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

https://www.al.com/uab/2022/06/trail-bla...ooray.html

Quote:When Title IX hits 50 years on Thursday, one of Alabama’s trailblazing former athletes and coaches will be celebrating what she calls a “final hooray.”

It’s really just the beginning of another journey for Marla Townsend, but parents tend to get a little dramatic when their kids go off to college. Townsend was the longtime softball coach at UAB.

When Mark Ingram was hired, many of us were very wary due to the circumstances happening at the time of his hiring. Since then, he has done many positive things for UAB Athletics and has won the support of numerous skeptics. For me personally, however, I will never get past his firing of Marla Townsend.

Interesting facts about Marla Townsend, like being a WR coach at Rudd Middle School

She could be a great Athletic Director

to Marla Townsend

(06-22-2022 03:20 PM)BlazeOn Wrote:  When Mark Ingram was hired, many of us were very wary due to the circumstances happening at the time of his hiring. Since then, he has done many positive things for UAB Athletics and has won the support of numerous skeptics. For me personally, however, I will never get past his firing of Marla Townsend.

From the article "Townsend coached softball at UAB from 1998 to 2017. She was then promoted to associate athletics director only to then be forced into retirement a year later. That always struck me as bizarre timing. Was she removed from UAB athletics out of spite for sticking up for UAB football when no one else could?"


Marla and Maia sat directly behind me at Legion Field for years. Great lady, great coach, and one of the most passionate UAB athletics people out there. "promoted to associate athletic director" is a very nice way to say "Forced to quit coaching or be fired just short of 20 years, get told a bunch of BS to make that transition seem like it was going to be an opportunity to do good, then be ignored and shown the door at the earliest date where it could be done so without recourse contractually."

To put it kindly, Mark Ingram isnt on her Christmas card list.