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

http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015...or_ua.html

"Whitmire".

I may dump coke on him. :-)

How important is it to have football back if our football program is never really given a fair shot to succeed and grow. There's always been a ceiling placed on the program and there always will be as long as we're under the control of the BOT the way it's currently configured. Maybe they'll announce on June 1st that football will return but it won't be supported any better by the BOT and the administration than it was before. Autonomy is what's needed.

I usually like his articles, but I'm not a fan of the tone in this one. It's a rhetorical question, honestly, and seems like the start of a silly argument. The real question to pose is why should such an vital institution not be able to do things that smaller schools take for granted? Instead of posing unnecessary ultimatums in a poll, there should be greater focus on our antagonists.

(05-18-2015 04:24 PM)Hopeful Wrote:  I usually like his articles, but I'm not a fan of the tone in this one. It's a rhetorical question, honestly, and seems like the start of a silly argument. The real question to pose is why should such an vital institution not be able to do things that smaller schools take for granted? Instead of posing unnecessary ultimatums in a poll, there should be greater focus on our antagonists.

+1

Well that was stupid

In a way it does make a point for autonomy over fb as if we have autonomy we're able to make those decisions for ourselves instead of someone else.

(05-18-2015 04:28 PM)PTBlazer Wrote:  

(05-18-2015 04:24 PM)Hopeful Wrote:  I usually like his articles, but I'm not a fan of the tone in this one. It's a rhetorical question, honestly, and seems like the start of a silly argument. The real question to pose is why should such an vital institution not be able to do things that smaller schools take for granted? Instead of posing unnecessary ultimatums in a poll, there should be greater focus on our antagonists.

+1

TOTALLY AGREE. He was asking to pick between options with one not even being realistic.

What I would wish for is a genie that would grant me both options. (Reinstate the lost sports, remove Watts, change the UABOT)

First, it's an opinion piece so you should probably take what is stated as such....an opinion. Second, if you read this comment:

Quote:Suppose you rubbed a magic lantern and a genie popped out. This genie offers you two choices, and they are mutually exclusive. You can have only one.

You would know the options don't have to be realistic (i.e. genie and a magic lantern). Some of you are really being overly sensitive about something you have already stated as not being realistic. But it has been discussed repeatedly on this board that this "FreeUAB Movement" was more than just about football. So as Whitmire indicated, of course we would want both. But if you couldn't have both and could only choose one option, which one would you choose? Pretty simple question IMO.

My comment on al.com.

I refuse to vote because I don't give a flip what you "like". It isn't an either or proposition, but it is simple. If UAB had its own board it's first step would be to fire Watts for cause and its second would be to bring back football.

Also, you wrote "To put it another way, the university can divert its football funding to running a bang-up, championship-contending basketball program, or it can rustle together money each year to fund a football team that might do well but never be a contender for a national championship." That isn't an either or proposition either. We can, and will have both and I would be surprise if one or the other might one day contend for a national championship. I can recall times when the basketball program was ranked in the Top 25 and I see no reason why the football team could not achieve the same distinction.

(05-18-2015 04:51 PM)BamaScorpio69 Wrote:  First, it's an opinion piece so you should probably take what is stated as such....an opinion. Second, if you read this comment:

Quote:Suppose you rubbed a magic lantern and a genie popped out. This genie offers you two choices, and they are mutually exclusive. You can have only one.

You would know the options don't have to be realistic (i.e. genie and a magic lantern). Some of you are really being overly sensitive about something you have already stated as not being realistic. But it has been discussed repeatedly on this board that this "FreeUAB Movement" was more than just about football. So as Whitmire indicated, of course we would want both. But if you couldn't have both and could only choose one option, which one would you choose? Pretty simple question IMO.

Yep. In my opinion autonomy takes precedence over the return of football. Without it the return of football will basically be a token gesture, which is all its ever really been.

It's clickbait. Click it and nod. The guy has been great for us and we need AL.com to see our clicks and interest because that's $ they put into more UAB articles.

Obviously there is a risk in reinstating football while retaining in place the governance that destroyed it in the first place after hobbling the program's facility development for almost 20 years. The only workable solution is one that embodies the successful elements of both choices to give UAB the best of both.

There are bound to be school BOTs that are considered trusted friends by member schools rather than a nefarious and intractable enemy of one. Of course, in Alabama we always seem to do things differently from other states.

I'll be honest, I would take the autonomy in that situation. The thing about autonomy is that you can't tell us that you can't make football the price for said autonomy. That's the great thing about it, once we have it, they have no leverage and we'll do what we want.

(05-18-2015 10:31 PM)iam4uab Wrote:  I'll be honest, I would take the autonomy in that situation. The thing about autonomy is that you can't tell us that you can't make football the price for said autonomy. That's the great thing about it, once we have it, they have no leverage and we'll do what we want.

+zillion

I'll take door number 3.....

It may just be his way of saying, football is not the golden apple in this fight, autonomy is. Some people have already expressed the concern that if football, bowling and rifle is reinstated that the fight for representation will fizzle.

Whitmire poses an interesting thought question. In my opinion, UAB will never realize its potential with its current governance. If we could somehow get rid of the BOT, UAB would become the premiere university in the state (and the Southeast). UAB, UAH AND UAT each need their own BOT, with an overarching Board of Regents made up of reps from each of the 3 BOTs.