Hey Heckler, tell us how UAB got their football program started!
Gene Bartow had a lot to do with it.
We started playing club football (non-scholarship) in 1991 and then quickly made the transition through the ranks to get to D1-A in 1996.
In 2000 we beat LSU in Baton Rouge, just 9 years after we started our program.
Several years ago the UAT BOT threatened to shut down UAB football but they later took that back. They basically wanted our administration to do their best to cut our defecit and for our football program to support itself.
This past season we made it to our first bowl game and we are about to have a second player, Roddy White WR, taken in the 1st round of the NFL draft (Bryan Thomas of the NY Jets was our first 1st round pick in 2002).
It’s been an uphill battle but there are a lot of hard working people with a great vision for UAB football and where it can go.
It just takes time.
Sorry, I don’t have anymore info than that as far as in the ins and outs go, red tape, etc.
Thanks for the info. For a Blazers fan your OK with me!
If you ever hear anything else about how it happened, money wise, let me know!
[b]For a Blazers fan your OK with me![/b]
You obviously haven’t been around here very long.
Was it my lack of total defeatism and despairation or the fact that I’ve only posted 19 times that gave me away?
great reply 49R
[i]Originally posted by 49RFootballNow[/i]@Mar 28 2005, 12:07 AM [b] Was it my lack of total defeatism and despairation or the fact that I've only posted 19 times that gave me away? [/b]touche.
Hey PI, I’ve noticed that you are a bit negative about adding football here at Charlotte. As my name says I’m here to promote football. I hope to convert fans like you to the oblong ball darkside. 
[i]Originally posted by 49RFootballNow[/i]@Mar 28 2005, 09:42 AM [b] Hey PI, I've noticed that you are a bit negative about adding football here at Charlotte. As my name says I'm here to promote football. I hope to convert fans like you to the oblong ball darkside. :P [/b]Not negative, just realistic.
I love college football but knowing the financials involved in starting a program, I can say with great confidence that there will not be a program here in the next decade and probably much longer than that.
It doesn’t matter who the chancellor is or how many people think it should happen, it boils down to simple math. Our athletic department is already severely underfunded. We couldn’t affford the helmets for a football team, let alone the millions needed to start a program and remain title IV compliant.
[i]Originally posted by 49erpi[/i]@Mar 28 2005, 01:25 PM [b] let alone the millions needed to start a program and remain title IV compliant. [/b]To me this is the key to us starting football sooner rather than later.
Congress needs to exempt football from Title IX compliance. There is quite simply no women’s sport like it and you have to add 4 new ones just to equal it.
If that could happen, we’d be much closer to getting things going.
Anything worth doing is worth doing right and investing in!
If we can’t compete in football (the #1 sport in the nation), then why have any athletic programs at all?
I think we can all agree that the Niners shouldn’t fold shop, so we should do our best to be a complete athletic program.
As for money, if EZU can field a D1-A program, not to mention Wake, San Diego St., and Dr. Phil’s own Wyoming, then we sure as hell can too!
To quote Jimmy V. “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.”
UAB went from non scholarship football to a bowl game in 13 years. Charlotte went from final four basketball to a young program with no money available for improvement in less than 30 years. What a differance.
[i]Originally posted by 49RFootballNow[/i]@Mar 28 2005, 09:42 AM [b] Hey PI, I've noticed that you are a bit negative about adding football here at Charlotte. As my name says I'm here to promote football. I hope to convert fans like you to the oblong ball darkside. :P [/b]Unless you got lots of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ you'd better have lots of fairy dust because that's the ONLY way we will get f-ball in NINER NATION.
I agree with most of what Heckler said except we really started football in 1989 as a club team. It was a lot of fun watching those games.
1989 - Club
1991 - III
1993 - 1-AA
1996 - 1-A
1999 - C-USA
Of course club and III were not expensive since there weren’t any scholarships involved. If I remember right we were forced to go 1-AA when the NCAA changed the rules for playing in III. Gene Bartow pushed us on through to D1-A.
Jim Woodward was my dean and professor for one class in engineering school at UAB. What is his stance on Charlotte football?
Woodward’s not touching the issue, UABGrad. He’s retiring as Chancellor on June 30 but will be doing some teaching in the future.
“While Tennessee has great potential, basketball will always be third behind football and women’s basketball, while men’s basketball should always be the primary focus at Charlotte.”
Just sour grapes, or is he telling us not to expect football?
[i]Originally posted by gamer[/i]@Mar 28 2005, 08:07 PM [b] "While Tennessee has great potential, basketball will always be third behind football and women's basketball, while men's basketball should always be the primary focus at Charlotte."Just sour grapes, or is he telling us not to expect football? [/b]
Sour grapes. But we are still not getting football in the near or distant future.
What’s Bobby supposed to say,“Golly geez, I hope we get football at Charlotte so all the fans won’t pay as much attention to our string of 1st round tourney loses.”
Bobby is as excited by the prospect of a football program as Coach K is about Duke football having a winning season. In other words, he don’t give a damn!