Talk:Free UAB

A few notes

• 1989: Auburn coach Pat Dye supported UAB's efforts to create a football team. Alabama coach Bill Curry objected to adding a second football team to the UA system and said that the Crimson Tide is "Birmingham's team" and "as long as the city lives up to its commitments, we will continue to come to Birmingham." - Wayne Martin (February 12, 1989) "Dye would play Blazers, but Curry says no way." Birmingham News. (Alabama continued to play select home games at Legion Field through the 2003 season)

• 1991: Gene Bartow wrote letter to NCAA compliance official suggesting investigation into Alabama's basketball recruiting practices and also observing that multiple football coaches trained by Paul Bryant had recently been found in non-compliance.

• 1999: UAB joined Conference USA in all sports. The 1999 UAB Blazers football team posted a 4-2 conference record, finishing 2nd in C-USA.

• 1995: Watson Brown was hired as head football coach, succeeding Jim Hilyer.

• 2000: Watson Brown's 2000 UAB Blazers football team defeated Nick Saban's LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge on the way to a 7-4 record.

• 2000: Gene Bartow retired from the Athletic Director's office and was succeeded by Herman Frazier.

• 2000: Paul Bryant, Jr was appointed to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees (UABOT). He chaired a committee to raise money for the Alabama Crimson Tide athletics program and contributed $10 million of his own fortune to the fund.

• April 2002: ("Black Friday") The UABOT passed a resolution requiring the UAB Blazers athletic department to eliminate its operating deficit within two years or be shut down. The resolution proves effective when used as a weapon by coaches recruiting against UAB.

• 2003: Football coach Watson Brown was named interim athletic director after Herman Frazier left for Hawaii. He took charge of a fund-raising effort that brought the deficit from $7.6 million to around $5 million.

• 2003: New UAB president Carol Garrison submitted a plan to continue reducing the athletics deficit year by year and succeeded in convincing the UABOT to rescind their ultimatum. The board issued a proclamation of support for UAB football at that time. (link)

• 2003: Facing criminal charges, UABOT member and UAB alumnus Richard Scrushy resigned his position on the board.

• 2003: Cincinnati, Louisville, South Florida, DePaul and Marquette agreed to leave C-USA for the Big East conference, effective in 2005.

• 2004: The 2004 UAB Blazers football team, featuring All-American receiver Roddy White, reached the BCS Top 25, defeated Mississippi State, and were invited to the Hawaii Bowl

• 2004: The 2004 UAB Blazers basketball team earned a share of the C-USA championship and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament following a win over No. 1 seed Kentucky.

• 2006: Paul Bryant, Jr was given chairmanship of the UABOT Athletics Committee.

• 2006: The 2006 UAB Blazers football team went 3-9, with several close losses and emerging issues with discipline and academic performance. Watson Brown agreed to step aside as football coach and become full-time Athletic Director. The UABOT blocked UAB's desire to promote assistant Pat Sullivan to head football coach. Later they blocked an agreement to bring Nick Saban's offensive coordinator at LSU, Jimbo Fisher, in as head coach. Neil Callaway was hired instead.

• 2006: UAB head men's basketball coach Mike Anderson left the Blazers to become head coach of the Missouri Tigers. Mike Davis was hired as his successor.

• 2009: Callaway's 2009 UAB Blazers football team began to shape up with several quality transfers and QB Joe Webb.

• 2011: Paul Bryant, Jr assumed the presidency of the UABOT.

• 2011: UAB prepared a funding plan for an on-campus stadium. The proposal was placed on the UABOT agenda for approval, but later removed without discussion.

• November 2011: Trustee Finis St John IV had the UAB National Alumni Society mail out a letter explaining why he removed the stadium proposal from the agenda. He cited challenges in maintaining excellence in health care and research as reasons to pull back on investments in athletics. (al.com) Bryant also spoke out, citing lack of attendance and financial support for the Blazers football program.

• 2012: Gene Bartow died.

• February 8, 2013: Ray Watts was named president of UAB.

• October 28, 2014: Formation of a UAB Football Foundation was announced.

• 2014: Coach Bill Clark's 2014 UAB Blazers football team went 6-6 and inspired record attendance at home games in Legion Field.

• December 2014: Amid speculation about the future of the program, UAB president Ray Watts announces that based on a financial report commissioned from Carr Sports Consulting, that the school's football program proved too expensive to maintain and would not be continued in 2015. Women's rifle and bowling teams were also discontinued. Watts was roundly criticized for the manner by which the decision was reached, and for the way it was announced. Public protests and rallies continued in the weeks following.