UAB Ends Football Program: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

The University of Alabama at Birmingham is shutting down its football program, the school confirmed on Tuesday.

Despite the decision, the school may still play in a bowl game, although the prognosis isn't good, according to reports.

Continue for updates.

Thursday, Dec. 4

UAB's Bowl Chances Low

According to ESPN's Brett McMurphy, the Blazers' chances of ending their program's history with a bowl bid are slim:

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On Tuesday, UAB president Ray Watts announced that the Blazers' football program would be disbanded. And now UAB's bowl hopes are pretty much dead.

With five seven-win teams in Conference USA, the Blazers (6-6) cannot receive one of the league's five bowl berths. Any chance to receive an at-large bid is basically nonexistent, a source told ESPN.

"No one will touch them with what's going on with the program since other options exist," the source said.

C-USA league rules require its affiliated bowls to select the teams with the most victories, so East Division champion Marshall (11-1), West Division champion Louisiana Tech (8-4), Western Kentucky (7-5), Rice (7-5) and UTEP (7-5) get the nod over the Blazers.

UAB's only chance to play one final game would be for a bowl not affiliated with C-USA and with an opening to select the Blazers. There are currently 79 bowl eligible teams for 76 bowl berths, so it "doesn't look great" that UAB would be selected, another source said.

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Wednesday, Dec. 3

Video Surfaces Showing Players' Reaction to Announcement

BlazersTV.com released a video via YouTube of the Blazers' players reacting to the news:

UAB Still May Play in Bowl Game

Jamie Newberg of Scout.com reported on UAB's chances of playing in a postseason bowl game:

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A day after UAB announced they will shut down their football program a source close to the program says there’s still a chance that the Blazers could play in a Bowl game. They finished the season at 6-6. That decision should be made by their administration sometime this weekend.

UAB has a handful of potential Power Five transfers. They have to be officially released just as if they are asking for a transfer. That will happen to the entire roster as soon as they learn their Bowl fate. If they do play in a post-season game then the official releases will be granted then.

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Tuesday, Dec. 2

UAB Confirms It Is Shutting Down Football Program

As a result of financial cutbacks and poor attendance, the University of Alabama at Birmingham is shutting down its football program. The school announced the decision in a press release on Tuesday:

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As part of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s campus-wide strategic planning process, President Ray L. Watts, M.D., today announced the results of the Athletic Department’s comprehensive review.

Designed to identify areas of excellence and set priorities for investment and growth, UAB’s strategic process requires leaders across campus to identify priority programs for future investment. The Athletic Department engaged highly knowledgeable outside experts and advisors from CarrSports Consulting, a leader in program advancement in intercollegiate athletics, to assist in the in-depth review and inform analysis and planning.

In order to more effectively invest in the success of priority programs that are most likely to bring national prominence relative to the necessary investment, the Athletic Department has determined that the final seasons for UAB football, bowling and rifle will be in the 2014-2015 academic year.

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Earlier in the day, Kevin Scarbinsky of The Birmingham News was the first to report news of UAB dissolving its football program.

Coach Bill Clark released a statement on today's news via John Talty of AL.com:

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This is one of the most difficult days I have had to endure in my personal as well as coaching career. 

I am absolutely heartbroken for my players and assistant coaches. These coaches and players have done a tremendous job and worked extremely hard for this university, to achieve six wins and be bowl eligible. 

(...)

There is no doubt in my mind that we were in the process of building something special at UAB. This goes further than our football team, the athletics program, or the university as a whole. This team is Birmingham -- we represent Birmingham and this community. 

It is unfortunate that it has come to this. But again, it is a decision that has been reached and I must respect it and will move forward. 

Thank you Birmingham and the UAB Community for everything you have done for our players, this coaching staff and me personally. 

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According to a report from ESPN.com, reasons for the program shutting down include playing in a crowded football market and not having a stadium on the campus in Birmingham: "Playing in the shadows of Alabama and Auburn and lacking an on-campus stadium, UAB has struggled to develop a fan base and consistent attendance in the nearly two decades since it joined the Football Bowl Subdivision."

Scarbinsky added another note about the player's scholarships and coaches contracts: 

Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated relays what the NCAA has decided regarding the future of current players looking to transfer: 

On Nov. 5, Scarbinsky wrote that a few former UAB players were fearful "that the results of a study that's part of a university-wide strategic plan could lead to the elimination of the school's football program."

Per SportsCenter's official Twitter account, this will be the first time since 1995 that an FBS (Division I-A) program has shut down:

There's also the potential for larger ramifications as a result of this decision. Per the ESPN.com report, losing football does "jeopardize UAB's membership in Conference USA and associated programs including the school's marching band."

In addition to the school's membership in Conference USA, Matt Scalici of AL.com ponders what the end of UAB football will mean for the team's home at Legion Field:

UAB has played at Legion Field since its inception in 1991, and the stadium has hosted various sporting events over the years that include first-round soccer matches during the 1996 Summer Olympics, according to the UAB athletics website. 

Per John Talty of AL.com, the UAB football program was marginally profitable from October 2013 through September 2014:

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UAB spent $8,956,079 on its football program and generated $8,980,301 in revenue during that time. The football program represented approximately 29 percent of the entire athletic department's revenue, per Equity in Athletics.

The athletic department posted a profit of $636,635 once all revenue and expenses were added up. 

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However, as Talty also noted, a vast majority of money came to UAB's athletic department through $18.1 million in subsidies:

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However, neither the football program nor the UAB athletic department is self-sufficient. Both benefitted greatly from $18.1 million in subsidies during the 2013 fiscal year, according to the school's NCAA financial report.

The subsidies represented 64 percent of revenue from 2012-13 and without them the athletic department would run at a nearly $17.5 million deficit. 

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Talty did go on to say that subsidies of that size aren't unusual for smaller schools, and "without subsidies the University of Alabama would be the only profitable in-state athletic department." He goes on to note that Auburn "had a deficit of $3.7 million" before subsidies were factored in. 

According to Alan Collins of Fox 6 in Birmingham, members of the UAB football team planned a march on the campus to protest the decision:

CBS Sports' Jon Solomon and Kyle Burger of WVTM-TV provided photos of the players after they were told of the decision:

Despite the uncertainty around the football program, head coach Bill Clark was able to get the Blazers bowl eligible at 6-6 in his first season. It's not known if UAB will play in a bowl game, though the ESPN.com report states players will meet to decide if they want to participate should the university be invited to a postseason game. 

This is the first year UAB is bowl eligible since 2004 and just the fourth time finishing the regular season with at least a .500 record since becoming an FBS team in 1996. Its only bowl appearance to date was a 59-40 loss against Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl in 2004.

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