The University of Alabama at Birmingham is…shuttering its football program, becoming the first FBS football program to close since University of the Pacific in 1995.
So UAB is killing off its football program, which, given the generalized reaction from students and players, might give one reason to think there’d been a death in the family. I can certainly understand the disappointment and dismay (my alma mater wrestled with the same question, ultimately deciding to keep its team)… but it’s a game. At an institution of higher education. Perhaps it’s nothing more than a decision made by a school president who has the best interests of UAB’s mission in mind.
Lost in the Sturm und Drang over the demise of UAB’s football program was the announcement that the school’s rifle and bowling teams would also be cut. To no one’s surprise, no tears were shed nor was any weeping and gnashing of teeth heard over the end of those programs.
In the end, there was no way for UAB President Ray Watts to ignore the economic realities the school faced. Ironically, UAB finished its season with a 6-6 record and was bowl eligible for only the second time in school history and the first since 2004.
The university announced the decision Tuesday minutes after President Ray Watts met with the Blazers players and coaches, while several hundred UAB students and fans gathered outside for the third straight day in efforts to support the program. UAB made the decision after a campus-wide study conducted by a consulting firm over the past year.
“The fiscal realities we face — both from an operating and a capital investment standpoint — are starker than ever and demand that we take decisive action for the greater good of the Athletic Department and UAB,” Watts said in a statement released by the university. “As we look at the evolving landscape of NCAA football, we see expenses only continuing to increase. When considering a model that best protects the financial future and prominence of the Athletic Department, football is simply not sustainable.”
I’m certainly not one to underestimate or minimize the social and psychological impact that a football program can have on a school and a community. All one has to do is spend a day on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene (or at any Big 12 or SEC school) to understand that. Still, when the numbers don’t pencil out, at some point one needs to wake up and smell the cat litter. UAB is an institution of higher learning, not a football factory on the order of, say, the University of Alabama, which is a football program with a university riding its coattails. UAB’s team don’t have the rabid following, the TV contract, or any of the other things that make major college football financially feasible. So, do you take money from educational programs to fund football to keep your alumni happy, or do you do the reasonable and prudent thing and make what had to be a very difficult decision?
The good news is that the sun came up this morning and UAB was still largely intact. Numerous large colleges and universities manage to survive very nicely without a football team. Here in Portland, the University of Portland has made a significant commitment to its men’s and women’s soccer programs, and both teams have enjoyed considerable national success over the years.
Life goes on…and there’s always basketball, right??
