UAB Blazers

UAB's forest green and old gold-swathed athletic teams are nicknamed the Blazers. UAB is one of the twelve member institutions of Conference USA and participates in Division I-A of the NCAA. The UAB football team is led by Neil Callaway and plays its home games at 71,594-seat Legion Field. The school's men's basketball team, coached by Mike Davis, plays in 8,508-seat Bartow Arena.

While the football team entered post-season play only recently, the men's basketball program has a long history of success spanning several decades. In addition to football and basketball, UAB also has programs in men's sports for baseball, golf, soccer, and tennis. Women's sports programs include softball, basketball, golf, soccer, synchronized swimming, tennis, track and field, rifle and volleyball.

Football

In contrast to many other colleges and universities that have decades of tradition, UAB only began its football program a little over a decade ago. Jim Hilyer was the first head coach of the Blazers, coaching from 1991-1994. Beginning with club football in 1991, UAB quickly moved up the ranks of the collegiate football divisions at a rate which few had foreseen. Coach Watson Brown took over as head coach in 1995 and held the position through the end of the 2006 season, when he left for Tennessee Tech.

Following Brown's resignation, the school's coaching searched focused on LSU assistant coach Jimbo Fisher, but the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees expressed concern over the cost of a potential Fisher contract, though some writers have speculated on other possible motivations [1]. Ultimately, former Alabama player and Georgia offensive coordinator Neil Callaway was named head coach on December 17, 2006. [2]

UAB made the move to Division I-A football in 1996 and made the jump to Conference USA in 1999. Since then, UAB has made a habit of playing many of college football's traditional powers. In 2000, UAB achieved a monumental victory by beating the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge. In 2004, UAB reached yet another milestone earning their first bowl trip in school history, the Hawaii Bowl. Though young, UAB's football program continues to make large strides both in on the field success and in attendance. UAB plays its home football games at Legion Field.

UAB Football Coaches

Coach	Years	Wins-Losses
Jim Hilyer	1991-1994	27-12-2 (.692)
Watson Brown	1995-2006	62-74 (.456)
Neil Callaway	2007- Present
Overall		89-86-2 (.503)

Rivalry Game

Battle for the Bones - Memphis Tigers

Current NFL Players

• Eddie Freeman - Defensive Tackle, New England Patriots
• Bryan Thomas - Defensive End, New York Jets
• Roddy White - Wide Receiver, Atlanta Falcons

Basketball

Men's Basketball

The UAB Blazers, in effect, started its entire athletics program with the creation of a men's basketball team in 1978. Setting the standards high from the start, UAB hired former UCLA and Memphis head coach, Gene Bartow. Known to many as the "Father of UAB athletics", legendary Coach Gene Bartow led the Blazers to almost instant success. Since their inaugural season, the Blazers have made 13 appearances in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament including 3 Sweet Sixteen appearances and 1 Elite Eight appearance. After only 28 years of basketball, UAB has had 25 winning seasons and had memorable wins over the Virginia Cavaliers, the Kentucky Wildcats, the Louisville Cardinals, the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Indiana Hoosiers, and the Memphis Tigers among others. In 2004, the school once again gained national attention when it upset the No. 1-seeded Kentucky Wildcats in the second round of the tournament and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. The Blazers have amassed an impressive 557 wins to only 328 losses since 1978 giving UAB the 25th best all-time winning percentage in college basketball history. The UAB men's basketball team has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll more than 30 times in school history and has even been ranked among the Top 10 in the nation. Up until the early 1990s, UAB played its home games at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex. Today, UAB plays its home basketball games in Bartow Arena. The current head coach, Mike Davis, was named head coach of the Blazers in the spring of 2006 and became just the fourth head coach in UAB basketball history.

UAB Basketball Coaches

Coach	Years	Wins-Losses
Gene Bartow	1978-1996	365-204 (.641)
Murry Bartow	1996-2002	103-83 (.554)
Mike Anderson	2002-2006	89-41 (.685)
Mike Davis	2006-Present	6-4 (.600)
Overall		563-332 (.630)

Soccer

Men's Soccer

UAB began a men's soccer program back in 1979. Throughout its history, UAB has enjoyed quite a bit of success in both the men's and women's soccer programs. The men's team has been in the NCAA Tournament a total of 5 times including 1 Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2001. The men's team has been ranked both regionally and nationally numerous times throughout its history. One of UAB's biggest wins in the men's team history came when UAB upset the #1-ranked UCLA Bruins in 1997 by a score of 2-0. UAB would upset another #1-ranked team in 2006 when they beat the SMU Mustangs by a score of 2-1. The men's team plays their home games at UAB's West Campus Field. Mike Getman is the head coach of the men's team. Since 1993, the men's team has won 78.4% of its games played at West Campus Field.

Women's Soccer

Though only beginning a women's soccer program only in 1996, the UAB women's soccer team has already been in the NCAA Tournament and has also been ranked several times in its history. The UAB women's soccer team has won the Conference USA Championship 3 times in ten years, including the most recent in 2006. Paul Harbin is the head coach of the women's team. Like the men, the women's team plays their home games at UAB's West Campus Field.

Rivals

Rivals are conference opponents Memphis (football and basketball) and Southern Miss(football). Beginning with 2006 the UAB-Memphis football rivalry is called the Battle for the Bones (sometimes known as "The BBQ Bowl") and includes both professional and amateur barbecue contests as part of the pregame festivities. This event was created from the ideas of several UAB students and with the efforts of Daniel Walters (GangGreen President) and Andrew Brashier (USGA President). The winner of the game receives a traveling 100-pound bronze rack of ribs trophy, known as ‘The Bones’ trophy.

Mascots

The current UAB mascot is a green dragon named Blaze. Former mascots included a strange cartoonish nordic warrior and perhaps the most beloved Beauregard T. Rooster that met an untimely demise when threatened with legal action by the San Diego Chicken.

Attendance Records

Top Football Attendance Records

	Opponent	Attendance
1	Southern Miss (2003)	44,669
2	Mississippi State (2006)	36,104
3	TCU (2004)	33,280
4	Troy (2006)	32,818
5	Virginia Tech (1998)	31,897
6	Southern Miss (2005)	31,363
7	Kansas (1998)	30,543
8	Houston (1999)	28,573

Top 10 Home Basketball Games at the BJCC

	Opponent	Attendance
1	DePaul (1980)	17,309
2	DePaul (1985)	17,222
3	Auburn (1984)	17,025
4	Indiana (1997)	16,982
5	Virginia Commonwealth (1985)	16,866
6	Auburn (1986)	16,815
7	Auburn (1983)	16,803
8	Auburn (1982)	16,797
9	South Florida (1985)	16,781
10T	Virginia (1982)	16,754
10T	Louisville (1982)	16,754

Top 10 Home Basketball Games at Bartow Arena

	Opponent	Attendance
1	Louisville (2005)	9,354
2	Cincinnati (2004)	9,312
3	Cincinnati (2000)	9,279
4	Cincinnati (1996)	9,213
5	Alcorn State (1989)	9,010
6	Arkansas (1990)	8,951
7	Cincinnati (1994)	8,907
8	Western Kentucky (1991)	8,879
9	Auburn (1990)	8,879
10	Auburn (1996)	8,665

Blazers ISP Radio Network

UAB athletic events can be heard on the following stations:

• WYDE-FM 101.1 Birmingham/Huntsville/Tuscaloosa/Gadsden
• WTRB-FM 98.3 Talladega/Ashland
• WIQR-AM 1410 Montgomery/Prattville

References

• "UAB Blazers." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 17 Dec 2006, 22:23 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 18 Dec 2006 [3].