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Building Accomplishments

I know when he was hired everyone thought he was a puppet, and he might have started out that way....but he has shown loyalty to UAB and has been IMO a fantastic AD. I know he butts head with Clark sometimes, but look at the athletic facilities now, not just football. I do feel his legacy will be a very strong one

Mark’s challenge is always gonna be who is boss is, and more specifically, who is boss’ boss is. I feel like there are some things Mark would do differently if those dynamics were different, but whoever is AD will have to navigate that (ADs in Tuscaloosa and Huntsville must deal with that too).

(10-05-2021 08:52 AM)jaymay2525 Wrote:  I know when he was hired everyone thought he was a puppet

Not everyone. I was one of his few defenders as all the crazy and offbase rumors about how he was hired swirled like wildfire on this board and on social media.

He has been a very good AD in my opinion.

Ingram has been a very good AD. I think loves his job. However, we can overlook the fact that there have been some very powerful people that have enabled him to do his job. I think Mackin, if he had the support that Ingram has now, would have been very good as well. Taking nothing away from Ingram of course.

The biggest difference between now and past eras is that UAB has the backing of the key business leaders on the Foundation. These people carry significant weight beyond UAB athletics.

Mark can get things done as a result. Things don't have to be slipped in through the back door or piecemealed). This sometimes isn't as fast as one would like, or maybe not as football-centric as some would like all the time (there *are* other priorities, after all). The process can be messy to get to final approval and doesn't come with blank checks like some institutions work with. But the truth of the matter is that stuff gets approved if there is a good plan and support in place to execute on it.

I think Mark manages this process pretty darn well. He's stuck in the middle of a lot of big players and egos.

I am very happy with him as our AD. I never understood all the anger and rumors about him in the beginning. He came up to our group at Uptown before the game, had some nice small talk, and shook all our hands. It was a very friendly and nice gesture from someone who certainly didn't have to do that.

(10-05-2021 10:29 AM)The Answer UAB Wrote:  I am very happy with him as our AD. I never understood all the anger and rumors about him in the beginning. He came up to our group at Uptown before the game, had some nice small talk, and shook all our hands. It was a very friendly and nice gesture from someone who certainly didn't have to do that.

I appreciate how accessible he is. He engages with everyone, not just the biggest donors, and I've always gotten a real response when sending him an email. Little things like that go a long way.

I remember him being insulted and fat shamed on here by some folks that love to play the super fan. How many times have they wished he would be hired away? We could and have done a hell of a lot worse.

We have a little group that would probably swap Ingram for Mackin right now if they could.

(10-05-2021 09:06 AM)demiveeman Wrote:  

(10-05-2021 08:52 AM)jaymay2525 Wrote:  I know when he was hired everyone thought he was a puppet

Not everyone. I was one of his few defenders as all the crazy and offbase rumors about how he was hired swirled like wildfire on this board and on social media.

I was in your camp. The crazies were in full force at the time of his hiring.

I was too. Everything happened so quickly at the time, and emotions were high. Mark may have done some stuff behind the scenes people didn’t like, I don’t know. But what I saw Saturday is that man is accessible to any fan who was in the area on Saturday, and you can’t deny the good that’s happened to the entire athletic department under his watch. He is not anti UAB or football as some on here seemed to indicate when he was hired.

(10-05-2021 12:02 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(10-05-2021 09:06 AM)demiveeman Wrote:  

(10-05-2021 08:52 AM)jaymay2525 Wrote:  I know when he was hired everyone thought he was a puppet

Not everyone. I was one of his few defenders as all the crazy and offbase rumors about how he was hired swirled like wildfire on this board and on social media.

I was in your camp. The crazies were in full force at the time of his hiring.

I loved the people telling me how wrong I was and that they had sources about Ingram being a Ray Watts/BOT plant when I was married to somebody on the AD Search Committee.

That ridiculous fervor continued into pressuring him to hire Ehsan without even considering other candidates...look how that turned out.

Don't get me wrong...I had my critiques as I would with any AD we hired if I felt they weren't performing...but there were people on here that didn't want to give him a chance and then didn't want to give him any credit at all after we started heading the right direction. I know he's not the only factor...but come on, you have to give some credit where it is due.

That frenzy didn't pressure Ingram. Money pressured Ingram. UAB's biggest boosters were spending a TON to get football back and Bill locked in long term. They didn't want to spend the cash on a name at that time especially when there wasn't a clear choice who fit that description. Ehsan had a good resume and was worth taking a chance on with a roster he helped recruit; it didn't work out, as can happen, and now UAB is in a better position and AK was available as a perfect fit with a transfer portal rulebook to reboot. No looking back.

(10-05-2021 11:06 AM)BlazerGreen Wrote:  We have a little group that would probably swap Ingram for Mackin right now if they could.

Mackin got screwed with his pants on, and was obviously hamstrung by every single person above him. I have zero doubt that he was UAB through and through but he only had the job because he was a former athlete and somewhat long term employee of UAB. The biggest problem that UAB has had in the past is the over-reliance on internal candidates for important leadership positions.

Ingram brought a lot of experience from much larger schools and also brought a level of professionalism with him. Sometimes in these departments that are stuck in the mud it takes an outsider to kick things into the next gear

Fact is, if we get that AAC invite, he'll deserve a good chunk of the credit.

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I think his hire is a shadow that he's walked out of to be his own AD not the puppet of who hired him. It's a different attitude in general towards UAB from the folks down the road. It's not perfect but there has been a change of heart that has lead to all of this.

Another feather in Mark’s hat! Wow!

Ingram has done his job. Yes he needed Bill Clark but there are so many GMs who would have screwed this up. If someone bigger comes calling for Ingram in the next couple of years then he absolutely deserves it. Nothing but appreciation for what he's done.

(10-21-2021 08:03 PM)BlazintheAtl1 Wrote:  Ingram has done his job. Yes he needed Bill Clark but there are so many GMs who would have screwed this up. If someone bigger comes calling for Ingram in the next couple of years then he absolutely deserves it. Nothing but appreciation for what he's done.

And im sure there's "die-hards" on this board that are still stubborn enough to downplay his accomplishments. These are the same "fans" that like to accuse others as not being "real fans." They also tend to make up and believe every possible conspiracy theory imaginable. Those folks should be eating a big plate of crow today.