Pretty tough news. One heck of a job he did-

Whoa. That's a big loss.

One of the greatest revive-a-program-from-the-dead coaches in the history of college athletics. The Gary Barnett/Bill Snyder of the late 2010s.

His back must be unbearable for him to retire. Hope he's ok and gets healthy.

He’ll be missed, things must be pretty bad for him to not do one last season. Hopefully everything ends up alright. Man needs a statue outside of Protective Stadium yesterday. Glad he plans to stay involved with the program.

Also interesting to see who we go with after this year. No doubt he’ll be set up to succeed, especially compared to a decade ago.

Bill has had back issues since high school. He has always been a person who doesnt make rushed decisions, feel sure this has been discussed and researched in detail.

UAB is in a much better place than where they were when the joined CUSA 2.0. They were routinely referred to as a coaching graveyard. Bill Clark built that program from the ground up. Now they are an AAC member and one of the top G5 programs in the country. They are in a good position to keep the train moving.

(06-24-2022 10:22 AM)TroyFootball05 Wrote:  UAB is in a much better place than where they were when the joined CUSA 2.0. They were routinely referred to as a coaching graveyard. Bill Clark built that program from the ground up. Now they are an AAC member and one of the top G5 programs in the country. They are in a good position to keep the train moving.

You mean where they were from the beginning of CUSA 3.0.

UAB looked to be on the rise in CUSA 1.0 before realignment started taking its swings at that conference.

Massive blow to UAB and the future AAC. Bill Clark did a stellar job and deserves major props.

I hope UAB can find the right man for the job. Big shoes to fill.

(06-24-2022 10:36 AM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  

(06-24-2022 10:22 AM)TroyFootball05 Wrote:  UAB is in a much better place than where they were when the joined CUSA 2.0. They were routinely referred to as a coaching graveyard. Bill Clark built that program from the ground up. Now they are an AAC member and one of the top G5 programs in the country. They are in a good position to keep the train moving.

You mean where they were from the beginning of CUSA 3.0.

UAB looked to be on the rise in CUSA 1.0 before realignment started taking its swings at that conference.

Yeah. I'm a bit hazy on when each iteration of CUSA actually started.

(06-24-2022 11:46 AM)TroyFootball05 Wrote:  

(06-24-2022 10:36 AM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  

(06-24-2022 10:22 AM)TroyFootball05 Wrote:  UAB is in a much better place than where they were when the joined CUSA 2.0. They were routinely referred to as a coaching graveyard. Bill Clark built that program from the ground up. Now they are an AAC member and one of the top G5 programs in the country. They are in a good position to keep the train moving.

You mean where they were from the beginning of CUSA 3.0.

UAB looked to be on the rise in CUSA 1.0 before realignment started taking its swings at that conference.

Yeah. I'm a bit hazy on when each iteration of CUSA actually started.

Conference USA began play with 11 members in 1995 and included all-sports members Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Miss and Tulane and Olympic sports members Charlotte (no I-A football at the time), DePaul, Marquette, Saint Louis, South Florida (no I-A football at the time) and UAB (no I-A football at the time). Houston joined as an all-sports member in 1996, with East Carolina (1997 for all sports), Army (1998 for football only) and TCU (2001 for all sports) to later join.

That was the first, and hands-down the best, iteration of the league, which was relatively well respected on a national level.

That sucks. I was looking forward to UAB being a top team in the AAC.

(06-24-2022 11:46 AM)TroyFootball05 Wrote:  

(06-24-2022 10:36 AM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  

(06-24-2022 10:22 AM)TroyFootball05 Wrote:  UAB is in a much better place than where they were when the joined CUSA 2.0. They were routinely referred to as a coaching graveyard. Bill Clark built that program from the ground up. Now they are an AAC member and one of the top G5 programs in the country. They are in a good position to keep the train moving.

You mean where they were from the beginning of CUSA 3.0.

UAB looked to be on the rise in CUSA 1.0 before realignment started taking its swings at that conference.

Yeah. I'm a bit hazy on when each iteration of CUSA actually started.

1.0 is the original 90s lineup including TCU; 2.0 is 2005-2012/13 (some teams left for 13 and others for 14); 3.0 is 13/14 to now. And 4.0 will be the new lineup starting in 2023.

(06-24-2022 08:44 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  

(06-24-2022 11:46 AM)TroyFootball05 Wrote:  

(06-24-2022 10:36 AM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  

(06-24-2022 10:22 AM)TroyFootball05 Wrote:  UAB is in a much better place than where they were when the joined CUSA 2.0. They were routinely referred to as a coaching graveyard. Bill Clark built that program from the ground up. Now they are an AAC member and one of the top G5 programs in the country. They are in a good position to keep the train moving.

You mean where they were from the beginning of CUSA 3.0.

UAB looked to be on the rise in CUSA 1.0 before realignment started taking its swings at that conference.

Yeah. I'm a bit hazy on when each iteration of CUSA actually started.

1.0 is the original 90s lineup including TCU; 2.0 is 2005-2012/13 (some teams left for 13 and others for 14); 3.0 is 13/14 to now. And 4.0 will be the new lineup starting in 2023.

Why include TCU in that version?

Bill Clark is a heck of a coach and it's unfortunate we won't get to see what he could have done in the decades to come.

The opportunities for UAB to land a solid candidate increase though with their inclusion in the American. This would be a tougher blow if they were still in CUSA.

Depending on the success of the interim, wouldn't be surprised to see him stick around. With Bill Clark still around to mentor him, it could easily work.

(06-24-2022 08:56 PM)inutech Wrote:  

(06-24-2022 08:44 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  

(06-24-2022 11:46 AM)TroyFootball05 Wrote:  

(06-24-2022 10:36 AM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  

(06-24-2022 10:22 AM)TroyFootball05 Wrote:  UAB is in a much better place than where they were when the joined CUSA 2.0. They were routinely referred to as a coaching graveyard. Bill Clark built that program from the ground up. Now they are an AAC member and one of the top G5 programs in the country. They are in a good position to keep the train moving.

You mean where they were from the beginning of CUSA 3.0.

UAB looked to be on the rise in CUSA 1.0 before realignment started taking its swings at that conference.

Yeah. I'm a bit hazy on when each iteration of CUSA actually started.

1.0 is the original 90s lineup including TCU; 2.0 is 2005-2012/13 (some teams left for 13 and others for 14); 3.0 is 13/14 to now. And 4.0 will be the new lineup starting in 2023.

Why include TCU in that version?

Because TCU joined the original lineup. There were no wholesale changes until the 2005 season. You could call it CUSA 1.1 I guess.

(06-24-2022 09:43 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  One of the greatest revive-a-program-from-the-dead coaches in the history of college athletics. The Gary Barnett/Bill Snyder of the late 2010s.

But neither of them had their program completely killed. Clark did and stayed to rebuild it.

The next obvious question is will the UA bot once again seek to sabotage UAB with a bad coaching hire? Has there been a change made to protect against this?

Great Coach. Clarke really is a heroic guy. I hope he gets his health back.