CSNbbs

Facts:

Play in an oversized stadium in a perceived unsafe part of town (Birmingham is the largest external donor to the program unless that has changed)
Running a tremendous deficit subsidized by the parent entity (UAB President budget covers the $12 M+ deficit each year)
Dwindling fan support and donor base
Paying big money to a coaching staff based on new conference peers (not Houston, Tulsa, Memphis and etc)
The BOTs won't commit to any long term capital initiatives because of funding issues
Conference expansion has increased travel expenses
Conference is made up of mostly smaller athletic budgets and name brand schools
Conference revenues are decreasing

Solution:

Shutting down football is not an option for discussion purposes.

As a fan of our program if you were made permanent AD (Mackin was fired), then what would you do to solve the problem.

Please provide an answer with well thought out reasoning provided.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Maybe we have some business world, corporate turnaround specialists or fan input that could spark a business plan to completely overhaul or change the athletic department and/or football program.

Please don't comment unless you are responding to the hypothetical question!

shut down football we end up in the ASun if lucky

SOLUTION!

uab got the $, the space ,,,just build it
expose the bot ..every chance you have
last night if the game was in campus ,,,, a lot of student will had showed for the game ..just to be on tv

(11-22-2013 08:09 AM)TheGORILLA Wrote: [ -> ]SOLUTION!

Bingo!

Well, these are some well thought out responses. Considering we had a proposal for an OCS done, I'm sure Mackin never though to build one. Thank you Gorilla!

Change the laws of physics? Open a rift to an alternate universe?

Do you guys think the AD isn't aware that things suck? Why does everyone always act like he's not in a box?

(11-22-2013 09:19 AM)blazers9911 Wrote: [ -> ]Well, these are some well thought out responses. Considering we had a proposal for an OCS done, I'm sure Mackin never though to build one. Thank you Gorilla!

I have always wondered why our previous athletic director did not pursue and build an on campus football stadium. I honestly believe he would have had a lot more clout(influence).

(11-22-2013 05:34 AM)RBB Wrote: [ -> ]Facts:

Play in an oversized stadium in a perceived unsafe part of town (Birmingham is the largest external donor to the program unless that has changed)
Running a tremendous deficit subsidized by the parent entity (UAB President budget covers the $12 M+ deficit each year)
Dwindling fan support and donor base
Paying big money to a coaching staff based on new conference peers (not Houston, Tulsa, Memphis and etc)
The BOTs won't commit to any long term capital initiatives because of funding issues
Conference expansion has increased travel expenses
Conference is made up of mostly smaller athletic budgets and name brand schools
Conference revenues are decreasing

Solution:

Shutting down football is not an option for discussion purposes.

As a fan of our program if you were made permanent AD (Mackin was fired), then what would you do to solve the problem.

Please provide an answer with well thought out reasoning provided.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Maybe we have some business world, corporate turnaround specialists or fan input that could spark a business plan to completely overhaul or change the athletic department and/or football program.

Please don't comment unless you are responding to the hypothetical question!

Well, my response may be exactly what is happening, but I can't say for sure on all counts. However, my general response is that Mackin is doing most of what should be done, given his unique circumstances as an AD.

He hired a basketball coach that we can rally around, and it appears basketball is poised to take off. He hired a football coach that brought a new energy to the program, but it hasn't worked out yet. The jury is still out, but I think most of us agree that the hire, when made, seemed great.

Now, if I were the AD going forward, I would try to suppport those two coaches as much as possible, but as we know, it takes a lot of money for that support. The big thing standing in UAB's path is that Birmingham as a city and as a metro area hasn't realized that its future is tied to UAB. A successful UAB keeps Birmingham vibrant and alive. If UAB flounders, so does the city.

The AD needs to work to bring to the Birmingham business community the idea that successful UAB sports will bring business success to the city at large. If they support the program, they will see a return for that support. The problem is that it takes time for that return to come. Right now, I think basketball is thing you can sell them. Jerod Haase is a guy that can inspire them. If the wins we expect will follow, then the momentum can build, and the community will rally around the program.

Hopefully, football (the king of sports in this state) will see a turn around as we bring a veteran team back next season. If so, then we could actually be good in both sports at the same time! Imagine that.

(11-22-2013 09:22 AM)TheGORILLA Wrote: [ -> ]

(11-22-2013 09:19 AM)blazers9911 Wrote: [ -> ]Well, these are some well thought out responses. Considering we had a proposal for an OCS done, I'm sure Mackin never though to build one. Thank you Gorilla!

I have always wondered why our previous athletic director did not pursue and build an on campus football stadium. I honestly believe he would have had a lot more clout(influence).

Watson Brown? Seriously?

I don't know if I would do anything differently. He's working on the football facility but more improvements are a tough sell when only 6,000 fans show up at a game.

(11-22-2013 09:37 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote: [ -> ]

(11-22-2013 09:22 AM)TheGORILLA Wrote: [ -> ]

(11-22-2013 09:19 AM)blazers9911 Wrote: [ -> ]Well, these are some well thought out responses. Considering we had a proposal for an OCS done, I'm sure Mackin never though to build one. Thank you Gorilla!

I have always wondered why our previous athletic director did not pursue and build an on campus football stadium. I honestly believe he would have had a lot more clout(influence).

Watson Brown? Seriously?

Correction. The athletic director before that. I forgot that Watson Brown was athletic director. Didn't he have a dual role as head football coach and athletic director?

(11-22-2013 09:40 AM)TheGORILLA Wrote: [ -> ]

(11-22-2013 09:37 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote: [ -> ]

(11-22-2013 09:22 AM)TheGORILLA Wrote: [ -> ]

(11-22-2013 09:19 AM)blazers9911 Wrote: [ -> ]Well, these are some well thought out responses. Considering we had a proposal for an OCS done, I'm sure Mackin never though to build one. Thank you Gorilla!

I have always wondered why our previous athletic director did not pursue and build an on campus football stadium. I honestly believe he would have had a lot more clout(influence).

Watson Brown? Seriously?

Correction. The athletic director before that. I forgot that Watson Brown was athletic director. Didn't he have a dual role as head football coach and athletic director?

He was and if UAB had some forward thinkers during that time an on campus should have been pushed then.

Who don't think that if UAB was having the success they had when Hackney, Roddy and the Steel Shield defense was doing their thing an on campus stadium would be a done deal?

(11-22-2013 09:40 AM)TheGORILLA Wrote: [ -> ]

(11-22-2013 09:37 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote: [ -> ]

(11-22-2013 09:22 AM)TheGORILLA Wrote: [ -> ]

(11-22-2013 09:19 AM)blazers9911 Wrote: [ -> ]Well, these are some well thought out responses. Considering we had a proposal for an OCS done, I'm sure Mackin never though to build one. Thank you Gorilla!

I have always wondered why our previous athletic director did not pursue and build an on campus football stadium. I honestly believe he would have had a lot more clout(influence).

Watson Brown? Seriously?

Correction. The athletic director before that. I forgot that Watson Brown was athletic director. Didn't he have a dual role as head football coach and athletic director?

Herman "Honey don't unpack the suitcases" Frazier? The guy who literally got booed and run out of Hawaii with pitchforks?

At this point if I'm Mackin I contact Hoover about The Met. If they could make it sit 15,000 to 20,000. We could actually have sellouts and make the ticket mean more. Might actually improve season ticket sales. The area is nicer and the facility is light years ahead of Legion Field. I also know the UAB football fan day was well attended at the Galleria. The key would be making sure everyone knew this was temporary. It would most likely improve the atmosphere, facilities, and recruiting. Not to mention how much better we would appear on television. I use to be dead set against this idea, but at this point if it helps us improve I'm all for it. At the point we are playing better and drawing better then we can build a 30,000 seat OCS. I know many of you will disagree with me but Legion Field is killing us guys. We pay $10,000 a game to play there. I bet the folks at the Met would work with us on that price.

(11-22-2013 10:22 AM)stc Wrote: [ -> ]At this point if I'm Mackin I contact Hoover about The Met. If they could make it sit 15,000 to 20,000. We could actually have sellouts and make the ticket mean more. Might actually improve season ticket sales. The area is nicer and the facility is light years ahead of Legion Field. I also know the UAB football fan day was well attended at the Galleria. The key would be making sure everyone knew this was temporary. It would most likely improve the atmosphere, facilities, and recruiting. Not to mention how much better we would appear on television. I use to be dead set against this idea, but at this point if it helps us improve I'm all for it. At the point we are playing better and drawing better then we can build a 30,000 seat OCS. I know many of you will disagree with me but Legion Field is killing us guys. We pay $10,000 a game to play there. I bet the folks at the Met would work with us on that price.

No, no, no, no, NO.

What do you think it does for the optics of the program if we start playing in the stadium where Hoover High School plays their home games? Good grief.

Quote:he key would be making sure everyone knew this was temporary.

That is a promise that no AD would ever be able to make.

One of the problems that we have had is the teams that we have on our home schedule. As an example biggest long term football rivals we have left is Southern Mississippi which is a homecoming opponent for UAT.

Now I wish as Hypo AD I could get the big boys to play us home and home but that's not going to happen. But maybe if I worked real extra hard could get three of them to sign a one home for two away on a rotating basis. This means you would have only four OOC home games a year and the other three would have to be buys. We actually have to SALE at FULL price a lot of tickets for that game plan to work and hope new fans would then buy tickets to the three other games

Next for our budget, I think to expect no increase under our current president's priority plan to increase funding only where a return can be expected(research almost exclusively). But as Hypo AD I would gradually reduce our operating budget to the level of our new conference competition but place the money "saved" into facilities.

As hypo AD spend at least half of my time fundraising. Our donor base is medical/academic related, I would emphasize academic scholarships to fund bright kids for other teams and set up long term funds. My slogan UAB becoming the Stanford of the South. (turn our high standards into a plus) This could reduce the operating funding and may be able to finally tap into that non-athletic base.

As hypo AD I would hire winning coaches only. Actually may be the only part that I have a actual track record. At Div 2, three of the four that I participated in hiring won the conference/made playoffs and the fourth has a winning record and is very attractive.

Dog track

(11-22-2013 09:37 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote: [ -> ]Watson Brown? Seriously?

Maybe - didn't he have some weird father/son thing going on with PBJ? Daddy Bear liked Watson. So did little bear.

IIRC that was one of the rumored reasons that it was hard to get rid of him and that Pat Sullivan was knifed in the back.

(11-22-2013 10:22 AM)stc Wrote: [ -> ]At this point if I'm Mackin I contact Hoover about The Met. If they could make it sit 15,000 to 20,000. We could actually have sellouts and make the ticket mean more. Might actually improve season ticket sales. The area is nicer and the facility is light years ahead of Legion Field. I also know the UAB football fan day was well attended at the Galleria. The key would be making sure everyone knew this was temporary. It would most likely improve the atmosphere, facilities, and recruiting. Not to mention how much better we would appear on television. I use to be dead set against this idea, but at this point if it helps us improve I'm all for it. At the point we are playing better and drawing better then we can build a 30,000 seat OCS. I know many of you will disagree with me but Legion Field is killing us guys. We pay $10,000 a game to play there. I bet the folks at the Met would work with us on that price.

The fact that some people are so dead set against any alternative other than an OCS, even temporarily, is one reason why this problem persists.