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

This will be posted to the NAS website soon.

"Media coverage of a pending student vote at UAB regarding an additional athletic fee is inaccurate. I want to set the record straight on a few key points.

The UAB Undergraduate Student Government Association voted in May to impose the fee in support of bringing back football, rifle and bowling. A student referendum is set for September 29 and 30. The student vote was not required by the Board of Trustees, but the process was informally endorsed by System leaders. While this vote is a first at UAB, it is an increasingly common national trend.

For example, East Tennessee State University had a student fee vote to begin its football program. UT San Antonio, Texas State and Georgia Southern had a student fee vote to support moving up to FBS football. The University of North Texas and the University of Houston had a student fee vote to help fund on-campus football stadiums. UTEP and San Diego State had student fee votes to support D-1 Athletics generally.

Such a vote by the student body is standard operating procedure in a situation such as ours. It is, in fact, important to coalesce the student body and send a strong message of support to University leaders and the community.

Conversely, without a student vote the headlines may read “Trustees vote to increase student fees at UAB to bring back football, bowling and rifle." In similar situations where new student fees to support athletic programs were "imposed" by a Board, students were vocally opposed (Miami Ohio, USF, Ball State, UNM, Kansas). Such a backlash is predictable and avoidable with a student body vote.

We are not setting a precedent where every student fee increase gets (or requires) a vote by the student body. This is a special circumstance where such funding is critical to the establishment of a program that student leaders consider important to the student body."

I claim BS.

Since when have our athletic plans ever been handled according to any commonly used SOP?

USGA President disagrees with you Mr. Smith...

Nobody cares what Wes Smith has to say. He is no longer the NAS President and this is a student matter, not an alumni matter.

He's full of ****.

Why is Wes Smith the public outlet for this statement?

Also, citing Wes's example, the USGA should amend the referendum to be a vote on helping fund an on-campus football stadium

(09-09-2015 03:01 PM)jthrashr Wrote:  Why is Wes Smith the public outlet for this statement?

Exactly. Makes no sense and does not ring true at all.

Well Wes sounds like you and the SGA president were at different meetings

Alan Collins tweets are attributing this message to Allan Bolton now.

(09-09-2015 03:04 PM)TMcCarty Wrote:  Alan Collins tweets are attributing this message to Allan Bolton now.

So which of the many PR firms wrote these statements for them? Did we finally move that in-house?

I don't believe Bolton has the authority to demand votes either.

"...the process was informally endorsed by System leaders." So sick this way of doing business. Make it official and public or it didn't happen.

This ordeal is exhausting. It's becoming a war of attrition. Such a powerful grudge to continue throwing so many roadblocks in the way.

Quote: Alan Collins ‏@fox6alancollins · 14m14 minutes ago
#freeuab still USAGA Pres Stephens told Chancellor Witt wanted vote. Stephens told Pres Watts vote not needed since USAGA voted on increase

Someone is not being truthful. (again)

Sorry for the confusion, looks like Wes is simply disseminating the message from Bolton.

Get outta here Wes. Let's rally around Garrett. He needs our support for telling the truth (USGA didn't want a vote but the BOT owns them).

The lid is finna pop off this thing and the Watzis are trying to damage control. We need to fuel the blaze and turn this into a campus demonstration.

I hope all of this will appear in an interview on the news broadcast tonight.

I believe Wes was involved some in it regardless of what they say now.

I bet Clay Ryan wrote it. He usually writes the steaming pile of crap that they deliver. Wes, and Bolton says it and Watts backs it up. Fess chuckles, Witt eats a crayon, Jr kills another dog and Bentley taps another whore.