Should UAB's Football Situation Scare HBCUs?

[FYI85]

UAB said it couldn't afford to keep its football team, and its endowment is roughly five-times that of Alabama State.

bit.ly/uabhbcus (http://bit.ly/uabhbcus)

[NY Crusader 2010]

The difference here is the costs associated with each program. Alabama State's athletic expenses are $14 million while UAB's is $27 million. Which brings up another (obvious) question. Why did UAB not look into joining the Southern conference and keeping football as FCS? Chattanooga's athletic budget is in the $14 million range and I would have to think the $13 million difference is a function of C-USA membership and the expenses associated with an FBS football program. The Missouri Valley would also be a possible home as the basketball side of the league is looking to beef up after losing Creighton.

UAB will almost without a doubt be booted from C-USA and will be forced to find a new home for all sports. Missouri Valley or OVC seem to make the most sense without football.

[NY Crusader 2010]

https://www.uab.edu/news/updates/item/5595-university-of-alabama-at-birmingham-announces-results-of-athletic-department-strategic-review

Looks like they are going to go the VCU/GMU model and put their resources into "remaining programs" meaning let's go all-in on men's basketball.

[rokamortis]

https://www.uab.edu/news/updates/item/5595-university-of-alabama-at-birmingham-announces-results-of-athletic-department-strategic-review

Looks like they are going to go the VCU/GMU model and put their resources into "remaining programs" meaning let's go all-in on men's basketball.

Right. It isn't that they can't pay for it but rather the admin chooses not to pay for it.

[BluBengal07]

two different situations. however, it shouldn't be labelled as a "scare", but an "option" for some intuitions in FCS. it somewhat seems like a smart move for UAB, due to the crowded collegiate football field in Alabama. UAB, is going to build where the others (bigs and equals) are not as strong in, basketball.

[DFW HOYA]

https://www.uab.edu/news/updates/item/5595-university-of-alabama-at-birmingham-announces-results-of-athletic-department-strategic-review

Looks like they are going to go the VCU/GMU model and put their resources into "remaining programs" meaning let's go all-in on men's basketball.


That almost never works, or ask all those Top 20 programs at Hofstra, Fairfield, Santa Clara, St. Peter's, Boston U, etc., etc.

Because they don't reinvest, they deemphasize, and things go downhill in other sports from there. Would anyone have believed that since St. John's dropped football in 2002, the Redmen have made one NCAA tournament in the last 13 years?

Finally, does this affect HBCUs? Probably not. The media pushback if a trustee at Florida tried to put FAMU out of business would be severe.

[Catamount87]

... Finally, does this affect HBCUs? Probably not. The media pushback if a trustee at Florida tried to put FAMU out of business would be severe.

Agreed, the media and social outcry would be severe to say the least.

So, there's a question/idea I think no one has been publicly willing to ask/suggest, moving back down to FCS and joining an FCS conference. Both the Southern and Southland conferences make sense geographically.

[Laker]

The difference here is the costs associated with each program. Alabama State's athletic expenses are $14 million while UAB's is $27 million. Which brings up another (obvious) question. Why did UAB not look into joining the Southern conference and keeping football as FCS?

The board didn't want to move football down, they want to kill football at UAB period. I don't see them trying to move it to FCS.

There is such a thing as just trying to be mean instead of looking for solutions. The same thing happened at D2 Western Washington. Donors stepped up to keep the sport- every time they reached the threshold the bar was raised. Finally they just cut football despite having the money.

[BluBengal07]

The board didn't want to move football down, they want to kill football at UAB period. I don't see them trying to move it to FCS.

There is such a thing as just trying to be mean instead of looking for solutions. The same thing happened at D2 Western Washington. Donors stepped up to keep the sport- every time they reached the threshold the bar was raised. Finally they just cut football despite having the money.

xsmileyclapx

just watch the presentation to UAB football players and their reaction to the announcement on YT. wow.

[walliver]

Endowments aren't really an issue. Few endowments support athletics.

UAB played in an antiquated stadium in a market where they were at best the third most popular team, and tried to play at a level they could not financially support. Even if they chose to move to FCS, there would still be great expense building a new stadium, etc. I doubt the SoCon wants two teams in Birmingham. The Southland is now primarily a LaTex conference and UAB would be an outlier. The OVC might be a better geographic fix, and the BigSouth will take anybody to keep their numbers up. UAB would see all of these as a step down in basketball. As it is, the A-Sun is their best bet, but they won't be happy there.

HBCU's on the other hand, tend to have a niche (HBCU football) which allows them to continue to attract fans and support.

[superman7515]

No way they should be scared. They have a political ace up their sleeve thanks to their history that others school don't have.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

I don't think UAB's situation translates directly to HBCU athletics because, as others have mentioned, it seems like a personal vendetta against UAB from one man (or group of people). If I'm an HBCU I'm more worried about being attacked on mission, i.e. being forced to reorganize due to lack of overall funding for the school. I don't think Alabama's AD is worried at all about Alabama State athletics because, to them, it's the equivalent of D-III.

[Panther88]

HBCU's have a niche (HBCU football) which allows them to continue to attract fans and support.

You and I, we are here-----> *pointing 2 fingers from my eyes to your eyes* <----- because that's EXACTLY what I was going to state: HBCUs have a "niche" market that is quite cultural and historical which seems to support decently well, for the most part, over the duration. I think so many are accustomed to doing so much w/ so little until a slight dent here or there doesn't stop it from fielding a squad (I never mentioned competivity lol), for the most part. I don't have to look far for supporting examples. Take my undergrad alma mater, Prairie View A&M University; we continued to compete @ the then division I-AA level in the early-to-mid-90s for some 8 consecutive years w/out offering a SINGLE football scholarship-zero,zilch,nada,none,nil,null,... The coaches, for the most part, were teachers (mostly PE guys) and volunteers yet we continued to compete. If memory serves correct, we even played against 5 of the then ranked top 10 division-I-AA squads in one year ( *Northern Illinois?/*Eastern Illinois?, McNeese, Southern, Grambling, and Northern Iowa).

[Panther88]

No way they should be scared. They have a political ace up their sleeve thanks to their history that others school don't have.

Please sir, do elaborate on this "political ace up their sleeve." I intently want to listen (read) and understand. :) And also connect your "political ace" theory to support of collegiate sponsored/financially backed athletics.

*waiting*

[DFW HOYA]

The board didn't want to move football down, they want to kill football at UAB period. I don't see them trying to move it to FCS.


This is less about the UAB board wanting to kill football and more about the UA Board exerting control on their branch office in Birmingham by telling the UAB board what to do. If they don't concur, they'll be sitting in the unemployment line next to Brian Mackin.

[Panther-State]

Where's bluedog? Our racism and ignorance by just mentioning HBCU must have caused his head to explode.

[WileECoyote06]

Where's bluedog? Our racism and ignorance by just mentioning HBCU must have caused his head to explode.

Actually the same post is on Onnidan.com's forum. If this is the same poster, he is an HBCU alum.

[superman7515]

Please sir, do elaborate on this "political ace up their sleeve." I intently want to listen (read) and understand. :) And also connect your "political ace" theory to support of collegiate sponsored/financially backed athletics.

*waiting*

I don't mean it in a negative way, quite the contrary, I think most of the D1 HBCU's are practically immune to having their athletics shuttered. If you shut down athletics at UAB, you don't upset 40% of the population of Alabama. Try shutting down FAMU, it's political suicide. Not even just from the athletics standpoint, look at the SUNO/UNO situation a few years ago. SUNO had a 4% graduation rate within 6 years, it was literally the single worst university in the United States, bar none. There should have been absolutely no question that school should have been shut down, boarded up, and moved on from so that the other Louisiana school systems could have a bit more money. But the community rallied, politicians got scared, and it remains open to this day; still the single worst performing university anywhere in the USA. The fact of the matter is, white people know how to tweet, black people know how to rally, and all the credit in the world to them for that. When it matters, they show up and make sure they are heard, and they're much more vigilant because they know there is a constant microscope on many of their schools looking for a reason to shut them down or cut funding. If UAB had made 1/2 the noise that a FAMU or SC State or Grambling or Southern would make, they'd have football right now. They took it for granted and they're paying for it today.

[Panther88]

It wasn't taken negatively sup7515. I just wanted to determine your angle, that's all.

Thx.

[bluedog]

Where's bluedog? Our racism and ignorance by just mentioning HBCU must have caused his head to explode.

I'm curious as to why some of you spend so much effort lying on this person Blue dog.

I've not seen one post where he ever called anyone a racist and I've sat back and read through this forum for years,

[bluedog]

I don't mean it in a negative way, quite the contrary, I think most of the D1 HBCU's are practically immune to having their athletics shuttered. If you shut down athletics at UAB, you don't upset 40% of the population of Alabama. Try shutting down FAMU, it's political suicide. Not even just from the athletics standpoint, look at the SUNO/UNO situation a few years ago. SUNO had a 4% graduation rate within 6 years, it was literally the single worst university in the United States, bar none. There should have been absolutely no question that school should have been shut down, boarded up, and moved on from so that the other Louisiana school systems could have a bit more money. But the community rallied, politicians got scared, and it remains open to this day; still the single worst performing university anywhere in the USA. The fact of the matter is, white people know how to tweet, black people know how to rally, and all the credit in the world to them for that. When it matters, they show up and make sure they are heard, and they're much more vigilant because they know there is a constant microscope on many of their schools looking for a reason to shut them down or cut funding. If UAB had made 1/2 the noise that a FAMU or SC State or Grambling or Southern would make, they'd have football right now. They took it for granted and they're paying for it today.


I recall that article and it also stated that the reason for most of the situation at that school was that it had been severely underfunded for decades, and that the governor of the state was holding back about 70million dollars appropriated specifically for that school and additional millions after Katrina hit the city.