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Amid less C-USA revenue, UAB forced to make tough cuts

Coach Bill Lewis
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Coach Bill Lewis

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The ever-widening gulf between the haves and have-nots of modern day college athletics hit UAB like a punch in the gut last month.

The athletic department was forced to cut or eliminate 12 positions before the start of its new fiscal year in July. The estimated savings are about $400,000. Caught in the middle of the sudden layoffs was Zac Schrieber.

Schrieber was a sports information director at Samford University for 14 years. Last month, he was offered a position by UAB to be the Blazers' new SID for men's basketball. For a father with two young children, it was a major step for his family and his career.

Then came the call from UAB's human resources.

Just before the end of business on Friday, June 15, and two days before the start of his new job at UAB, the university's human resources department informed him the position was no longer available.

Schrieber said the call came at 4:29 p.m. Samford's human resources department closed at 4:30 p.m.

"If I would have been told just four hours earlier, I could have most likely stopped everything on the Samford end of things and kept my job there," Schrieber said in a text message.

Schrieber is now unemployed for the first time in 23 years.

https://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2018...om#article

 

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Wag Tag Grand Master

Wag Tag

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This should be front page of the Birmingham Hillbilly Paper... What crap. Every athlete in that school should be up in protest how he was treated! AD should be fired!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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GrandGreen Grand Master

GrandGreen

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Typical behavior by in trouble organization, cut some of the fringes to make a show and very little difference.  

It is illustrative of a much bigger problem of the insane college athletic arms races, were the half nots and that probably includes 2/3 of the membership struggle to kept up with the top P5's who look for new ways to spend money.  

The only answer is to enact rules to at least curtail the spending foolishness.  Even the pro leagues have limits to keep a level of competition. 

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TheColonyEagle Grand Master

TheColonyEagle

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That is bad...

Having lived in the Birmingham area last year, I can tell you the return of UAB football was seen as a positive. They got a lot of local coverage and there was some buzz surrounding the program however it didnt' seem like the new stadium was seen in a positive light. A lot of complaining about spending that money. Plus now the shine is off the new thing and they'll have to get to work because even if UAB's buzz is positive, they are still DWARFED by Bama and Auburn in that area. If we think Big 12 has an impact on us, the SEC headquarters is in Bham, Tuscaloosa is 45 minutes away and Auburn is 2 hours away. Their alumni grow up in the Bham area, go off to school at Bama or Auburn, then come back to Bham for work and to raise families. I've never seen anything like it. Not to mention, Samford is located right there as well and has a lot of money and their athletics are doing really well. The football team is ranked in FCS and the baseball team is really good.

UAB has an uphill climb. They have to keep winning....their first 5-7 season could have a big impact on their momentum. A lot of pressure there....

 

 

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outoftown Veteran

outoftown

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No excuse for this for the AD. It was clear all along what C-USA TV revenue would be for this year, that didn't only come up at the fiscal end. It is also clear that it will be 200k more next season. If he thought that hiring a new SID was too expensive, there is no reason he would have needed to engage in the process in the first place. He endangered a family's economic well being with his incompetence.

Edited by outoftown
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GrayEagle Veteran

GrayEagle

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I'm not that close to the UAB situation but the whole thing reeks of mismanagement.

The old TV contract called for $200,000 per team and I'm not sure how much UAB received since they just revived the program.  The new contract calls for $400,000 per team.  Hardly anything to get giddy about since the former take was $1M but it's still more than their operating figure had been in the planning stage of the new season after the stadium bonds were approved.  What's so difficult about revising your budget to include any changes and wait until that budget is approved before hiring any new personnel?

The only plus that I can give the AD is the selection of the football coach.  Other than that, his administration appears to be a catastrophe and he should be out looking for a job along with the SID.

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ttunt1970 Collaborator

ttunt1970

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This is what happens when your school is under the umbrella of one Board of Regents. We are fortunate we have our own Board and 

I believe the Med school in Bnhm is under UAB, but still controlled by Bama Board.

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TheColonyEagle Grand Master

TheColonyEagle

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2 minutes ago, ttunt1970 said:

This is what happens when your school is under the umbrella of one Board of Regents. We are fortunate we have our own Board and 

I believe the Med school in Bnhm is under UAB, but still controlled by Bama Board.

I believe that’s correct. 

UAB’s president, Ray Watts doesn’t seem very popular. A lot of UAB folks see him as a puppet for the Board without UAB’s best interests in mind....

I remember driving by a stop sign in my neighborhood with a “fire Ray Watts” sticker on it.

GrayEagle Veteran

GrayEagle

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5 minutes ago, ttunt1970 said:

This is what happens when your school is under the umbrella of one Board of Regents. We are fortunate we have our own Board and 

I believe the Med school in Bnhm is under UAB, but still controlled by Bama Board.

All of UAB is under control of the Bama Board.  UAB does not have a board of directors.  They might have an appointment to the Bama Board to voice UAB's interests.

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