The Univ. of Alabama-Birmingham “is firing” AD Brian Mackin and “will announce later this week that it will be shutting down its football program,” according to a source cited by Thayer Evans of SI.com. The announcement “will likely be Thursday and is a move the boosters and former players had feared for the last month.” UAB is “undergoing a university-wide yearlong comprehensive strategic planning study that includes the evaluation of the financial viability of football.” Mackin has held his position since ’07. The FBS-level program this season became bowl eligible “for the first time” since ’04. There “had been warning signs about the university's commitment to football,” including first-year football coach Bill Clark's three-year contract “not being extended, the contracts of his assistants expiring in January and the Blazers lacking any non-conference opponents scheduled" beyond the '16 season. The last FBS school to drop football was Pacific in ’95. The Univ. of Alabama System BOT oversees UAB, and “many Blazers supporters believe the board wanted to shut down their football team because of a feud” with former UAB AD Gene Bartow and to “eliminate any competition” with the Univ. of Alabama (SI.com, 11/30).
LEFT IN LIMBO: Clark said that he "has not been told whether the administration has decided to discontinue its football program ... and he's still fighting for the program's future." Clark: "Miracles happen. I've still got faith." Clark also said that "he had no meetings scheduled this week" with either UAB President Ray Watts or Mackin. Clark: "It's scary. We don't know anything. I don't have any news. I'm waiting for somebody to tell me what's going on" (BIRMINGHAM NEWS, 12/1). Clark earlier said of the football program folding, "I think it's going to happen. ... I think it's over. I think the odds are very high it ends this week. To shut the doors? That's sad" (ESPN.com, 11/30).
PUFF, BE GONE? USA TODAY's Dan Wolken wrote it is "unclear what shutting down football would mean for UAB's athletic future." A source said that Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky "did not have enough support among school presidents to keep UAB in the league without football." There is "no known backup plan for UAB's other sports" (USATODAY.com, 11/30). Marshall AD Mike Hamrick said that there have been "no talks among the league's athletic directors concerning teams who could possibly replace UAB" should the entire program leave C-USA. Hamrick: "We have had no discussions about that. We haven't really discussed -- as a group or individually -- UAB at all" (Huntington HERALD-DISPATCH, 12/1). In Norfolk, Harry Minium wrote "losing such a large market won’t be helpful" when Banowsky "sits down to negotiate new TV contracts" at the end of the '16 season. UAB football "has long been plagued with poor attendance and a lack of success on the field, but made a major turnaround this season under Clark." UAB's attendance "improved markedly as well," with the school averaging 21,841 fans per game, marking the fifth-best figure among C-USA schools (PILOTONLINE.com, 11/30).
ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach wrote, "Despite UAB’s success this season, it might not be able to outrun its woebegone past." UAB football supporters and former players feel "part of the problem" is that the university "doesn’t have its own board of trustees" and is controlled by the Univ. of Alabama System BOT. Thirteen of those 15 BOT members "received undergraduate or law degrees" from Alabama, including Paul Bryant Jr., the son late football coach Bear Bryant. Only three BOT members "have academic ties to UAB." Alabama state Rep. and UAB supporter Jack Williams said, "Some of the folks on that board would rather destroy UAB than beat Auburn" (ESPN.com, 11/30). Meanwhile, in Birmingham, Nick Birdsong noted the UAB Football Foundation "was founded by local businessman and Blazers backer Jimmy Filler." The private group "seeks to work along with the University of Alabama's Board of Trustees and Birmingham-area establishments to bolster the team's economic impact in the city." The foundation "recently named its first board members," headlined by alum and Falcons WR Roddy White, and has "vowed to raise millions given Clark's contract be extended" (AL.com, 11/30).
