UAB shuts down football (and the end of the mid major)

[Bmac]

Don't know how to post YouTube from my phone, but there's a video of the players' reactions to the cancelling of the program. The video is heartbreaking and I won't be the first to say it brought me to tears seeing the reactions. If anyone is willing to post the video, please do, because I think it would be great if we all saw how the players truly feel about this.

It's not heartbreaking since they and those women who bowl or are on rifle team still have scholarships which will be honored.

For tears, go to al.com

But the old man needed campus cops to protect him.

Dude in the light blue is clearly starting to say the F word.

Is that Adam Sandler?

[kewp80]

Don't know how to post YouTube from my phone, but there's a video of the players' reactions to the cancelling of the program. The video is heartbreaking and I won't be the first to say it brought me to tears seeing the reactions. If anyone is willing to post the video, please do, because I think it would be great if we all saw how the players truly feel about this.

It's not heartbreaking since they and those women who bowl or are on rifle team still have scholarships which will be honored.

For tears, go to al.com

But the old man needed campus cops to protect him.

Dude in the light blue is clearly starting to say the F word.

Yes, but some of those players who are walk ons are pretty much screwed. Also guys who just aren't as good, but on scholarships will have a hard time. Sure I bet a lot of them go and play at FCS schools, but still. Its gotta be tough on everyone involved.

If you watch the video and see the emotion of the player talking about his son, it is just so sad when a child can be so innocent and ignorant to a terrible situation like this.

Those who are walkons can now actually earn money to pay off loans and a plus will not take blows to the head and possibly lessen their chances to develop CTE.

Exactly. I don't get why people are treating this as if someone died or some great tragedy happened. Football, just like any other sport or club is an extra-curricular activity, and a really expensive one at that. I for one would like to have our colleges and universities spend money on dorms, computers, professors, and other things that... you know, the things an institution of higher learning needs in order to educate students for their future careers.

If the players want to keep playing college football then they can transfer to another school. Or they can stay there and focus on their education and getting a college degree.

[dfwabel]

Don't know how to post YouTube from my phone, but there's a video of the players' reactions to the cancelling of the program. The video is heartbreaking and I won't be the first to say it brought me to tears seeing the reactions. If anyone is willing to post the video, please do, because I think it would be great if we all saw how the players truly feel about this.

It's not heartbreaking since they and those women who bowl or are on rifle team still have scholarships which will be honored.

For tears, go to al.com

But the old man needed campus cops to protect him.

Dude in the light blue is clearly starting to say the F word.

Yes, but some of those players who are walk ons are pretty much screwed. Also guys who just aren't as good, but on scholarships will have a hard time. Sure I bet a lot of them go and play at FCS schools, but still. Its gotta be tough on everyone involved.

If you watch the video and see the emotion of the player talking about his son, it is just so sad when a child can be so innocent and ignorant to a terrible situation like this.

Those who are walkons can now actually earn money to pay off loans and a plus will not take blows to the head and possibly lessen their chances to develop CTE.

Exactly. I don't get why people are treating this as if someone died or some great tragedy happened. Football, just like any other sport or club is an extra-curricular activity, and a really expensive one at that. I for one would like to have our colleges and universities spend money on dorms, computers, professors, and other things that... you know, the things an institution of higher learning needs in order to educate students for their future careers.

If the players want to keep playing college football then they can transfer to another school. Or they can stay there and focus on their education and getting a college degree.

As the student loan bubble is nearing its burst,dropping football is not really going to much for UAB, but for hopefully lowering student fees.

Also, never use "dorms" or residence halls as a higher education duty because they are just like football... while they are talked about likefootballas being necessary for a campus community the revenue does not beat expenses, thus today colleges get into the "real estate" business and rent their land for companies to build campus housing under the guise of an auxiliary corporation which assist the university.

[DelayedPenalty]

Don't know how to post YouTube from my phone, but there's a video of the players' reactions to the cancelling of the program. The video is heartbreaking and I won't be the first to say it brought me to tears seeing the reactions. If anyone is willing to post the video, please do, because I think it would be great if we all saw how the players truly feel about this.

It's not heartbreaking since they and those women who bowl or are on rifle team still have scholarships which will be honored.

For tears, go to al.com

But the old man needed campus cops to protect him.

Dude in the light blue is clearly starting to say the F word.

Is that Adam Sandler?

Was just about to ask that!

[Gothamite]

I don't get why people are treating this as if someone died or some great tragedy happened. Football, just like any other sport or club is an extra-curricular activity, and a really expensive one at that. I for one would like to have our colleges and universities spend money on dorms, computers, professors, and other things that... you know, the things an institution of higher learning needs in order to educate students for their future careers.

If the players want to keep playing college football then they can transfer to another school. Or they can stay there and focus on their education and getting a college degree.

I agree. Far from being a tragedy, I think this is a step in the right direction to getting our national priorities back into a semblance of order.

I'm sorry these particular kids are disappointed that their favorite extracurricular activity is being discontinued. But I also hope that this is just the first of many.

[illwauk]

At least when I was a student at UA, UAB was known for three things, having the only medical school in the UA system, being a commuter school and having a decent basketball team. Their football team was always an afterthought and covered on the local news (B'ham stations) as such. You saw highlights from a Troy State game with maybe a mention of the UAB score. You'd even hear more about the Birmingham CFL team than you did about the Blazers. I don't think that a large portion of the student body went to the games either. I'd love to see the number of student tickets sold per season.

I'm pretty sure UAB was in D2 when the CFL team was around, and a lot of urban campuses that were commuter schools back then are now full research universities. Not exactly fair to judge their ability to succeed now with the proper support of the UA System by where they were in the early-mid 1990s. Especially not when so many other schools that share UAB's academic profile (UTSA, Charlotte, Georgia State, Old Dominion, etc.) have successfully launched programs since then.

I think you have over blown the situation here. What happened with UAB stinks and, yeah, the Board of Trustees have blood on their hands for their part of killing off the program.

But, for every program that has failed there are others that have been successful. Boise State, Marshall, Georgia Southern. Heck, there was a time when TCU and Utah were mid-majors before they got their invite to be in a Power 5 conference.

There's always going to be room for teams that the FBS level. If not, then there is the FCS level. In that same vein, there will always be the case of big brother wanting to do everything in their power to make sure they don't have any more mouths to feed. Same thing happened when Nebraska-Omaha (or Omaha, if you want) dropped football and wrestling for their move to Division I. Many felt that the big wigs in Lincoln killed off UNO football because of that fear (despite the fact that there is another member of the Nebraska system, Kearney, has a football program).

I can promise you that's exactly what happened here. It's also why my school (UWM) doesn't have a football team even though Milwaukee is far and away the largest media market in the US that doesn't host a D1 program or an NFL franchise... notable because Milwaukee used to be #2 until UTSA got a team, and now Birmingham has replaced Wichita at #2.

Big brother in Madison knows that the quality of life in Milwaukee is better than its been in decades, and that UWM is no longer some lowly commuter campus with little in the way of student life. About the only thing left that UW can offer young people that UWM can't at least offer an alternative to is the All-American college football gameday experience, which is obviously a big deal in a place like Wisconsin. Not to mention, UWM's flagship athletic program, men's basketball, already plays basketball in an old, cavernous downtown arena because UW has gotten in the way of every effort we've made to get an on-campus arena to replace our campus gym that's barely even fit for a D3 program.

So yeah, this is my long-winded way of saying I deeply empathize with everyone affected in one way or another by UAB's decision to drop football. Nothing anyone can say will ever get me to believe that college football in Alabama's biggest city couldn't have succeeded with the proper backing of the UA System.

[48erhater]

I just want to know why teams move from FCS to FBS. They're most likely never going to be successful in FBS and if they do end up being successful they'll get no respect and never have a shot at a national title.

[kewp80]

I just want to know why teams move from FCS to FBS. They're most likely never going to be successful in FBS and if they do end up being successful they'll get no respect and never have a shot at a national title

Well I'm sure it's all about money. Pure and simple.

And everybody has to start somewhere. Boise State only started playing FBS/1-A football in 1996. Marshall moved only in 1997. Hell, South Florida's first season in FBS was 2001. Sort of a different situation there, but still. I feel all three of these teams have decent respect, and everyone has a shot at the national title. I bet if Boise State was undefeated they would be right up there in the playoff picture.

[rams80]

I don't get why people are treating this as if someone died or some great tragedy happened. Football, just like any other sport or club is an extra-curricular activity, and a really expensive one at that. I for one would like to have our colleges and universities spend money on dorms, computers, professors, and other things that... you know, the things an institution of higher learning needs in order to educate students for their future careers.

If the players want to keep playing college football then they can transfer to another school. Or they can stay there and focus on their education and getting a college degree.

I agree. Far from being a tragedy, I think this is a step in the right direction to getting our national priorities back into a semblance of order.

I'm sorry these particular kids are disappointed that their favorite extracurricular activity is being discontinued. But I also hope that this is just the first of many.

Excepts nowadays schools need alumni dollars more than ever because cutting funding to higher education is usually something you can get majority support for at both the state and national level.

[kewp80]

I don't get why people are treating this as if someone died or some great tragedy happened. Football, just like any other sport or club is an extra-curricular activity, and a really expensive one at that. I for one would like to have our colleges and universities spend money on dorms, computers, professors, and other things that... you know, the things an institution of higher learning needs in order to educate students for their future careers.

If the players want to keep playing college football then they can transfer to another school. Or they can stay there and focus on their education and getting a college degree.

I agree. Far from being a tragedy, I think this is a step in the right direction to getting our national priorities back into a semblance of order.

I'm sorry these particular kids are disappointed that their favorite extracurricular activity is being discontinued. But I also hope that this is just the first of many.

Excepts nowadays schools need alumni dollars more than ever because cutting funding to higher education is usually something you can get majority support for at both the state and national level.

And the only reason alumni donate money to schools is because of the athletics programs? I don't see where you're going with this.

[rams80]

I don't get why people are treating this as if someone died or some great tragedy happened. Football, just like any other sport or club is an extra-curricular activity, and a really expensive one at that. I for one would like to have our colleges and universities spend money on dorms, computers, professors, and other things that... you know, the things an institution of higher learning needs in order to educate students for their future careers.

If the players want to keep playing college football then they can transfer to another school. Or they can stay there and focus on their education and getting a college degree.

I agree. Far from being a tragedy, I think this is a step in the right direction to getting our national priorities back into a semblance of order.

I'm sorry these particular kids are disappointed that their favorite extracurricular activity is being discontinued. But I also hope that this is just the first of many.

Excepts nowadays schools need alumni dollars more than ever because cutting funding to higher education is usually something you can get majority support for at both the state and national level.

And the only reason alumni donate money to schools is because of the athletics programs? I don't see where you're going with this.

Historically athletics have been good nostalgia triggers for alumni and prompts to open the wallet, yes.

[hailstateunis]

I just want to know why teams move from FCS to FBS. They're most likely never going to be successful in FBS and if they do end up being successful they'll get no respect and never have a shot at a national title

Well I'm sure it's all about money. Pure and simple.

And everybody has to start somewhere. Boise State only started playing FBS/1-A football in 1996. Marshall moved only in 1997. Hell, South Florida's first season in FBS was 2001. Sort of a different situation there, but still. I feel all three of these teams have decent respect, and everyone has a shot at the national title. I bet if Boise State was undefeated they would be right up there in the playoff picture.

They would probably be in the playoff, because they would've beaten an Ole Miss team with 5 SEC Wins.

[Lights Out]

More video from the UAB team meeting:

Ray Watts sounds like a freaking sociopath. I'm amazed he could tell the people in that room that he cares more about UAB than they do with a straight face. Sickening.

[Gothamite]

And this is why I think we should look at the shutdown as little more than a very good start.

[rams80]

And this is why I think we should look at the shutdown as little more than a very good start.

Not even that. All indications are that Watts would be happiest if UAB just killed its undergraduate program and remained a med school. The problem with the "slay the evul athletic dragon types" is that they keep picking champions who actually don't want to help education at their schools either. Remember, Myles Brand laid the foundation of the modern Oregon athletic machine.

[pianoknight]

On the flip side, there's something to be said for college football having too many teams in terms of watering the overall brand down. I have nothing against the mid-majors, FCS or D-II, D-III and NAIA teams out there, but there is some psychological threshold that the human brain can tolerate in terms of the number of teams.

Let me be clear, I'm not advocating in favor of the Power 5 breaking away necessarily, but you have to admit that the 120ish teams in BOTH FBS/FCS are pretty unwieldy to manage and track. Contrast that against the clear, precise branding of the NFL with 32 teams split into 8 divisions of 4. Your brain can much more readily "accept" the reality of the NFC and AFC organizational alignment because it's not too complex and there aren't an abundance of teams.

I'm just interested to see what happens. Sad day for the Blazers, though. Like others have said, I always enjoyed playing as them on Xbox and kicking the crap out of Bama and Auburn.

[BBTV]

I don't get why people are treating this as if someone died or some great tragedy happened. Football, just like any other sport or club is an extra-curricular activity, and a really expensive one at that. I for one would like to have our colleges and universities spend money on dorms, computers, professors, and other things that... you know, the things an institution of higher learning needs in order to educate students for their future careers.

If the players want to keep playing college football then they can transfer to another school. Or they can stay there and focus on their education and getting a college degree.

I agree. Far from being a tragedy, I think this is a step in the right direction to getting our national priorities back into a semblance of order.

I'm sorry these particular kids are disappointed that their favorite extracurricular activity is being discontinued. But I also hope that this is just the first of many.

While I agree at a high level, when it comes to the actual players, I do feel for them to an extent.

Say you were concerned about academics but were also a great athlete with a legit shot at the NFL. You chose UAb because of some program that you were legitimately interested in, and now you if you want to pursue your other goal of being in the NFL (which considering the $ involved, why wouldn't you (brain damage and depression aside), you have to transfer schools and essentially start all over.

I doubt that there's a high population of football players that actually care about school, but for those that do, this stinks.

People say things like "just transfer to another school and play there!", but when you're 19 or 20 years old and just getting adjusted to life away from home at a school possibly far away, it can be a prettty scary thing to have to transfer and start all over - academically and socially. I wasn't an athlete at the college level but I know it would have really turned my life upside down if I had to transfer mid way through my undergrad. I know people do it all the time, but it's not easy for everyone.

[Balu the Bare]

Does anyone know if UAB will be honoring the full scholarships of the former players that choose to stay and focus on getting a degree?

[kewp80]

Does anyone know if UAB will be honoring the full scholarships of the former players that choose to stay and focus on getting a degree?

I think if they didn't they would have a pretty big law suit on their hands.

[dfwabel]

Does anyone know if UAB will be honoring the full scholarships of the former players that choose to stay and focus on getting a degree?

I think if they didn't they would have a pretty big law suit on their hands.

Student-athletes can stay on scholarship until finishing their degree. Coaches contracts will be honored and paid in full.