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I have to ask again, if the President of the university isn't on our side here, just what, exactly, can we do?

I don't really see anything bad in this statement although I don't see anything good either. Personally, i don't think UAB football is in trouble for two reasons: one we need football to continue competing in D1 for other sports like basketball, baseball, and soccer. Second, football has seen an increase of 130% in attendance and we are looking at being bowl eligible which could mean some more money for the program. In other words, it makes no sense to drop football because it is needed and it is making improvements.

On the other hand, why didn't he just say "we have no plans to drop UAB football?" Would have eased a lot of people's minds including mine, but then again a place I used to work got bought out and rumors were swirling. The plant manager and the CEO both said we aren't for sale those are just rumors. One month later the company had been sold.

A vote of no confidence in him by the faculty would be a start. An uprising by students, protesting outside his office and residence, wouldn't hurt, either.

Anything to pressure him -- and embarrass him -- into action.

It got the president at Michigan to force the AD to finally resign. It could work here, too. It's time to remind him for whom he works. And despite what he thinks, it's not the BOT. It's the faculty, staff and students of UAB.

GN - Only problem w/ that, as you probably already know, is that many of the UAB students/faculty/etc, care more for other programs so would be unwilling to do anything. Apathy/Ambivalence is their friend & what they count on good bit on to get what they desire & there's lots of that going around campus.

Not surprisingly given the size of the program, one area of focus involves evaluating the investments in football and the resources necessary to achieve and sustain excellence now and into the future"

This is an ambiguous statement but I think if he does not extend Clarks Contract or allow boosters to he would have screwed up what he says he is trying to do. Hopefully the report comes before the end of bowl season ...good or bad.

To

(11-06-2014 06:28 PM)nicknitro19 Wrote:  I don't really see anything bad in this statement although I don't see anything good either. Personally, i don't think UAB football is in trouble for two reasons: one we need football to continue competing in D1 for other sports like basketball, baseball, and soccer. Second, football has seen an increase of 130% in attendance and we are looking at being bowl eligible which could mean some more money for the program. In other words, it makes no sense to drop football because it is needed and it is making improvements.

On the other hand, why didn't he just say "we have no plans to drop UAB football?" Would have eased a lot of people's minds including mine, but then again a place I used to work got bought out and rumors were swirling. The plant manager and the CEO both said we aren't for sale those are just rumors. One month later the company had been sold.

UAB doesn't need football to stay in D1, it needs football to stay in CUSA. It could go to a lesser conference w/o football.

(11-06-2014 07:36 PM)backyardblazer Wrote:  

(11-06-2014 06:28 PM)nicknitro19 Wrote:  I don't really see anything bad in this statement although I don't see anything good either. Personally, i don't think UAB football is in trouble for two reasons: one we need football to continue competing in D1 for other sports like basketball, baseball, and soccer. Second, football has seen an increase of 130% in attendance and we are looking at being bowl eligible which could mean some more money for the program. In other words, it makes no sense to drop football because it is needed and it is making improvements.

On the other hand, why didn't he just say "we have no plans to drop UAB football?" Would have eased a lot of people's minds including mine, but then again a place I used to work got bought out and rumors were swirling. The plant manager and the CEO both said we aren't for sale those are just rumors. One month later the company had been sold.

UAB doesn't need football to stay in D1, it needs football to stay in CUSA. It could go to a lesser conference w/o football.

Take a look at what happened to BSC when it dropped to D3 in order to have football they could afford. They lost D1 in ALL their sports and their coaching staffs as well. Dropping FB doesn't mean not being D1, but it may mean not being in a conference anyone cares about after that. BTW, how would it feel if UAB dropped out of C-USA only to be replaced by USA or Troy?

"IF" UAB drops football, we won't be in any D1 conference that would make the sports left still viable so it would be a death knell for UAB sports as a whole.

(11-06-2014 08:25 PM)blazerwkr Wrote:  "IF" UAB drops football, we won't be in any D1 conference that would make the sports left still viable so it would be a death knell for UAB sports as a whole.

That's the absolute truth! If it happens basketball is screwed too so the fight is for all the marbles. We have top notch basketball players here and they have to here this nonsense as well. The administration didn't think this through at all. Someone should have said something to discourage this. I can't believe no one in the athletics department has a audience with the president.

So the Big East and A10 would not be worth it for other sports. Don't get me wrong, I want football to stay and hope one day we can move all sports to a better conference than CUSA. But to say losing football will kill us in D1 sports is just not true.

Raise your hand if you think the A10 or Big East would take us....





Nope, didn't think so.

(11-06-2014 08:33 PM)kdblazer Wrote:  

(11-06-2014 08:25 PM)blazerwkr Wrote:  "IF" UAB drops football, we won't be in any D1 conference that would make the sports left still viable so it would be a death knell for UAB sports as a whole.

That's the absolute truth! If it happens basketball is screwed too so the fight is for all the marbles. We have top notch basketball players here and they have to here this nonsense as well. The administration didn't think this through at all. Someone should have said something to discourage this. I can't believe no one in the athletics department has a audience with the president.

That's why the silence is so damning and irresponsible. It's a failure of duty, because it hamstrings recruiting and makes an already difficult job harder.
It's the same Catch-22 paradox that the BOT has kept us trapped in for far too long. We won't back you because you aren't successful, and you aren't successful because we won't back you. Disgusting, they are.

:yoda:

(11-06-2014 09:10 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  Raise your hand if you think the A10 or Big East would take us....





Nope, didn't think so.

OK. Raise your hand if you think losing football will kill all other D1 sports for UAB. We had other D1 sports before football, right?

Depends what you mean by kill. Do you think they'd flourish in the A-SUN or Southern League? They'd be as good as dead.

(11-06-2014 09:32 PM)BeliefBlazer Wrote:  Depends what you mean by kill. Do you think they'd flourish in the A-SUN or Southern League? They'd be as good as dead.

UAB would go as far as their fan base would take them. They are only dead if people like you pronounce them so.

We had better be ready to go with a plan B because if Watts and Mackin have their marching orders from the BOT, your way says shut the mother down. Not ready to go there myself.

They'd be a shadow of their former selves & bring in even less revenue so wouldn't be economically viable for the university to continue doing them. Football is what drives athletics on the main stage - even more so around here. While true that we were a basketball only school at one time, it's a much different landscape these days & to go back to that scenario is as I said a death knell for the ath dept as a whole.

Watts is seeming like the guy who's brought in after a hostile takeover to gut the company for the good stuff so that all the bad stuff & layoffs can be transferred off into a shell company that then goes bankrupt

(11-06-2014 09:53 PM)blazerwkr Wrote:  They'd be a shadow of their former selves & bring in even less revenue so wouldn't be economically viable for the university to continue doing them. Football is what drives athletics on the main stage - even more so around here. While true that we were a basketball only school at one time, it's a much different landscape these days & to go back to that scenario is as I said a death knell for the ath dept as a whole.

Watts is seeming like the guy who's brought in after a hostile takeover to gut the company for the good stuff so that all the bad stuff & layoffs can be transferred off into a shell company that then goes bankrupt

Well I guess you're right. We're £u(k3d, so let's go straight to surrender.

(11-06-2014 06:53 PM)blazerwkr Wrote:  GN - Only problem w/ that, as you probably already know, is that many of the UAB students/faculty/etc, care more for other programs so would be unwilling to do anything. Apathy/Ambivalence is their friend & what they count on good bit on to get what they desire & there's lots of that going around campus.

Then the fight is over. UAB football, and eventually athletics, will cease to exist.

(11-06-2014 10:34 PM)Grammar-Nazi Wrote:  

(11-06-2014 06:53 PM)blazerwkr Wrote:  GN - Only problem w/ that, as you probably already know, is that many of the UAB students/faculty/etc, care more for other programs so would be unwilling to do anything. Apathy/Ambivalence is their friend & what they count on good bit on to get what they desire & there's lots of that going around campus.

Then the fight is over. UAB football, and eventually athletics, will cease to exist.

I don't get why this is the answer for us when you have athletics departments everywhere either in this boat, if not worse, that aren't dropping football. Why are we so special? What does Carr Sports see in us that makes canning football such a bright idea?

Do they do this sort of appraisal for other schools? How many programs have they recommended be shut down?