Talk:Free UAB

A few notes on the UABOT and UAB athletics

• 1901: The Alabama Constitution of 1901 established the University of Alabama Board of Trustees (UABOT) with two members from Tuscaloosa's Congressional District and one each from the state's other Congressional Districts along with the Alabama Superintendent of Education and the Governor, who serves ex officio. Members serve 12-year terms and receive no pay or emolument except for actual expenses incurred in the discharge of board duties. The board was also empowered the board to appoint new members to vacant seats by secret ballot. Members so selected serve immediately, but are subject to confirmation by the Alabama State Senate at their next regular session. The seats of candidates so rejected are to be filled by the Senate alone (Alabama Constitution of 1901, Section 264)

• 1966: The University of Alabama's Birmingham Extension Center (now the "College of General Studies") and the University of Alabama School of Medicine were merged as the degree-granting University of Alabama in Birmingham.

• June 16, 1969: Governor Albert Brewer announced the formation of the "University of Alabama System", with three autonomous campuses governed by one board of trustees. Joseph Volker, already heading UA's Birmingham extension center as executive vice president to UA President Frank Rose, was made the first "President of the University of Alabama in Birmingham".

• 1971: UAB's College of General Studies became "University College" and shared the new University College Building No. 1 with the newly-created Schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Engineering.

• 1971: The UAB Blazers athletic department was established with the creation of a golf team.

• 1976: Changes were made to the administrative structure of the University of Alabama system, resulting in the creation of the position of Chancellor of the UA system. Joseph Volker, who had been president of UAB, was the first to take the office. The change was unpopular with the three campus administrations.

• 1977: S. Richardson Hill became president of UAB. He recruited John Kirklin to chair the surgery department.

• 1978: Hill hired Gene Bartow from UCLA as athletic director and coach of the new UAB Blazers men's basketball team.

• 1980s: Inadequate state funding for higher education was compounded by proration, with no mechanism for relief in sight. Governor Fob James was vocally unsupportive to calls to improve state funding for colleges and universities.

• 1981: Responding to backlash against the absence of African American's on the self-appointed UABOT, the Alabama State Legislature, led by Lieutenant Governor George McMillan, blocked confirmation of four appointees and put a board expansion measure on the ballot for a statewide referendum.

• March 17, 1982: The proposed amendment expanding the UA Board of Trustees to have two members from each of the state's congressional districts, plus an additional member, "from the congressional district which includes the site of the first campus of the university," was approved by statewide referendum. The amendment also reduced the term of board members to six years and limited members to three consecutive terms. It further created the honorary position of "trustee emeritus," with "no responsibilities, duties, rights, or privileges as such" (Alabama Constitution of 1901, Section 264, Amendment 399)

• 1982: Three African Americans and four women were appointed by the board to fill the seven newly-created board seats.

• 1982: New Lieutenant Governor Bill Baxley spearheaded rules changes for the Alabama State Senate that gave the Senate Rules Committee the power to disapprove any new appointments to the UABOT, and to select replacement candidates which could be approved by the full Senate.

• 1982: Baxley appointed Charles Bishop as chair of that committee. Five of the seven new appointees were rejected by Baxley claimed to have acted in accordance with the wishes of Bear Bryant, who had, "asked him to make sure people oriented toward the Tuscaloosa campus were appointed to the board". After a new round of appointees, only two African Americans were confirmed, angering Black leaders who felt that Baxley had betrayed their trust. (Wheat, Jack (July 12, 1983) "3 trustees quit; poisoned politcal climate charged" Tuscaloosa News)

• July 1983: After being rejected by the Senate Rules Committee, three newly-appointed members of the UABOT, Louis Willie, Robin Swift and Margaret Tolbert resigned their positions. Willie cited a climate "poisoned by jealousy, acrimony, and raw power politics," for making his service impossible. (Wheat-July 12, 1983)

• 1987: Baxley lost his office and lost the gubernatorial election. Jim Folsom, Jr was elected Lieutenant Governor (1987 article)

• 1987: Scotty McCallum was appointed UAB President.

• 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: UAB's club football team began competing in NCAA Division III.

• November 1, 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.

• 1992: The NCAA created a rule barring Division III schools from fielding teams in Division I, meaning that UAB's football team had to move up to Division I to keep the Blazer's basketball team at that level. The reasoning was that D-III schools with a revenue-producing D-I football or basketball program would enjoy an unfair financial advantage.

• 1993: UAB President Scotty McCallum retired and was succeeded by Claude Bennett.

• 1995: Watson Brown succeeded Jim Hilyer as head coach of the Blazers football team.

• 1996: Murry Bartow succeeded his father as head coach of the Blazers men's basketball team.

• 1996: The UAB Blazers football team moved to Division I.

• 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.

• September 15, 1997: Ann Reynolds was named President of UAB, succeeding Scotty McCallum.

• 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.

• June 24, 2000: Frank Bromberg, Jr's resignation made room for Paul Bryant, Jr to be appointed to the UABOT. The succession was engineered as a way to return a Tuscaloosa resident to one of the two seats representing the 6th Congressional District. It also prevented the likelihood of the State Senate having the opportunity to appoint a majority of members to the board. Interviewed at the time, Bromberg stated that "the friction [between campuses] would always be there as long as UAB continues to buck its traditional mission". The reporter noted that, "Board members believe it should be an urban college largely serving commuters. UAB continues to edge toward the trappings of a residential college. That was never more apparent than when UAB started a football team against the trustees' wishes." (Dewitt, Robert (June 9, 2000) "Longtime Alabama trustee departs" Tuscaloosa News)

• Bryant 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.

• June 1, 2002: Ann Reynolds was fired by the UABOT. She claimed to have been forced out due to her age and gender and filed a federal discrimination complaint. She did accept a one-year position as director of the UAB Center for Community Outreach and Development.

• July 23, 2002: Carol Garrison, a UAB alumna, was appointed by the UABOT as the 6th President of UAB after two other candidates withdrew their names. When hired, Garrison said that "she was confident that the region could be persuaded to support the university's athletics -- which ran a $7.5 million deficit last year -- but if not, 'UAB has some decisions to make.' " (Mahoney, Ryan (July 23, 2002) "Carol Garrison named new UAB president." Birmingham Business Journal)

• Garrison oversaw the creation and implementation of a strategic plan for the university's programs and campus. A significant part of the plan addressed improvements to campus life for undergraduates, including a proposal for an on-campus football stadium.

• 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: 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.

• 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.

• December 17, 2006: Neil Callaway was hired as UAB's football coach.

• 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.

• January 3, 2012: Gene Bartow died.

• April 12, 2012: House Bill 684, sponsored by John Rogers, Williams (P), Mary Moore, Givan, Linda Coleman and Ball was given its first reading. If passed and approved by referendum, the bill would have amended the Alabama Constitution of 1901 to create separate Boards of Trustees for UAB and UAH and transfer the properties and liabilities pertaining to each campus to their respective boards. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Education Policy and never voted upon.

• August 2012: Carol Garrison announced her resignation from UAB and was succeeded by acting president Richard Marchase.

• February 7, 2013: Ray Watts was named president of UAB.

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

• January 9, 2014: Basketball coach Garrick McGee resigned.

• 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.

• 2015: State Representative Jack Williams (R-Vestavia Hills) introduced several pieces of legislation affecting the UABOT and UAB.
  • As announced on November 25, 2014, one bill would eliminate the extra member of the BOT from Tuscaloosa's district and add eleven more seats to the board, including the mayors of Birmingham, Huntsville and Tuscaloosa; the commission president or county manager of Jefferson, Madison and Tuscaloosa Counties; three nominated by the governor, one from each of a pool of five names proposed by the alumni boards of each campus; and two at-large members appointed by the Speaker of the House the president pro tem of the Senate, respectively.
  • As announced on January 7, 2015, one bill would require newly-appointed trustees of public universities and colleges to receive mandatory training in accreditation standards and compliance, and provides for trustees to be removed if they violate those standards.
  • Also announced on January 7, 2015, a third bill would reverse UAB President Ray Watts' decision to terminate the football, bowling, and rifle teams at the university. (Underwood, Madison (January 7, 2015) "Bill to reverse UAB football decision part of a package of legislation Rep. Jack Williams plans to introduce." Birmingham News)