The UAB Blazers football team represents the
University of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a Public university#United States, public List of research universities in the United States, research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established i ...
(UAB) in the sport of
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
. The Blazers compete in the
Football Bowl Subdivision
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...
(FBS) of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
(NCAA) and
American Athletic Conference
The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...
(The American). The team is led by interim head coach Bryant Vincent, who has held the position since 2022. Home games were previously held at
Legion Field
Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ho ...
in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
from the 1991 season to the 2020 season. A new stadium,
Protective Stadium
Protective Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium owned and operated by the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. Its naming rights are provided by the Protective Life company, which will pay $1 million ...
, has been the home of the Blazers starting from the 2021 season. The new stadium's capacity is over 47,000.
The UAB football program was terminated after the 2014 season but was reinstated shortly thereafter.
[ See also ] The team went on hiatus for two seasons before returning in 2017. UAB won both its first conference championship and bowl game in program history in 2018.
History
Jim Hilyer era (1991–1994)
UAB football began with the play of an organized club football team in 1989.
After two years competing as a club football team, on March 13, 1991, UAB President Charles McCallum and athletic director
Gene Bartow
Bobby Gene Bartow (August 18, 1930 January 3, 2012) was an American men's college basketball coach. The Browning, Missouri, native coached 36 years at six universities after coaching two high schools in Missouri for six years. In 1972 Bartow coac ...
announced that the university would compete in football as an NCAA
Division III
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
team beginning in the fall of 1991, with
Jim Hilyer
Jim Hilyer (July 1, 1935 – January 26, 2022) was an American football coach. He was the first head football coach at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), serving from 1991 to 1994 and compiling a record of 27–12–2. Hilyer played colleg ...
serving as the first head coach.
[2008 UAB Football Media Guide](_blank)
"Important Dates In UAB Football". UAB Sports Information Department, UABsports.com. Accessed September 21, 2008.
From 1991 to 1992, UAB competed as a
Division III
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
, and during this period, the Blazers compiled an 11–6–2 overall record. During this period, the Blazers played their first all-time game on September 7, 1991, a 28–0 loss at
Millsaps, and notched their first all-time win on September 21, 1991, a 34–21 victory at
Washington & Lee
, mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future"
, established =
, type = Private liberal arts university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.092 billion (2021)
, president = William C. Dudley
, provost = Lena Hill
, city = Lexingto ...
.
[2008 UAB Football Media Guide](_blank)
"Year-by-Year Results". UAB Sports Information Department, UABsports.com. Accessed September 21, 2008. After only a pair of seasons at the Division III level, an NCAA ruling resulted in the Blazers being reclassified as a I-AA team for the
1993 season
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
.
The reclassification was a result of the NCAA prohibiting a school's athletic program from being multi-divisional, and since UAB already competed in Division I in other sports, the move became necessary.
In their first game as a I-AA team, the Blazers would lose to
Troy State 37–3 before a home crowd on September 6, 1993.
By
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
, the Blazers would play their first I-A opponent against
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
.
Following the 1994 season, coach Hilyer would resign with
Watson Brown Watson Brown may refer to:
* Watson Brown (American football)
Lester Watson Brown (born April 19, 1950) is a retired American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach at Tennessee Technological University, a ...
being announced as the program's second ever coach on January 2, 1995.
During the
1995 season, the Blazers would notch their first ever victory over a I-A opponent on the road against
North Texas
North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wo ...
by a score of 19–14.
From 1993 to 1995, UAB competed as a
Division I-AA
The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
, and during this period compiled a 21–12 overall record before making the jump to
Division I-A
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...
for the 1996 season.
Watson Brown era (1995–2006)
Watson Brown Watson Brown may refer to:
* Watson Brown (American football)
Lester Watson Brown (born April 19, 1950) is a retired American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach at Tennessee Technological University, a ...
came to UAB from
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, where he served as offensive coordinator. On November 9, 1995, UAB was officially informed by the NCAA that the school had met all requirements for reclassification, and as such the Blazers would enter the
1996 season as an I-A
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
.
In their first I-A game, UAB was defeated by in-state rival
Auburn 29–0, and would finish their first I-A season with a 5–6 overall record. Already a participating member in other sports, on November 13, 1996,
Conference USA commissioner
Michael Slive
Michael Lawrence Slive (July 26, 1940 – May 16, 2018) was an American attorney and college sports executive. Slive was the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), a college athletics association, from 2002 until 2015. As part of his ...
announced that UAB would be admitted to the league as a football playing member for the
1999 season.
Following the transition to I-A, UAB often played a couple of out-of-conference games with college football's traditional powers every year. In 2000, UAB achieved a monumental victory by beating the
SEC's
LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...
in
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...
. In 2004, UAB reached yet another milestone earning its first bowl trip in school history, to the
Hawaii Bowl
The Hawaiʻi Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played in the Honolulu, Hawaii area since 2002. The game was originally held at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, a suburb of Honolulu, before moving to the Clarence T. C. Ching Ath ...
.
After being the face of the program for 12 years, on December 9, 2006, Watson Brown resigned as UAB's head coach to take the head coaching position at
Tennessee Tech
Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...
.
Neil Callaway era (2007–2011)
Following Brown's resignation, UAB first intended to promote assistant
Pat Sullivan, but the University of Alabama system board of trustees blocked the promotion.
UAB then had a deal in place with
Jimbo Fisher
John James "Jimbo" Fisher Jr. (born October 9, 1965) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies Football, Texas A&M Aggies. Previously, Fisher was the head coach at Florida State Seminol ...
, then offensive coordinator at
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
,
[ who would eventually go on to be the head coach at ]Florida State
Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
. The trustees again denied UAB its desired hire.[ Following the scuttling of the deal with Fisher, some sportswriters, including '' CBSSports.com'' reporter Gregg Doyel, noted that ]Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
was also looking for a new head coach at the time, adding that Fisher had served as offensive coordinator when Alabama's top candidate Nick Saban
Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...
had been head coach at LSU. Doyel postulated that because of this familiarity, Alabama may have looked to hire Fisher and thus the trustees did not want UAB interfering with the potential hire and consequently impeded their coaching search.[
After exhausting many options, UAB finally turned to former Alabama player and ]Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
offensive coordinator Neil Callaway
Claude Neil Callaway (born November 15, 1955) is an American college football coach and former player who is the offensive line coach for the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League (USFL). Callaway served as the head football coa ...
, who was named head coach on December 17, 2006. The hire was strongly questioned by some, as Callaway did not exactly have a history of success.[ In his first season, Callaway led the Blazers to the school's worst record (2–10), dropping the program's all-time record under .500 for the first time in school history.
On November 27, 2011, Callaway was fired as UAB's head coach having compiled a record of 18 wins and 42 losses (18–42) during his five years with the Blazers.]
Garrick McGee era (2012–2013)
On December 4, 2011, UAB officials announced they had hired Garrick McGee
Garrick Ladell McGee (born April 6, 1973) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the wide receivers coach at Louisville. He was previously the quarterbacks coach at the University of Florida. McGee was the head football c ...
to serve as the fourth head coach in the history of the program. McGee was the only African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
to ever be football head coach at UAB. The Blazers posted a 3–9 record in McGee's first season as head coach and a 2–10 record in his second.
On January 9, 2014, it was announced that McGee would resign as UAB head coach to join Bobby Petrino
Robert Patrick Petrino (born March 10, 1961) is an American football coach. He currently serves as the Offensive Coordinator for the Texas A&M Aggies. He is the former head coach for the Missouri State Bears. Previously, he served as the head co ...
as offensive coordinator at Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
.
Bill Clark era (2014–2021)
In January 2014, former Jacksonville State head coach Bill Clark William Clark (1770–1838) was an American soldier and explorer; governor of Missouri Territory.
William Clark may also refer to:
Business
* W. H. Clark (brewer) (William Henry Clark, c. 1815–c. 1870), brewer in South Australia
* William Bell ...
was hired to serve as the next head coach at UAB. In his first season as head coach of the Blazers, the team composed a 6–6 record, its best since 2004.
On November 30, 2014, a day after the Blazers had become bowl eligible for the first time since 2004, ''Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' reported that UAB was planning to fire athletic director Brian Mackin and end the football program. On December 2, UAB president Ray Watts officially announced that, after commissioning an in-depth inspection of UAB's athletic budget and revenue and how the elimination of football from the athletic program would affect those, UAB had decided to close down the football program, along with the rifle and bowling programs, in order to save money. The decision was met with great outrage and criticism of Watts as well as the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. According to Watts, projected costs of a credible football program would cost the school $49 million over the next five years, over the $20 million a year already spent on the program, and that after five years this cost would likely continue to rise. An independent task force was formed to evaluate this decision and the findings of the report on which the decision was based.
On June 1, 2015, Watts announced that due to the public opinion and the fundraising of more than $27 million towards the program, the UAB Blazers football program would be reinstated to begin play as early as the 2016 season. On July 21, UAB stated their intention to resume football in time for the 2017 season, while the bowling and rifle programs would be immediately reinstated. Athletic Director Mark Ingram indicated that 2017 was a more reasonable timeline to field a football team, due to the number of players who transferred away from the program following the termination and the NCAA's recruiting rules. On June 4, Conference USA announced it would not take any action against UAB now that it has reinstated football, and the school would, in effect, remain in the conference. On July 21, the NCAA cleared UAB to resume playing football in 2017, and to continue competing in FBS. On January 16, 2016, the UAB football team announced its slate of non-conference opponents for when it returned to play in the 2017 season.
On August 29, 2016, UAB broke ground on a $22.5-million football operations center including a $4.2-million covered pavilion practice field with an anticipated completion date of summer 2017. The center was opened to the public on August 18, 2017.
On November 4, 2017, in its first year back from a 2-year hiatus, UAB became bowl eligible after defeating Rice 52–21 at Legion Field. The following week, UAB defeated UTSA on the road to win their seventh game of the season, tying the school's record for wins since becoming an FBS program.
On December 1, 2018, UAB defeated Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the ...
to win its first conference championship in program history.
On December 18, 2018 UAB defeated Northern Illinois
Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010.
Economics
Northern Illinois is dominated by t ...
in the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl 37–13 for their first bowl win.
Clark resigned on June 24, 2022 after seven seasons, citing back problems. Offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent was named interim head coach for the 2022 season.
Trent Dilfer era (2023–present)
On November 30, 2022, Trent Dilfer
Trent Farris Dilfer (born March 13, 1972) is a former American football quarterback and analyst who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He is best known as the starting quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens during their Su ...
, who played for 13 years in the NFL, was announced to be the Blazers' new head coach.[WGFX radio, November 30, 2022.]
Conference affiliations
* Independent - Division III (1991–1992)
* Independent - Division I-AA (1993–1995)
* Independent - Division I-A (1996–1998)
* Conference USA (1999–2022)
* American Athletic Conference
The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...
(2023–future)
Championships
Conference championships
The Blazers have won two conference championships.
Division championships
The Blazers have been members of Conference USA since 1999. The conference split into two divisions in 2005, with UAB competing in the East Division until 2014. In 2017, UAB was moved into the West Division, where the Blazers won three division titles. C-USA eliminated its divisions after losing three of its previous 14 members after the 2021 season.
† Co-champions
Bowl games
The Blazers have played in six bowl games, compiling a record of 3–3.
Rivalries
Southern Miss
UAB and Southern Miss have met 18 times with the 1st matchup being in 2000 where Southern Miss won 33-30. The Blazers and Golden Eagles have met every season since, other than 2015 and 2016 when UAB did not field a team. Southern Miss won the first 9 meetings but UAB has won 7 out of the last 9 to bring the record to 11-7 in favor of The Golden Eagles. UAB and USM are the only two original members of CUSA to still be in the conference.
Troy
Troy and UAB have met a total of 12 times. Both teams met fairly consistently until 2014. The teams are scheduled to renew their rivalry in 2028. Troy holds the series lead, 7-5.
Memphis
UAB and Memphis annually played a Rivalry Game called “The Battle of the Bones” with the winning team getting a 100 lb bronze statue of a rack of ribs. This pays homage to both school’s cities prominence in BBQ. The rivalry ended when Memphis moved to the American Athletic Conference after the 2012 season. UAB leads the all-time record 10-5, but Memphis won the last matchup which allowed the Tigers to keep the Bones Trophy.
Future non-conference opponents
Announced schedules as of August 11, 2022.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uab Blazers Football
American football teams established in 1991
1991 establishments in Alabama