UAB Looking To Blow Up Football...???

((HT: AL.com))

The answer is: Probably...

And you find it more from the quotes of the higher-ups in the University these days than those of us who normally float the idea in the first place...

Evidence
((HT: CBS42 Birmingham))


More Evidence...

Nick Birdsong has this statement from AD Brian Mackin

"Like all areas across our campus, the Athletic Department is working on a strategic plan to maximize our resources and drive excellence. This process is critical to ensuring the best days of UAB Athletics are yet to come for our students, alumni, fans and community. "Coming out of this process, we will know what it takes -- from the institution, as well as supporters including our donors -- to best support our programs. My staff and I, and our consultants -- Carr Sports Consulting, a trusted adviser and expert in college athletics -- have invested a great deal of care in undertaking a department-wide strategic plan. As we close in on completing this initiative, we will make informed decisions that are supported by data and expert analysis. It would be premature to speculate about pending results, but I firmly believe this approach will lead to the most exciting era in UAB Athletics."

That paragraph was sent out after the university President, Ray Watts, said this earlier in the week:

More than a year ago, UAB began the most comprehensive campus-wide strategic planning process in our history, calling for the 10 schools, College of Arts and Sciences, Honors College, Information Technology, Research Administration, and other units to develop individual strategic plans, set priorities and implement long-term goals.

"Within that framework, the Athletic Department is conducting a full strategic review of its programs. The Athletic Department has engaged outside experts and is exploring a full range of options - not all of which will be implemented - to reach its desired results of sustained excellence."

Former UAB players have met with Watts to discuss their concerns, and AL.com's Kevin Scarbinsky had this point:

New coach Bill Clark's original contract is for three years only when most college head coaches have deals that run for a minimum of four or five years, and UAB has no non-conference football games scheduled beyond 2016.

Which is flat strange...

Alternatives...

Not many...

Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News wrote an article in 2009 as UAB was pursuing their own football stadium not names Legion Field. The numbers back then weren't pretty when it came to the profit and loss ratios of the Blazers football program.

From 2006 to 2009, UAB reported just as much football revenue from the university ($6.55 million in subsidies) as it got from donors ($6.53 million). And that doesn't factor in student fees that went for athletics and increased 30 percent over those four years.

Good for UAB if enough companies will consistently pony up for the stadium. But projections are just that.

UAB projected in its 2009 athletics budget that the football program would receive $935,552 in university subsidies, rather than the $2 million it actually received. Overall, UAB projected a $1.1 million loss on football; it turned out to be $1.7 million.

Solomon followed up that piece five years later with the numbers back in February of 2014 that outlined that a lot of Alabama schools are heavily subsidized. UAB's numbers were up in the five year gap between our paragraphs. There's a good graph in their as well...

The UAB athletics department received $1.4 million less in institutional support during the 2013 fiscal year, resulting in a rare decrease of total subsidies directed to Blazers sports even as student fees climbed.

UAB received $18.1 million in total subsidies for sports in 2013, down from $18.7 million a year earlier, according to the athletics department's latest NCAA financial report. This marked the first time subsidies have decreased during the eight years AL.com/The Birmingham News has charted the university's athletics finances.

The Blazers had a long day hosting Louisiana Tech to even out their schedule at 5-5, losing 40-24.
Here's Kyle Sappington going against the Bulldogs special teams


UAB and Hawai'i are two looking at the same dark tunnel and it will be interesting to see how they come out the other side.

Could Hawai'i Lose Football...???

According to a piece in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, it could be the nuclear option for an athletics program that is facing a $3-million shortfall for the upcoming season.

Hawai'i AD Ben Jay and president David Lassner are facing the Board of Regents asking for some state help to keep athletics alive in some form or fashion. Jay maintained that, in the meeting, the university has operated at a deficit 11 of the last 13 years.

And this is the down side to all those bowl games and being as geographically separated as they have been in the Mountain West Conference.

Ferd Lewis' piece in the paper has the details:

"I think, in my mind, it has to come from the state. In part, I'm asking this board, President (David Lassner) and the UH-Manoa leadership to support and ask the legislature for direct for direct funding support for the athletic program," Jay said.

But, if football (the biggest money maker for the program) goes away, the other programs could be worse off more than currently.

More when we know more, but, in the interim...

Here's highlights from the 2014 Warrior Bowl on campus- the spring game for the Warriors

Robert Morris Cutting 7 Sports

Robert Morris University is cutting seven programs to keep the remaining 16 afloat in the Northeast Conference.

Men's indoor and outdoor track, tennis and cross country and women's golf, tennis and field hockey will be phased out following the 2013-14 academic year. 80 student-athletes are effected...

Athletic director Craig Coleman says those moneys will be re-allocated to fund additional scholarships, facility upgrades and increased travel and recruiting budgets.

"Clearly, this is the most difficult decision I've faced as athletic director, and one of the hardest we've had to make as a university. I understand that our student-athletes are very upset by this news, and we apologize for the distress this has caused," said Coleman in a release. "Nonetheless, this is the right decision to ensure that the university's present growth remains sustainable and that our student-athletes enjoy an excellent experience at RMU."

More from the university:

One of the primary reasons the university chose to reduce its Division I sports, according to Coleman, is that RMU has one of the largest budgets in the Northeast Conference (NEC) but spends among the least per student-athlete, owing to the sheer number of sports it offers. With 23 sports, RMU offered more Division I programs than Pitt or West Virginia, for example. Including the sports to be reduced, RMU has approximately 560 Division I athletes on its rosters.

The university considered several criteria in reducing sports: the number of student-athletes; competitive success; academic achievement; cost; the adequacy of facilities; compliance with Title IX; and whether a program was a NEC sport of emphasis. RMU sought to maximize its cost savings while impacting the fewest student-athletes. Money saved will be ploughed back into the remaining Division I sports.

Here's what folks remember the most about Robert Morris in the last year or so...
((HT: WTAE-TV))


The HQ empathizes with the 80...
More when we know more...