I like UAB in the West and here's why

Harry · November 5, 2013

UAB's version of UNT's Hayden Fry is a man by the name of Gene Bartow. If you are interested about him here a link to his site: http://www.uabsports.com/gene-bartow/

Bartow was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame and led UAB to an NIT appearance in his second year and went on to 7 straight NCAA tourney appearances including trips to the elite eight and sweet sixteen. The man is a legend and UAB basketball while not what it once was has a history and resume that not many programs can match.

I like Birmingham as a town and a place to visit. A lot of history and things to do there and while not a short trip it's not too far away. I think that while somewhat in the shadow of the Tide they have managed to build an outstanding academic institution and medical school. I see many correlations between UAB and UNT actually.

I like their fans that I have come in contact with and they seem to be much like us, hopeful and with a brighter vision for their future than perhaps many of the prognosticators and the status quo has. They have two talented young coaches in their major sports who are both just in their second years. Their football program has a good young coach in Garrick McGee who was a finalist for the Broyles award which is given to the nation's top assistant while at Arkansas. Their basketball coach Jerod Haase was a top assistant under Roy Williams for 13 years. That shows me that they are hiring quality and I expect this will pay off in future years.

I am not like many others, in particular Sun Belt schools who want to evaluate programs on where they are today and in the most recent past. It's not just about whether or not you are winning today but where do you project to be in the future. I like to look back and see what type of heritage the program has, what history is there that could be rekindled with wins, facilities and support. I also like to look at what they could be in the future given their academics, size and location. The only thing that really separates us from UAB right now is facilities. Legion Field for football is old and needs to be replaced with an on campus facility. It would be the equivalent of us playing all our games in the Cotton Bowl. As we have learned they have tried to build a new football stadium but were caught up in politics in the State of Alabama the last go-a-round. I don't think they will be kept down on this crusade forever. The Bartow Arena for basketball just got new locker rooms and is already a pretty nice facility with video boards etc.

By the way from a football attendance standpoint they have had some impressive high water marks over the last decade. In 2006 they had 36K for a game against Mississippi State and 33K the same year for Troy. In 2003 they had 45K for Southern Miss.

In summary -- Welcome UAB!! I think they have many positive assets and potential that you look for if you are Britton Banowsky and C-USA. If they can get their football stadium on campus their program could really take off. I think they will be a force in basketball and have a great history with Coach Bartow's legacy to build from.

GMG!