The UAB Blazers men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports program at the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

. As of the upcoming 2022 season, the

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

program competes in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

(The American).

History

UAB began a men's soccer program back in 1979. Throughout its history, UAB has enjoyed great success in the men's soccer program. The men's team has been in the NCAA Tournament a total of 7 times including 2 Sweet Sixteen appearances and 1 Elite Eight appearance in 1999. The men's team has been ranked nationally numerous times throughout its history, including top 25 rankings in 16 of the last 18 seasons. One of UAB's biggest wins in the men's team history came when UAB upset the #1-ranked

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

in 1997 by a score of 2–0. UAB would upset another #1-ranked team in 2006 when they beat the

SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the sport, athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. SMU was founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor Bears, Baylor, Rice Owls, ...

by a score of 2–1. UAB's most recent conference change was announced during the 2021–22 offseason, when it left

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

(C-USA) for The American. The decision of the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

to reinstate its men's soccer league effective with the 2022 season dropped the C-USA men's soccer membership to four. Of these four schools, three, including UAB, were scheduled to fully move from C-USA to The American in the near future, most likely in July 2023. Accordingly, The American brought all four remaining C-USA men's soccer teams into its own soccer league.

Stadium

The men's team began to play to play its home games at UAB's PNC Field (originally BBVA Compass Field, later BBVA Field) in 2015. Prior to this, the Blazers played at their old venue, West Campus Field. Since 1993, the men's team has won nearly 80% of its games played at

West Campus Field West Campus Field was a soccer-specific stadium located in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, on the campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) that served as the home field for both the UAB Blazers men's and women's college socce ...

. UAB has frequently been among the national leaders in soccer attendance, finishing as high as 16th nationally in average attendance. The highest attended home soccer game in UAB history came in 2011 when 3,141 fans saw the Blazers defeat Clemson 2–1.

Fans

Although many traditions, cheers, and chants take place at each home game, there is one that "stands above the rest," according to former head coach Mike Getman. Led by alumni super-fan Andrew Robillard, who has not missed a UAB men's home soccer match in 22 seasons, the whole student section sings "God Bless America" in unity. The Hillsborough Times has reported this tradition as one of its "12 College Sports Traditions you Don't Want to Miss."

Notable alumni

Dejan Jakovic Dejan Jakovic ( sr-Cyrl, Дејан Јаковић, ; born 16 July 1985) is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a centre-back for the Serbian White Eagles. Internationally, he represented the Canada national team from 2008 to 2018. Early life ...

* Babayele Sodade * Lars Willemse * Tony McManus * Jerson Monteiro * Carl Woszczynski * Ian Svantesson * Michal Mravec * Alex Clay * Sandy Gbandi * Stuart Schulman * Jose Luis Rayo * Ivan Piola

References

External links

* {{American Athletic Conference men's soccer navbox

Uab Blazers The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of the American Athletic Conference and participates in Divisi ...

1979 establishments in Alabama Association football clubs established in 1979