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Not to dig up something that was probably rehashed 1000x when it happened, but I've been curious about why UAB didn't make the cut for the AAC. This was before my time as a fan and I can't figure it out. My understanding is that the last round of expansion (2014) was driven by TV markets and football (and maybe other sports if you're good at that). I threw together the data from back then and I can't figure out why UAB got passed over...particularly Tulane.

I went back and looked at the performance for the schools that were added over the previous 4 years and compared it to UAB. UAB was bad at football, there's no way to dispute that. But the Blazers were, on average, only a few spots worse than Tulane from 2010 to 2013, and Birmingham has the larger TV market. Also UAB had been markedly better at basketball than the others.

Was it just not lobbying done on behalf of UAB? Was the football shutdown discussion happening behind the scenes? Just trying to make sense of it.

The AAC called and our AD at the time was told not to return it. It’s hard to make a case for shutting down a program the just got invited to a better conference with a much higher payout

With Tulane there was the interesting dichotomy of their leadership committing to a new on-campus stadium at about the same time our leadership was refusing to let us even bring our on-campus stadium plan up for consideration.

Because none of those people can be required to testify under oath (thereby risk perjury charges) it is likely the conspiracy story spinners will continue to have their day. I said at that time that no conference would want a program that had no control over its own future which was controlled by a hostile BOT cabal under the thumb of PWB,Jr. Watts was appointed in 2013, he began the process of ending football almost immediately (rumors of its demise were rampant in the summer of 2014) and did so 12-02-14.

I will always believe Watts thought C-USA would allow UAB to remain a member as a "basketball only" school and when they set a termination date, he realized he would be the one blamed for killing the whole UAB Athletic department since no basketball only conferences were knocking on our door (perhaps for the above stated thinking). That is when he backed down in June 2015. Since then, the system BOT has changed its leadership and has been more supportive of UAB football on its own merits. Perhaps when / IF there is future alignment changes, UAB will get a more friendly consideration by other conferences.

Our facilities at the time blew goats. It was common knowledge that the BoT knifed us when they saw the chance.

Would you have invited us? I wouldn't. We were nowhere close to a good choice at that time.


Very different case now.

Louisville and Rutgers left the AAC in the summer of 2014, which is when Tulsa, ECU and Tulane joined. The wheels of the shutdown were already in motion at that point, and I'm sure the folks at the AAC had gotten word of it.

Try not to think about what might have been. Cause that was then & we have taken different roads.

(08-23-2019 08:56 AM)BatesUAB Wrote:  Louisville and Rutgers left the AAC in the summer of 2014, which is when Tulsa, ECU and Tulane joined. The wheels of the shutdown were already in motion at that point, and I'm sure the folks at the AAC had gotten word of it.

Those schools announced they were leaving in March of 2013. And that means Mackin was told not to talk to the then Big East a full year before UAB hired Bill Clark. The BOT had been planning killing football for years before they did it. There is a reason they refused to consider the on campus stadium and a reason they forced Garrison and others out in 2012.