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

This contract needs to be as close to a "lifetime" contract as HCBC will let it be. That includes:

Massive buyout
10+ year contract (similar to what Lane received at FAU)
Huge bonus opportunities tied to the new stadium

If FAU got it done that quickly with Lane then there should be no stopping us.

We can't afford to make Clark one of the highest paid group of 5 coaches simply because the fan base isnt there to support that kind of salary. We can bump his salary again, and give his assistants much needed raises, but we need to be averaging 40k paid attendance per game for us to take that next step.

(11-04-2018 07:04 PM)demiveeman Wrote:  

(11-04-2018 06:22 PM)SMUfan Wrote:  

(11-04-2018 01:16 PM)UAB Schnauzer Wrote:  If Clark gets offered a job at a school that he thinks he can turn into a playoff contender he is gone. He wont leave for a Kansas type program but if North Carolina comes calling we might be in trouble.

I agree with you. Possible openings and my thought if Coach Clark would be interested.

Maryland-------No
Kansas----------No
Rutgers---------No
Illinois-----------Doubtful
Louisville----------Yes (Purdue's Jeff Brohm would be favorite)
North Carolina -----Yes
Oklahoma State-------Doubtful
GA Tech (if coach retires)-----Yes
Ohio State------------They would want a bigger name
Kansas State----No

Seems to always be a surprise. The domino effect could happen also.

I honestly don't understand why people think North Carolina is an attractive job right now. It is a complete dumpster fire and is not far removed from major controversy.

Funny you say that. Numerous JSU people/fans (not me) asked why Coach Clark would leave JSU for the "dumpster fire" at UAB.

(11-05-2018 08:36 AM)blazerball25 Wrote:  This contract needs to be as close to a "lifetime" contract as HCBC will let it be. That includes:

Massive buyout
10+ year contract (similar to what Lane received at FAU)
Huge bonus opportunities tied to the new stadium

If FAU got it done that quickly with Lane then there should be no stopping us.

Would Lane's FAU contract make him unavailable to Maryland, Rutgers or Kansas? School's that need to make a splash.

If Lane has matured then he might be a home run hire at a place like Illinois. He would recruit the Chicago and St. Louis areas like crazy. Would compete in the Big 10 West very quickly.

(11-05-2018 08:56 AM)BlazerMatt Wrote:  We can't afford to make Clark one of the highest paid group of 5 coaches simply because the fan base isnt there to support that kind of salary. We can bump his salary again, and give his assistants much needed raises, but we need to be averaging 40k paid attendance per game for us to take that next step.

How did FAU do it then? They don't average 40k per game.

(11-05-2018 10:27 AM)blazerball25 Wrote:  

(11-05-2018 08:56 AM)BlazerMatt Wrote:  We can't afford to make Clark one of the highest paid group of 5 coaches simply because the fan base isnt there to support that kind of salary. We can bump his salary again, and give his assistants much needed raises, but we need to be averaging 40k paid attendance per game for us to take that next step.

How did FAU do it then? They don't average 40k per game.

by having a supportive board

(11-05-2018 09:04 AM)SMUfan Wrote:  

(11-05-2018 08:36 AM)blazerball25 Wrote:  This contract needs to be as close to a "lifetime" contract as HCBC will let it be. That includes:

Massive buyout
10+ year contract (similar to what Lane received at FAU)
Huge bonus opportunities tied to the new stadium

If FAU got it done that quickly with Lane then there should be no stopping us.

Would Lane's FAU contract make him unavailable to Maryland, Rutgers or Kansas? School's that need to make a splash.

If Lane has matured then he might be a home run hire at a place like Illinois. He would recruit the Chicago and St. Louis areas like crazy. Would compete in the Big 10 West very quickly.

His contract won’t make him unavailable but his 4-5 record will

FAU doesnt have a BoT and president counting every penny that is spent. You cant spend the same dollar twice. The Foundations primary job from the BoT's PoV is to insure that the level financial of support remains high enough to justify keeping football. All of the capital projects are great, and much needed, but are secondary to "closing the gap"

Seeing a 7-1 UAB team draw 17k in primetime does not make the argument "If we build a winner people will come" seem very plausible and you can bet your ass the BoT took notice and will be paying attention to attendance this saturday as well. So thats what the BoT is going to point to when we bring a new contract to them for approval.

(11-05-2018 10:54 AM)LairDweller Wrote:  

(11-05-2018 10:27 AM)blazerball25 Wrote:  

(11-05-2018 08:56 AM)BlazerMatt Wrote:  We can't afford to make Clark one of the highest paid group of 5 coaches simply because the fan base isnt there to support that kind of salary. We can bump his salary again, and give his assistants much needed raises, but we need to be averaging 40k paid attendance per game for us to take that next step.

How did FAU do it then? They don't average 40k per game.

by having a supportive board

Not to be Captain Obvious, but I feel like if we can hold it together until we get into that stadium, the purse strings will be a little looser where we can afford to keep Bill long term. That stadium should open up a lot of doors financially with increased ticket sales, increased corporate sponsorship, etc.

2021 just seems so far away.

(11-05-2018 11:14 AM)GoBlazers468 Wrote:  

(11-05-2018 10:54 AM)LairDweller Wrote:  

(11-05-2018 10:27 AM)blazerball25 Wrote:  

(11-05-2018 08:56 AM)BlazerMatt Wrote:  We can't afford to make Clark one of the highest paid group of 5 coaches simply because the fan base isnt there to support that kind of salary. We can bump his salary again, and give his assistants much needed raises, but we need to be averaging 40k paid attendance per game for us to take that next step.

How did FAU do it then? They don't average 40k per game.

by having a supportive board

Not to be Captain Obvious, but I feel like if we can hold it together until we get into that stadium, the purse strings will be a little looser where we can afford to keep Bill long term. That stadium should open up a lot of doors financially with increased ticket sales, increased corporate sponsorship, etc.

2021 just seems so far away.

The new stadium should give us a nice revenue boost. In addition to increase general ticket sales there will be:

- more premium seating
- more suites to sell that will be more expensive than Legion
- more advertising dollars. UAB gets 100% of digital ad sales in the new stadium during our games
- collecting revenue on parking and concessions for the first time. I'm pretty sure the Bham Parks & Rec board gets all parking and concession revenue at Legion. At the new stadium UAB will get 50% of parking and concessions during our games.

hung out with a buddy of mine on Saturday that has been to one game since the return (the first). prior to that, im guessing hadnt been to a game in 5 years.
he said he'll likely buy season tickets in the new stadium. he just hates legion field so much.
i hope there are many like him

(11-05-2018 01:03 PM)LairDweller Wrote:  hung out with a buddy of mine on Saturday that has been to one game since the return (the first). prior to that, im guessing hadnt been to a game in 5 years.
he said he'll likely buy season tickets in the new stadium. he just hates legion field so much.
i hope there are many like him

Tell him if he wants decent seats in the new stadium, he should start building up his priority points now. UAB plans to beat that drum as a selling point these next couple years.

(11-05-2018 01:07 PM)hooverblazer Wrote:  

(11-05-2018 01:03 PM)LairDweller Wrote:  hung out with a buddy of mine on Saturday that has been to one game since the return (the first). prior to that, im guessing hadnt been to a game in 5 years.
he said he'll likely buy season tickets in the new stadium. he just hates legion field so much.
i hope there are many like him

Tell him if he wants decent seats in the new stadium, he should start building up his priority points now. UAB plans to beat that drum as a selling point these next couple years.

This is why I opted to keep my regular priced seats and not opt for one of the BOGO deals that a lot of companies in town are offering to their employees. You could absolutely tell that they were about to start ramping up seating selections during the survey as well.

(11-05-2018 01:07 PM)hooverblazer Wrote:  

(11-05-2018 01:03 PM)LairDweller Wrote:  hung out with a buddy of mine on Saturday that has been to one game since the return (the first). prior to that, im guessing hadnt been to a game in 5 years.
he said he'll likely buy season tickets in the new stadium. he just hates legion field so much.
i hope there are many like him

Tell him if he wants decent seats in the new stadium, he should start building up his priority points now. UAB plans to beat that drum as a selling point these next couple years.

this helps me justify having season tickets while living 900 miles away. it'll all pay off one day

Play a Thursday night game in the new stadium and make it a “Thirsty Thursday” a les Barons and watch how many attend.

No doubt having 25 years in the teachers retirement system is a factor. Three big years at UAB would be the gift that kept on giving.

If he stays through 2021 he will have 30 years, which I think is the cap on the payout (60%).

(11-05-2018 08:22 PM)FNblazer Wrote:  Play a Thursday night game in the new stadium and make it a “Thirsty Thursday” a les Barons and watch how many attend.

That would be a sell out waiting to happen. Would need to have an area for the undergrads to take a nap midgame, though

(11-04-2018 08:27 PM)SMUfan Wrote:  

(11-04-2018 08:16 PM)ICB Wrote:  Irks me when people think they know what Coach Clark will or won't do. When no one really knows that but Coach himself. Some of the same people saying that he will leave for a bigger school after this season also said he would leave after the program shut down. I am not saying he won't, I am just saying we don't know. Maybe it's better to say "I think Coach might leave..."

I just said who I thought he would be interested in. Doesn't mean he would take them.

Believe it or not, there are people on the board who actually talk to Coach Clark and have some idea of where he stands. He would prefer to stay here and build another Boise St. That said, you have to listen to the offers. A really desirable P5 program could offer him their HC job. He could be gone after this season. The BoT could start screwing with him, or go after the Football Foundation and try to upset the applecart.

You know damn well that there are UAT insiders who don't like our defense being ranked above them, or our bringing championship games to Birmingham. If you throw in that we're recruiting 5A Mr. Footballs and the IMG QB who just crushed Hoover, we've become a nail that needs to be hammered back down.

That sort of crap could potentially get Clark to leave whether he really wants to or not, and I consider it a far bigger near term danger than the UNC job being open.

(11-04-2018 10:32 PM)WesternBlazer Wrote:  

(11-04-2018 10:11 PM)jcduncan13 Wrote:  

(11-04-2018 09:04 PM)UAB Schnauzer Wrote:  

(11-04-2018 08:50 PM)jcduncan13 Wrote:  Coach needs at least 2 mil a year if we make and win championship game.

we cant afford that, the bot wont let us spend that, and it wont be enough to compete against cartel schools. if he gets the right offer he leaves. if he does not he stays. he turned down more money before but there is a big difference in a couple hundred increase vs a couple million increase.

With the foundation we could.

Thank God for the foundation, but we cannot expect the foundation to be able to pony up money whenever we need it. There are limits to everything. Don't forget what may be significant $ are still expected to be raised in support of UAB's football program - albeit a task that would be significantly more difficult without HCBC.

My single biggest fear is the BoT finding a way to impair our relationship with the Football Foundation. We all know that without their help, the program would still be dead, and for damn sure we would not have a forty million dollar football building.

They know that this is our weak point. When the BoT held the purse strings they could keep us down very effectively. They will do any sort of dirty back room deals they can to break or weaken the Foundation, including getting some sort of shady law through the lege.