UAB Football To Be Shut Down - Repercussions For State School D3 Programs?

Started by smedindy, November 30, 2014, 06:22:38 PM

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jknezek

Quote from: Gray Fox on December 03, 2014, 03:16:58 PM
jknezek<

Thank you for your input to this.  I already gave you +k.

Thanks. It's been a neat discussion. I live in Birmingham but I'm not from here. I don't care about any of the D1 teams in this state except that they keep me entertained and happy coworkers make for a happier day. So it's fairly easy for me to look at this stuff without a lot of baggage. I think it's a fairly unique situation, although you could probably find a few more schools with facilities issues that might see a benefit to following UAB's lead.

smedindy

There's a lot of national hand-wringing going on about other D-1A programs. Now I know that many teams in the MAC struggle with attendance, and I always wonder why some Sun Belt and C-USA teams moved up to D-1A. But I think they'd drop down more than drop it entirely.

I just hope this doesn't cross over to D-3; hopefully the politics won't enter into it.

Gray Fox

Outside The Lines on ESPN just did a half hour show on this.
I believe it will be archived, but I couldn't find it yet.

The players really want to play in a bowl.  I know that The Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth does not have a bowl eligible armed forces team (Army).  The projected team that I see is Houston, currently 7-4.
Fierce When Roused

Just Bill

You might think a low level bowl game would invite them now, just for the increased exposure they will bring. That's a compelling national story for an otherwise uninteresting/unimportant bowl game.

EDIT: Or perhaps not...  http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11977416/uab-blazers-chance-large-bowl-bid-basically-nonexistent
"That seems silly and pointless..." - Hoops Fan

The first and still most accurate description of the D3 Championship BeltTM thread.

Gray Fox

Fierce When Roused

ADL70

Curiously though, the much maligned Legion Field is hosting the Birmingham Bowl on Jan 3
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jknezek

Quote from: ADL70 on December 08, 2014, 01:00:01 PM
Curiously though, the much maligned Legion Field is hosting the Birmingham Bowl on Jan 3

Legion Field has hosted a bowl game for almost a decade. It's still an aging, deteriorating, unpleasant place to watch a game. However, it is at least a football stadium, not something all bowl games can claim with Yankee Stadium, Marlin's Stadium and a cricket field in the Bahamas also hosting games. However, with UAB abandoning Legion Field it will see even less use, and the city will devote even less to the stadium upkeep, let alone improvements.

Legion Field is in a bad section of town, although oddly enough it is close to Birmingham-Southern's beautiful campus. B-SC is walled off from the community and has been lovingly and impeccably maintained and improved over the years. Legion Field is very much a part of that section of town and has had none of the care or devotion of our local D3 institution.

Personally I think UAB abandoning the stadium is another step in the historic field's long death spiral. Birmingham will have to decide to put the money in, believing the bowl game, the Magic City Classic, a few h.s. playoff games, and various other low-key events are worth the stadium costs, or it simply needs to be put out of it's misery.

Gregory Sager

"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell



Just Bill

Travel expenses for bowling and rifle are actually pretty high. The rosters are small, but the travel is a killer. There's not many sponsoring schools in those sports so teams have to travel across the country to compete.
"That seems silly and pointless..." - Hoops Fan

The first and still most accurate description of the D3 Championship BeltTM thread.

jknezek

Quote from: Just Bill on May 07, 2015, 09:33:25 AM
Travel expenses for bowling and rifle are actually pretty high. The rosters are small, but the travel is a killer. There's not many sponsoring schools in those sports so teams have to travel across the country to compete.

I skimmed the report but I found it a bit incredulous. Of course analyzing this stuff isn't exactly my job. I just can't see how bowling could break even. I do understand that if you do a lot of tricks to lower the cost of scholarships and add in a value for "student body enjoyment" you can get the numbers to tell you whatever you want. Part of my job involves corporate bonds, so I'm well aware of the multitude of tricks companies use for accounting purposes. It's unbelievable and I suspect both the school's supposed losses and this study's supposed benefits use all those tricks and more to support their positions, leaving the true answer somewhere in the middle.

Ralph Turner

Pardon my cynicism, but adding Rifle and Bowlling makes it easier to "axe" football, which was the target in the first place.

jknezek

Quote from: Ralph Turner on May 07, 2015, 02:34:41 PM
Pardon my cynicism, but adding Rifle and Bowlling makes it easier to "axe" football, which was the target in the first place.

Absolutely no doubt you are correct. That's the school's POV. I was interested in the report saying, somehow, these sports either made money or came close to breaking even. I just can't possibly imagine how that is true in the real world, although I can see lots of ways to make it happen with accounting.

Ralph Turner

Quote from: jknezek on May 07, 2015, 03:28:23 PM
Quote from: Ralph Turner on May 07, 2015, 02:34:41 PM
Pardon my cynicism, but adding Rifle and Bowlling makes it easier to "axe" football, which was the target in the first place.

Absolutely no doubt you are correct. That's the school's POV. I was interested in the report saying, somehow, these sports either made money or came close to breaking even.  I just can't possibly imagine how that is true in the real world, although I can see lots of ways to make it happen with accounting.
+1!