Polite Request RE: UAB
The salvos being lobbed back and forth over realignment, un-realignment, and re-re-un-realignment are entertaining and, sometimes, informative. UAB is not mentioned in pretty much any guesses about how the "East" winds up and that's understandable. Only football, essentially, is being considered and it is a truism that college sports fans have extremely short memories. No one will remember, or care, that from '99 through '05 UAB had the 3rd highest conf win PCT in CUSA...not to mention winning records over many schools who's fans are among the most braggadocios (schools that, in some cases, were expected to be easy wins in football...and bore that out). So, in this audience and in this context I fully understand being ignored. We know - as much as anyone can - how the decision makers feel.
However, some posters have taken to belittling and/or minimizing the stature of our University and athletics...counting us amongst the subjective "bottom-feeders" that drag down a conference's reputation and clout. My request? Cut it out. It is not only untrue, but considering that UAB is a founding member of CUSA and that Coach Gene Bartow place a crucial role in making the conference happen at all, it is insulting and disrespectful. We have been a committed, steadfast, and productive partner in this endeavor. Besides that - and to the point of being "untrue" - keep these things in mind, please:
************ THESE ARE UAB FACTS. SKIP TO BOTTOM IF YOU DON'T CARE*****
- UAB is a globally respected, highly renowned research institution that is leading the world in cutting-edge findings in genetics, organ transplants, HIV vaccines, and even climatological research in places as far off as Antarctica. There are very few institutions in CUSA, past or present, that can match UAB's global reputation on those fronts.
- UAB is the largest employer in its state and located in a Top 40 MSA with an international airport and central location that makes travel cheaper and smoother than most schools can boast.
- When Coach Bartow came to Birmingham, UAB didn't own basketballs...no club team, intercollegiate intramural squads, nothing. That was in 1978. Think on this: UAB's sole appearance in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament came in 1982. Four years. In 33 seasons, UAB had a winning record in 30. We have 11 NCAA tourny appearances (plus 11 NIT slots which is 22 postseason cards in those 33 seasons) and 3 Sweet Sixteen appearances to go with the Elite Eight mentioned above.
- Since UAB football joined our other sports in CUSA, we have kept competitive pace - or bettered - some members with generations of history. Even with our recent trials, football has averaged just under 20,000 fans per game. We are committed to growing WITH our conference mates, and to that end...
- If you trace the history of athletic budgets at CUSA-member schools, you will see steady growth from the mid-teens, to $20m, to pushing $30m, and now reaching or exceeding $40m. UAB has NEVER failed to honor our relationship with conference mates or the reputation of CUSA by "doing things cheap." We have kept pace at every step and will always do so.
- Men's soccer, and particularly head coach Mike Getman, enjoys an international reputation built by leveraging the global reach of our academic/research endeavors. This has produced a consistently competitive program at the national level. Men's golf has similarly leveraged our global reputation (as have our tennis, volleyball, and other sports) to draw golfers from an international pool which has led to our growth into one of the nation's best programs ranked as high as #8 in 2011. 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell prepped for his successful European and PGA career by winning NCAA men's golf's version of the Heisman Trophy, the Haskin's Award, in his 2002 senior season (the list of winners for that award is a who's-who of current golf stars from Tiger to David Duval to Phil Mickelson to Stewart Cink.
- Finally, UAB Track & Field star Vonetta Flowers became the first black woman to win a Winter Olympics Gold Medal by training for and competing in the 2-woman bobsled event.
********************* THE BOTTOM ********************
In summary, ignore UAB if you wish. Factors beyond wins and losses in football still play a large role in conference configurations and the people who will make these decisions...well, we are confident we'll be fine. The only argument I will offer in favor of UAB's inclusion in a "Eastern/Southern" arrangement is to challenge you knowledgeable college basketball fans to try and ignore UAB hoops when constructing the "Southern" part. You'll find precious few programs that rise to the level of UAB's men's basketball.
But sneering at our university, a school that goes back to one branch of the roots that became CUSA and, therefore, helped every current and former member become what they are today, is simply unwarranted. Our university deserves respect beyond the schools that some wish us to join (or helpfully point out that we'd be better with "them") because we have earned that respect...in our athletic accomplishments, our steadfast partnerships with your schools, and - perhaps most important - our commitment from the top of our university down to our casual fans to always display and carry forward the high standards, integrity, and class that defined the "father of UAB athletics", Coach Gene Bartow...a man who deeply impacted every person he interacted with in his time on this earth. One final thing that defined Coach Bartow was his ability to accomplish things that had never been done before - period, not just at UAB - or that experts deemed impossible for a school like ours.
We have been your intense foes in competition, always striving to push beyond how others perceive us, and your respectful, cooperative partner. For that I believe we can ask that if you have nothing productive to say, err on the side of saying nothing at all.
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(This post was last modified: 12-27-2012 03:17 AM by blazr.)
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