I stated this right after UAB Football was "killed":

Best chance for resurrection of UAB Football would be if the program/fans missed several seasons...as it will take that long to build up solid support for a REAL stadium, REAL support, plus, when something is gone for awhile, it actually wakes up those that never really supported the program (i.e. zero need to ever buy a UAB Season tix playing in the huge Legion Field).

UAB should take their time...as you really don't get a 3rd chance to launch a program.

Don't do it half-A$$ED, take your time...do it right...get plans for a real 25,000 plus stadium...(maybe share it with a potential MLS team), do whatever it takes but dot your i's and cross your t's....don't bring it back too quickly without any real long-time plan for success.

The only thing that will make a difference for UAB is IF they can get out from under Bama's boot. That needs to happen first otherwise there is no reason to expect any different outcome. The national interest and media hounding of the UA-BOT will fade away as the dust settles. The oppression of UAB isn't new, its been readily available and obvious to anyone who cared to look. The media will forget and move one and it wont matter. UAB must get more autonomy or break away completely from Bama.

Why is this UAB CUSA thread in our AAC site. Why has it not been deleted by our moderators? Please explain!

Watts needs to be fired. Bring back UAB football ASAP.

(05-15-2015 10:42 AM)Savacool Wrote:  Why is this UAB CUSA thread in our AAC site. Why has it not been deleted by our moderators? Please explain!

Almost every sub board on CSN has at least one UAB thread.

http://americansportsnet.com/cast-your-v...-football/

(05-14-2015 07:53 AM)CalallenStang Wrote:  

(05-14-2015 07:19 AM)baruna falls Wrote:  I don't get this one. There was very little student or community support for UAB when they did have a football ( based on poor football attendance) What will change this time? The climate is more difficult to compete in college football and the odds of have a successful program are worse now then they were even a year ago.

You are clueless. The difference is that now, the UA BOT's sabotage of the program is out in the open and they will no longer be able to take decisions to keep UAB football from obtaining success.

A few years ago, UAB wanted to hire Jimbo Fisher. The UA BOT made them hire Calloway instead.

UAB also raised funds for a 30k seat on-campus stadium to replace cavernous, aging Legion Field (off campus in a not-so-nice neighborhood) as the home of the program. Building the stadium would have been at no cost to the UA system. The UA BOT did not allow construction.

So I guess the BOT also stood outside legion field and only would let in a few hundred people per game.

(05-14-2015 07:19 AM)baruna falls Wrote:  I don't get this one. There was very little student or community support for UAB when they did have a football ( based on poor football attendance) What will change this time? The climate is more difficult to compete in college football and the odds of have a successful program are worse now then they were even a year ago.

Of course UAB has horrible attendance compared to Alabama and Auburn. But, UAB hasn't been horrible compared to many other G5 football programs.

The average UAB home game attendance for the past four years has been 16,059 per game. That's similar to UNLV, UMass, Florida International, SJSU, and almost every single MAC program. None of those institutions has been questioning the value and sustainability of their football programs.

Compare UAB's 2014 average home game attendance (21,841) to:

Marshall - 25,023
Houston - 24,256
Southern Miss - 22,739
UAB - 21,841
Tulane - 19,747
SMU - 18,725
LA Tech - 18,666
Texas St. 18,062
Troy - 16,767
S. Alabama - 15,926

Winning year in and year out in a 30K OCS...UAB will have rock solid attendance.

(05-15-2015 03:44 PM)YNot Wrote:  

(05-14-2015 07:19 AM)baruna falls Wrote:  I don't get this one. There was very little student or community support for UAB when they did have a football ( based on poor football attendance) What will change this time? The climate is more difficult to compete in college football and the odds of have a successful program are worse now then they were even a year ago.

Of course UAB has horrible attendance compared to Alabama and Auburn. But, UAB hasn't been horrible compared to many other G5 football programs.

The average UAB home game attendance for the past four years has been 16,059 per game. That's similar to UNLV, UMass, Florida International, SJSU, and almost every single MAC program. None of those institutions has been questioning the value and sustainability of their football programs.

Compare UAB's 2014 average home game attendance (21,841) to:

Marshall - 25,023
Houston - 24,256
Southern Miss - 22,739
UAB - 21,841
Tulane - 19,747
SMU - 18,725
LA Tech - 18,666
Texas St. 18,062
Troy - 16,767
S. Alabama - 15,926

Those numbers are inflated. I remember watching Uab play UCF on TV and there were literally more people on the sidelines than in the stadium. This whole Free Uab thing is a fad. Outside of a few dedicated fans, no one will care after this whole thing passes. Uab has had to struggle under UA's thumb but no one cared about that program until all of this. That's why ECU fans don't care if Uab goes away. Since Uab has been Div 1 they've had 3 winning seasons and one bowl visit that they lost, all since 1996. Just like Idaho, some schools just aren't meant to be div 1.

(05-14-2015 08:09 AM)TIGERCITY Wrote:  

(05-14-2015 07:57 AM)blunderbuss Wrote:  So why did the UA BOT ever allow UAB to have a football team in the first place?

Probably not so that a money making, viable program could be removed based on poor information --- all creating ill will at the university. But that's just a guess.

why? an excuse to keep that ancient stadium and get that crappy bowl game started

(05-15-2015 05:17 PM)jaredf29 Wrote:  Those numbers are inflated. I remember watching Uab play UCF on TV and there were literally more people on the sidelines than in the stadium. This whole Free Uab thing is a fad. Outside of a few dedicated fans, no one will care after this whole thing passes. Uab has had to struggle under UA's thumb but no one cared about that program until all of this. That's why ECU fans don't care if Uab goes away. Since Uab has been Div 1 they've had 3 winning seasons and one bowl visit that they lost, all since 1996. Just like Idaho, some schools just aren't meant to be div 1.

UAB's numbers are audited by the city. There really was no one at that UCF game years ago and it's the one damn game people keep pointing to.

(05-15-2015 06:12 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  

(05-15-2015 05:17 PM)jaredf29 Wrote:  Those numbers are inflated. I remember watching Uab play UCF on TV and there were literally more people on the sidelines than in the stadium. This whole Free Uab thing is a fad. Outside of a few dedicated fans, no one will care after this whole thing passes. Uab has had to struggle under UA's thumb but no one cared about that program until all of this. That's why ECU fans don't care if Uab goes away. Since Uab has been Div 1 they've had 3 winning seasons and one bowl visit that they lost, all since 1996. Just like Idaho, some schools just aren't meant to be div 1.

UAB's numbers are audited by the city. There really was no one at that UCF game years ago and it's the one damn game people keep pointing to.

Lucky for you there's video footage of at least one game, although this isn't the one I was thinking. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3PsgRbLeL_0

(05-15-2015 08:48 PM)jaredf29 Wrote:  

(05-15-2015 06:12 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  

(05-15-2015 05:17 PM)jaredf29 Wrote:  Those numbers are inflated. I remember watching Uab play UCF on TV and there were literally more people on the sidelines than in the stadium. This whole Free Uab thing is a fad. Outside of a few dedicated fans, no one will care after this whole thing passes. Uab has had to struggle under UA's thumb but no one cared about that program until all of this. That's why ECU fans don't care if Uab goes away. Since Uab has been Div 1 they've had 3 winning seasons and one bowl visit that they lost, all since 1996. Just like Idaho, some schools just aren't meant to be div 1.

UAB's numbers are audited by the city. There really was no one at that UCF game years ago and it's the one damn game people keep pointing to.

Lucky for you there's video footage of at least one game, although this isn't the one I was thinking. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3PsgRbLeL_0

Here's the one: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mXIK4fXa50g

I guess all of the fans were sitting on the side where we couldn't see right?

(05-15-2015 05:17 PM)jaredf29 Wrote:  Those numbers are inflated. I remember watching Uab play UCF on TV and there were literally more people on the sidelines than in the stadium. This whole Free Uab thing is a fad. Outside of a few dedicated fans, no one will care after this whole thing passes. Uab has had to struggle under UA's thumb but no one cared about that program until all of this. That's why ECU fans don't care if Uab goes away. Since Uab has been Div 1 they've had 3 winning seasons and one bowl visit that they lost, all since 1996. Just like Idaho, some schools just aren't meant to be div 1.

Of course UAB fans will have to step up if the program is reinstated. But if the BOT adopts a hands-off policy and lets the UAB sports community develop as it is capable of without the Tuscaloosa strangulation, UAB football could easily grow into a respectably supported program drawing 30,000 every Saturday. Get the coaches it wants, the players it wants, and the stadium it wants and put together back to back winning seasons with bowls and it shouldn't be that hard to do.

If smu did away with football I would be sad but then I focus my attention on basketball

(05-15-2015 09:11 PM)Pony94 Wrote:  If smu did away with football I would be sad but then I focus my attention on basketball

Only now that Larry Brown is there, once he's gone, no one will care about basketball either.

(05-15-2015 06:12 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  

(05-15-2015 05:17 PM)jaredf29 Wrote:  Those numbers are inflated. I remember watching Uab play UCF on TV and there were literally more people on the sidelines than in the stadium. This whole Free Uab thing is a fad. Outside of a few dedicated fans, no one will care after this whole thing passes. Uab has had to struggle under UA's thumb but no one cared about that program until all of this. That's why ECU fans don't care if Uab goes away. Since Uab has been Div 1 they've had 3 winning seasons and one bowl visit that they lost, all since 1996. Just like Idaho, some schools just aren't meant to be div 1.

UAB's numbers are audited by the city. There really was no one at that UCF game years ago and it's the one damn game people keep pointing to.

Every program's numbers are inflated by some measure. Anyone that says their program doesn't just doesn't understand how attendance numbers are accumulated.

I hope things work out for all of my friends in Birmingham. Best wishes for success in restoring the program, drawing big crowds, and hopefully competing with UTEP and USM for CUSA championships....I wish all of you well.

(05-15-2015 09:04 PM)cotton1991 Wrote:  

(05-15-2015 05:17 PM)jaredf29 Wrote:  Those numbers are inflated. I remember watching Uab play UCF on TV and there were literally more people on the sidelines than in the stadium. This whole Free Uab thing is a fad. Outside of a few dedicated fans, no one will care after this whole thing passes. Uab has had to struggle under UA's thumb but no one cared about that program until all of this. That's why ECU fans don't care if Uab goes away. Since Uab has been Div 1 they've had 3 winning seasons and one bowl visit that they lost, all since 1996. Just like Idaho, some schools just aren't meant to be div 1.

Of course UAB fans will have to step up if the program is reinstated. But if the BOT adopts a hands-off policy and lets the UAB sports community develop as it is capable of without the Tuscaloosa strangulation, UAB football could easily grow into a respectably supported program drawing 30,000 every Saturday. Get the coaches it wants, the players it wants, and the stadium it wants and put together back to back winning seasons with bowls and it shouldn't be that hard to do.

Every game ECU ever played against UAB was sparsely attended.

http://csnbbs.com/showthread.php?pid=120...id12058265