Study concludes shuttered football program at UAB made money

KrAzY3

Hall of Fame
Jan 18, 2006
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kraizy.art
Those numbers are pure fantasy. UAB sold almost no tickets for what is supposed the the sport that carries the athletic dept. The city of Birmingham bought a ton of the tickets and gave them away. ( I have a friend who works for the city and she took them for the coupon on the back and never attended a single game) My point is very few actual fans pay for tickets. They may have had 7 or 8,000 there, but how many of those people actually ponied up the cost of a ticket. UAB football is a total waste of money for the University system. It will never be anything more than something the politicians fight over.
I'd just like to say that I find your use of facts sickening.
 

Crimson1967

Hall of Fame
Nov 22, 2011
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If you live in Birmingham, your tax dollars will be buying twice as many tickets as before. Also, the UAB SGA has raised student fees $25 to help fund football. Without asking the student body, of course.


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rgw

Suspended
Sep 15, 2003
20,852
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Tuscaloosa
This battle really isn't about football though. It is about undergraduate admissions. If the BOT is being nefarious in any way, it might be the desire to deemphasize UAB undergraduate programs since the flagship university is an hour away and they want Tuscaloosa to reach 50k in the next decade. The best way to lower undergraduate admissions is to take away things like football, marching bands, etc. I think UA has probably almost tapped out the out-of-state market. UA administrators may also worry that too many more out-of-state students will lead to blowback politically in the state. I think that is a legitimate criticism of the Witt growth plan. UA really doesn't feel like it is serving the state as much as they are serving as UT-Austin's backup school for Texans who couldn't get admitted or join their daddy/momma's greek letters. They want to grow from within and commuter undergraduates in B-ham are a ripe group for them to poach.

That is speculation but it is far more rational than some horse manure argument that Alabama really cares about UAB football in any way having to do with athletics.
 
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JDCrimson

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Feb 12, 2006
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I believe I heard once a while back the undergraduate programs uab were not profitable but the graduate and doctoral programs were very profitable. Right now the tuscaloosa campus has a budget that is almost totally dependent on out of state enrollment and that home state students are getting squeezed out due to budget issues. There is a dilemma here and it looks as though they are to target the low hanging fruit to ease the budget with UAB football being the biggest blackhole in the whole system.
 

BamaPokerplayer

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Oct 10, 2004
3,112
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I believe I heard once a while back the undergraduate programs uab were not profitable but the graduate and doctoral programs were very profitable. Right now the tuscaloosa campus has a budget that is almost totally dependent on out of state enrollment and that home state students are getting squeezed out due to budget issues.There is a dilemma here and it looks as though they are to target the low hanging fruit to ease the budget with UAB football being the biggest blackhole in the whole system.
Sad, I heard about this happening to California universities, was hoping it would not happen at Bama.
 

rgw

Suspended
Sep 15, 2003
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Tuscaloosa
It is happening/already happened in Tuscaloosa. It is probably 50/50 split right now. Considering the growth plan, the lack of growth in quality students out of high school (and population growth in general)...it could go 60/40 for out-of-state before long. I think it idea that the UAB football deal being a play towards returning UAB to a thin undergraduate program is sound in that regard. If they could grab a chunk out of UAB's admissions over the next decade then they could at least keep it around a 50/50 split.
 

KrAzY3

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I really don't see how football in and of itself at UAB impacts admissions though. I don't see how students who don't go to UAB games go there because of the games they don't go to. I mean it's not like the football team is big enough to up their attendance figures noticeably.
 

rgw

Suspended
Sep 15, 2003
20,852
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Tuscaloosa
I really don't see how football in and of itself at UAB impacts admissions though. I don't see how students who don't go to UAB games go there because of the games they don't go to. I mean it's not like the football team is big enough to up their attendance figures noticeably.
I think it is more emotional/symbolic than entirely direct. The football program was always about UAB becoming more of a factor in-state. It doesn't matter that the product would hardly attract those looking for an SEC game day environment, it is a "hey look we do regular undergraduate things and not just grad and post-grad programs!" I think football is just the first thing to go. I bet undergraduate programs will be pared down in the next few years to reallocate funding to the research breadwinners and their more lauded graduate and medical programs.
 

Rama Jama

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Jan 4, 2011
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This idea that Witt wants to push kids to the Tuscaloosa campus is laughable. He wants to employ the same growth model for UAB as he did for the Tuscaloosa campus. Have you seen the new commercials promoting UAB? I had never seen any promotion of UAB until recently. The academic side of UAB is basically healthy aside from the fact funding is decreasing at the state level which necessitated the recruitment of out of state students. Dr. Witt intends on growing both campuses as well as UAH.

This is strictly about athletics and may have as much to do with title 9 as anything since you have to fund additional women's sports to match football. Someone correct me if I am wrong. Football at UAB can be successful if it is played at the FCS level when you do not have the high costs associated with travel and additional scholarship costs. UAB would also be competitive at that level which would probably be able to win a championship where the have zero chances of winning one at the FBS level. They could play at the Hoover met.
 

Rama Jama

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Mamacalled

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Like I was saying:

UAB boosters can exceed financial deficit detailed in CSS report, says key supporter

So, around 3 mil a year? "The CSS report calculates a $3.165 million annual deficit if UAB revives the three sports. Craft believes that number drops to $2.285 million when you subtract the current deficit without football and the one-time fees associated with disbanding the football program last December."
That does not include a new facility and only supports them for five years. What happens then and where are they going to come up with the money for a new stadium?
 

bamahippie

All-SEC
Apr 8, 2000
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For how long? When they lose 8 games a year for 2 years , does anyone really think they will step up then? Wishful thinking. If they want a team, drop down a level to the FCS level. This is the only way it makes sense. Think about it, would you sign to pay for a team that just gave up the sport a year before?
It may be wishful, but the blame can't ALL be put on UAB supporters. Boosters and donors were not even aware of imminent shutdown until it was too late, and even then offered money to reverse the decision. That was just too little to late, at the time. Since, a fire has been lit under some very important and influential people to reverse this decision, and there is a June 1 deadline for pledges. There are about 100 other prominent business folks in the B'ham area that are still to be contacted, and some guys have not even announced their contributions yet. $7.5 mil is just the start. And they only need so much to get started. I don't exactly call that wishful thinking on the dollars, considering they now have a precedent on fund-raising when needed. On players willing to come? I think you may be underestimating Bill Clark, if he is in fact coming back. He brought a program from the doldrums, and crap facilities, to a .500 record in short order, and was going somewhere, as far as CUSA teams go.
 

bamahippie

All-SEC
Apr 8, 2000
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That does not include a new facility and only supports them for five years. What happens then and where are they going to come up with the money for a new stadium?
I don't understand. Do you guys think that UAB or UAB-affiliated folks are too stupid to have a systematic way to raise funds for athletics? Just because the recent history isn't positive, that it can't be done?
 

RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
39,407
6
0
Prattville
It may be wishful, but the blame can't ALL be put on UAB supporters. Boosters and donors were not even aware of imminent shutdown until it was too late, and even then offered money to reverse the decision. That was just too little to late, at the time. Since, a fire has been lit under some very important and influential people to reverse this decision, and there is a June 1 deadline for pledges. There are about 100 other prominent business folks in the B'ham area that are still to be contacted, and some guys have not even announced their contributions yet. $7.5 mil is just the start. And they only need so much to get started. I don't exactly call that wishful thinking on the dollars, considering they now have a precedent on fund-raising when needed. On players willing to come? I think you may be underestimating Bill Clark, if he is in fact coming back. He brought a program from the doldrums, and crap facilities, to a .500 record in short order, and was going somewhere, as far as CUSA teams go.
They didn't feel the need to donate money until the program was closed. Why? They didn't care enough about it to say "I'm going to give my money to help support this because I enjoy going to their games and watching them play"?
 

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