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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sunny

If your football team isn't making money and it's not in a "power five" conference, I have no idea why you'd want an FBS football program anymore. We already know "power five" autonomy is coming - why compete in a sport where you have no chance at championship access against programs whose resources already dwarf yours who will soon literally be playing by their own rules? If it's a big resource drain rather than a money maker, I absolutely get dropping it**. Obviously, I feel for the players, coaches, (band members?), but from a practical standpoint, it makes sense - though the shady politics that seem to lie behind it in this case are no surprise.

**or, if feasible, taking it to the FCS level.

Gregory Sager

The problem is that, according to the al.com article, football is a required sport for Conference USA membership.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

Ralph Turner


Gregory Sager

The article seemed to indicate that UAB thinks it can have its cake and eat it, too, as far as staying in the CUSA is concerned.
"To see what is in front of one's nose is a constant struggle." -- George Orwell

smedindy

Well, it's not UAB's fault they were railroaded out of existence, football wise.

Ralph Turner

How badly does the CUSA want the Birmingham television market for the other sports?

jknezek

Quote from: smedindy on December 02, 2014, 09:05:08 PM
Well, it's not UAB's fault they were railroaded out of existence, football wise.

This isn't exactly correct. While the Board of Trustees did the ultimate damage, the UAB administration, especially the current president, is completely on board with this decision. The BOT is all about Alabama at Tuscaloosa first, the medical school at UAB second, the science and technology programs at Huntsville third, and somewhere behind that is the undergrad at UAB and the other undergrad at Huntsville. The UAB administration is all about the Medical school first, the undergrad second.

So you can see there are almost no advocates for UAB's undergrad program with any power. The football team got caught up in that, but it's a bigger problem for the school and one very good reason why you shouldn't send your kid to UAB for undergrad. Med school? Absolutely. It's an outstanding med school. But undergrad? No way...

Conference USA basketball has 14 members right now. Kicking out UAB would be a blow, but not a huge one. UAB has not been particularly good in years, although a renewed focus on basketball following this decision might help. The basketball facility is more than adequate for UAB, so they won't have the same problems as football. I could easily see Conference USA removing UAB or changing the rules to keep them. However, if they are removed, I expect they'll find another conference even if they have to drop down a level.

The Atlantic Sun or Big South wouldn't be bad fits. Mid Eastern, Southland, or Sun Belt could also come into play. I don't know which of these conferences have rules that UAB wouldn't fit, but I'm guessing at least some of them would welcome a Birmingham area team.

Other sports, like the generally highly rated Men's Soccer team or the Tennis Teams will suffer from losing a good conference affiliation.

jknezek

Quote from: sunny on December 02, 2014, 05:09:07 PM
If your football team isn't making money and it's not in a "power five" conference, I have no idea why you'd want an FBS football program anymore. We already know "power five" autonomy is coming - why compete in a sport where you have no chance at championship access against programs whose resources already dwarf yours who will soon literally be playing by their own rules? If it's a big resource drain rather than a money maker, I absolutely get dropping it**. Obviously, I feel for the players, coaches, (band members?), but from a practical standpoint, it makes sense - though the shady politics that seem to lie behind it in this case are no surprise.

**or, if feasible, taking it to the FCS level.

I actually think all the non-power 5 teams should drop to the FCS rules at this point. Leave the big boys to play by their own rules, you aren't going to muscle in on them, and bolster FCS into a spot where the end of season tournament has a lot of the appeal of March Madness. Drop to a 10 game regular season, like D3, and a 32 team playoff, plus bowl or an NIT tournament for other select teams.

You could have the same cinderella possibilities with conference champions like Liberty playing Boise or Cincinnati, you'd drop some costs and scholarship expenses, and you'd have a good sized universe. With only 60 or so teams in the Power 5, that's 30 games a week, and less than half of those will really be interesting on a super regional or national level. FCS would then provide other good competitive games to fill the next broadcast tier.

The absolute kicker, however, is no FCS games against the Power 5. Why? Because you don't want to showcase the differences in quality, you want to showcase the competitiveness at the FCS level...

Ron Boerger

Quote from: jknezek on December 03, 2014, 09:30:40 AM
The absolute kicker, however, is no FCS games against the Power 5. Why? Because you don't want to showcase the differences in quality, you want to showcase the competitiveness at the FCS level...

Don't think the teams could survive without the money they'd get from playing the big boys.   Interesting thought, though.

jknezek

Quote from: Ron Boerger on December 03, 2014, 10:58:34 AM
Quote from: jknezek on December 03, 2014, 09:30:40 AM
The absolute kicker, however, is no FCS games against the Power 5. Why? Because you don't want to showcase the differences in quality, you want to showcase the competitiveness at the FCS level...

Don't think the teams could survive without the money they'd get from playing the big boys.   Interesting thought, though.

There are more teams in FCS than there are gimme $$ games. Those teams survive just fine. It's a certain subset of teams that play those games year in and year out. Other teams never play them.

Gray Fox

Alabama/Auburn  - Just no room for UAB in the hearts of the Alabamans.  :'(
Fierce When Roused

jknezek

Quote from: Gray Fox on December 03, 2014, 12:05:33 PM
Alabama/Auburn  - Just no room for UAB in the hearts of the Alabamans.  :'(

Yes and no. UAB's home attendance this year averaged 20K or so. That's more than Troy University and the University of South Alabama averaged last year. Both of those schools are still competing at the FBS level, and both have on-campus stadiums. UAB was confined to decrepit, off campus, Legion Field. Now last year, UAB was only half this year's level in attendance, so it is contingent on them being decent, something Troy and South AL were not.

That being said, I know more than a fair few Blazer alums who don't go to UAB games. Mostly they are more interested in Alabama. Or they just have no interest in going to Legion Field. But I still think, if 10 or 15 years ago UAB was allowed to build the on campus stadium that the Board of Trustees (led by Bryant Jr) has always denied them, they would have been fine. At this juncture, pouring in all the missing investment that SHOULD have been made over a long time frame is unpalatable and the decision was much simpler.

The problem is not the decision now, that is pretty much a fait accompli based on the current investment needs and state of the program, the problem has been the obstructionist posture of the board over a long period of time. They couldn't stop UAB from starting football thanks to the pull of the Bartow family in the late 80s and early 90s, but the board led by Bryant Jr played the long game, denied any UAB attempt at making the program viable, and won in the end.

Bombers798891

Quote from: jknezek on December 03, 2014, 09:30:40 AM

I actually think all the non-power 5 teams should drop to the FCS rules at this point. Leave the big boys to play by their own rules, you aren't going to muscle in on them, and bolster FCS into a spot where the end of season tournament has a lot of the appeal of March Madness. Drop to a 10 game regular season, like D3, and a 32 team playoff, plus bowl or an NIT tournament for other select teams.

You could have the same cinderella possibilities with conference champions like Liberty playing Boise or Cincinnati, you'd drop some costs and scholarship expenses, and you'd have a good sized universe. With only 60 or so teams in the Power 5, that's 30 games a week, and less than half of those will really be interesting on a super regional or national level. FCS would then provide other good competitive games to fill the next broadcast tier.

The absolute kicker, however, is no FCS games against the Power 5. Why? Because you don't want to showcase the differences in quality, you want to showcase the competitiveness at the FCS level...

You'd save on some scholarship costs, but you wouldn't realize savings on facilities until the next time you upgraded them, because you'd still have to maintain your existing ones. You could reduce coaching salaries as well, but again, you're probably forced to wait until the existing contracts run out.

jknezek

Quote from: Bombers798891 on December 03, 2014, 12:34:31 PM
Quote from: jknezek on December 03, 2014, 09:30:40 AM

I actually think all the non-power 5 teams should drop to the FCS rules at this point. Leave the big boys to play by their own rules, you aren't going to muscle in on them, and bolster FCS into a spot where the end of season tournament has a lot of the appeal of March Madness. Drop to a 10 game regular season, like D3, and a 32 team playoff, plus bowl or an NIT tournament for other select teams.

You could have the same cinderella possibilities with conference champions like Liberty playing Boise or Cincinnati, you'd drop some costs and scholarship expenses, and you'd have a good sized universe. With only 60 or so teams in the Power 5, that's 30 games a week, and less than half of those will really be interesting on a super regional or national level. FCS would then provide other good competitive games to fill the next broadcast tier.

The absolute kicker, however, is no FCS games against the Power 5. Why? Because you don't want to showcase the differences in quality, you want to showcase the competitiveness at the FCS level...

You'd save on some scholarship costs, but you wouldn't realize savings on facilities until the next time you upgraded them, because you'd still have to maintain your existing ones. You could reduce coaching salaries as well, but again, you're probably forced to wait until the existing contracts run out.

All true. It's not an immediate solution for anything. Just a long term structural change that seems like it should make sense to me. I'd actually love to sit down and ask someone with real knowledge. It would be fascinating to learn.

Gray Fox

jknezek<

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