UAB drops football, 2 other sports

[tidecat]

UAB is the first program at the highest level of college football to drop the sport since Pacific in 1995:

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/12/02/uab-players-allowed-free-transfer-as-school-shuts-down-football-program/

[US 41]

I think that the University of Alabama forced them to do it. I don't really think UAB wanted to drop football.  UAB was averaging 20,000 per game. It's sad for the players, coaches, and the fans. I wish UAB was able to keep football. UAB is bowl eligible, so they might get to play one last game.

[Pete from Boston]

Who writes a full article centering around an abbreviation without spelling it out on first use (or ever)?  I know college football fans probably knew it right off, but still, lazy-ass journalism.

[US 41]

Who writes a full article centering around an abbreviation without spelling it out on first use (or ever)?  I know college football fans probably knew it right off, but still, lazy-ass journalism.

UAB is the University of Alabama at Birmingham. They are known as the Blazers.

[Pete from Boston]

Who writes a full article centering around an abbreviation without spelling it out on first use (or ever)?  I know college football fans probably knew it right off, but still, lazy-ass journalism.

UAB is the University of Alabama at Birmingham. They are known as the Blazers.

I googled it, but thanks. 

[hbelkins]

Who writes a full article centering around an abbreviation without spelling it out on first use (or ever)?  I know college football fans probably knew it right off, but still, lazy-ass journalism.

Ever hear of UCLA? Or UNLV?

One of the back stories I've read indicates that much of this involves Bear Bryant's son, who is on the Alabama system board of trustees, and a feud he had with Gene Bartow, who was pretty much the founding father of UAB sports.

[DandyDan]

First of all, let the feeding frenzy begin, as the players can jump to another program immediately.

Second of all, this is probably the beginning of a long process of FBS schools deciding to drop football.  The cost of having a football program is much higher than the cost of having any other sport, and it probably helps with Title IX compliance as well.  UAB probably ended up first since they have to know they will never be more than a distant third in the hearts of Alabama football fans.

Eventually, everyone who has football will be in a Power 5 conference, and there will be no cupcakes.

[US 41]

First of all, let the feeding frenzy begin, as the players can jump to another program immediately.

Second of all, this is probably the beginning of a long process of FBS schools deciding to drop football.  The cost of having a football program is much higher than the cost of having any other sport, and it probably helps with Title IX compliance as well.  UAB probably ended up first since they have to know they will never be more than a distant third in the hearts of Alabama football fans.

Eventually, everyone who has football will be in a Power 5 conference, and there will be no cupcakes.

I think eventually all the non Power 5 schools will eventually be FCS. I could the Big 12 getting done away with one day too, like the Big East was. Eventually there are going to be Big 12 schools join the Pac-12, Big Ten, and the SEC. (2 of those have already happened; Missouri/TX A&M in SEC, Nebraska in Big Ten.)

[Pete from Boston]

Ever hear of UCLA? Or UNLV?

Yes, but I guess I think of those as household names.

Second of all, this is probably the beginning of a long process of FBS schools deciding to drop football.  The cost of having a football program is much higher than the cost of having any other sport, and it probably helps with Title IX compliance as well.  UAB probably ended up first since they have to know they will never be more than a distant third in the hearts of Alabama football fans.

Eventually, everyone who has football will be in a Power 5 conference, and there will be no cupcakes.

I hear that.  UMass went from having an occasionally-good Division 1-AA team that few really followed or went to see, to moving to the FBS at great expense, where few really follow or go to see them but the bottom line is much greater.  They expected to lose money for five years en route to "success," and lose money they have, burning through that whole five-year budget in less than two years.  They're pouring enormous amounts into a marketing blitz to (unsuccessfully) divide the attention of Boston fans already rabidly invested in the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, and Celtics, all of whom are fairly recent champions, and Boston College, which is a very unusual anomaly in a region where the second-most-prominent FBS program is the juggernaut (not) Connecticut.

Oh, and they're terrible. 

It is insanely expensive, played with scarce, ostensibly public funds, and is an uphill battle to compete.  I'm no college football fan, but it seems like the idea of a marquee football team being essential to a school's profile is becoming necessarily obsolete.  College basketball is more popular here anyway, and allows for a leveler playing field for big and small.

[kurumi]

[UMass is] pouring enormous amounts into a marketing blitz to (unsuccessfully) divide the attention of Boston fans already rabidly invested in the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, and Celtics, all of whom are fairly recent champions, and Boston College, which is a very unusual anomaly in a region where the second-most-prominent FBS program is the juggernaut (not) Connecticut.

I wonder how long UConn is going to keep pushing that rock uphill. What they've done in men's and women's basketball was a huge success, and it seemed they wanted to replicate that in football. I think those first few seasons in I-A (errr FBS or FCS) were an anomaly: the Huskies had an NFL-caliber quarterback in Dan Orlovsky (who unfortunately is best-known now for running out of the back of the endzone) and running back in Don Brown. This helped bring bowl wins and mid-season top 25 ranking (peaked at 13th). What we're seeing now is, I think, regression to the mean and more typical of the future.

[texaskdog]

Poor teams like EASTERN MICHIGAN that don't draw 1/3 of their 15,000 minimum and are awful need to move down.  Just as teams move up some need to move down to FCS. Another one is SMU if they don't make any effort to be competitive.

[clong]

Yesterday was a sad day for me as a UAB grad. I was there for UAB's first I-A game at Auburn in 1996 as a freshman. Speculation is that the charge was led by Paul Bryant, Jr. (yes Bear's son) as he is forced to retire from the trustees early next year when he reaches the maximum age of 70. UAB is governed (along with UAH) by the same set of trustees as Alabama, but only have 3 of the 15 members as graduates of UAB. This has been a constant source of conflict over facilities, coaches (see Jimbo Fisher hire that was nixed by the board) and funding. Many other sports are now questioning where they will land as Conference USA does not allow non-football members unless they give UAB a waiver. The Sun Belt would probably be the only other Div 1 landing spot that is somewhat realistic.

[US 41]

Poor teams like EASTERN MICHIGAN that don't draw 1/3 of their 15,000 minimum and are awful need to move down.  Just as teams move up some need to move down to FCS. Another one is SMU if they don't make any effort to be competitive.

It seems like the 15,000 average attendance rule is not enforced anymore. A lot of smaller FBS schools don't meet the requirements in attendance.

I think I would rather be FCS than FBS. In the FCS you can play in a real playoff with a chance of winning a national championship or you can play in some bowl game that no one really cares about. I'm an Indiana State Sycamore fan and they made the playoffs this year. I would rather the Sycamores make the FCS playoffs than some bowl game no one has ever heard of.

[texaskdog]

Poor teams like EASTERN MICHIGAN that don't draw 1/3 of their 15,000 minimum and are awful need to move down.  Just as teams move up some need to move down to FCS. Another one is SMU if they don't make any effort to be competitive.

It seems like the 15,000 average attendance rule is not enforced anymore. A lot of smaller FBS schools don't meet the requirements in attendance.

I think I would rather be FCS than FBS. In the FCS you can play in a real playoff with a chance of winning a national championship or you can play in some bowl game that no one really cares about. I'm an Indiana State Sycamore fan and they made the playoffs this year. I would rather the Sycamores make the FCS playoffs than some bowl game no one has ever heard of.

no kidding.  FBS should be more elite.  I think things will change as the "power 5" will eventually become its own designation and these mistakes will be a thing of the past.

[golden eagle]

June Jones had SMU competitive for a little while. But he decided to leave early in the season. I guess he must've seen something he didn't like. They didn't win a game until the end of the season.

I hate that UAB is dropping football. It's been a good rivalry with Southern Miss. We owned UAB for the first eight years, then they started getting a leg on us the last few years. But this is all on Board of Trustees, namely Paul Bryant Jr. There was a time that Jimbo Fisher was set to become the coach at UAB and his hiring was rejected. Fisher would've likely left for Florida State, but look at how much better they would've become had he been there.

Some of UAB's predicament can be put on attendance. They may've been averaging 20K fans a game, but they play in an 80K+ stadium. That's only a quarter full.

[texaskdog]

First of all, let the feeding frenzy begin, as the players can jump to another program immediately.

Second of all, this is probably the beginning of a long process of FBS schools deciding to drop football.  The cost of having a football program is much higher than the cost of having any other sport, and it probably helps with Title IX compliance as well.  UAB probably ended up first since they have to know they will never be more than a distant third in the hearts of Alabama football fans.

Eventually, everyone who has football will be in a Power 5 conference, and there will be no cupcakes.

I think eventually all the non Power 5 schools will eventually be FCS. I could the Big 12 getting done away with one day too, like the Big East was. Eventually there are going to be Big 12 schools join the Pac-12, Big Ten, and the SEC. (2 of those have already happened; Missouri/TX A&M in SEC, Nebraska in Big Ten.)

It should just be it's own tier AND schools shouldn't play other schools outside of their tier.  If the tier has maybe 60 schools or more, and they play 9 in their conference and have maybe 48 others to play it would still take 16 years to play them all.

[swbrotha100]

First of all, let the feeding frenzy begin, as the players can jump to another program immediately.

Second of all, this is probably the beginning of a long process of FBS schools deciding to drop football.  The cost of having a football program is much higher than the cost of having any other sport, and it probably helps with Title IX compliance as well.  UAB probably ended up first since they have to know they will never be more than a distant third in the hearts of Alabama football fans.

Eventually, everyone who has football will be in a Power 5 conference, and there will be no cupcakes.

I think eventually all the non Power 5 schools will eventually be FCS. I could the Big 12 getting done away with one day too, like the Big East was. Eventually there are going to be Big 12 schools join the Pac-12, Big Ten, and the SEC. (2 of those have already happened; Missouri/TX A&M in SEC, Nebraska in Big Ten.)

Colorado moved from the Big 12 to the Pac 12

[US 41]

There were rumors last year that Texas, Oklahoma, OK State, and Texas Tech might join the Pac 12, but they sort of died. I wouldn't be at all surprised if in a couple years those rumors start up again.