles the early 20th century state rural leaders who refused to reapportion the state legislature to reflect growing cities for almost 70 years (1901-1966 - and then only when the federal court ordered it). If Rep. Williams and friends don't get change from the state legislature, the federal courts may be UAB's only recourse to accepting the present subservient relationship as permanent.

You may be off-base sometimes, but that summation in your second paragraph is among the best I've read on Blazertalk

88 MILLION DOLLARS approved by BOT for U of A debt refinancing...read this.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20.../140409845

U of A has a debt load of almost ONE BILLION DOLLARS and it is not going to go away. They just keep.....refinancing. Hmm?

(02-16-2015 09:22 PM)58-56 Wrote:  UAB has a sports information director who spends his days volunteering for the SEC. Why was he retained?

Fun fact about that: Petros Papadakis was in town doing the UAB vs. Rice game McGee's last season. One of his comments on his radio show, paraphrased:

"The biggest issue I had with UAB was their sports information department. I spent all this time making my board for the game, and then you're trying to call the game, and there's just a bunch of kids running around out there with random numbers that aren't even on the depth chart they gave us."

(02-17-2015 06:16 AM)TheGORILLA Wrote:  88 MILLION DOLLARS approved by BOT for U of A debt refinancing...read this.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20.../140409845

U of A has a debt load of almost ONE BILLION DOLLARS and it is not going to go away. They just keep.....refinancing. Hmm?

Those kinds of operations on bond debt swaps is what got Mr Blount a 4 year prison term and Langford a 15 year term. I'll bet there are some Bama insiders (friends around or on the BOT) making millions on the same kinds of inside deals that sent Blount to prison, but no one will tell on them. Langford was an "outsider" to that group.