List of UAB Blazers football seasons
The UAB Blazers college football team competes as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, and represents the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the West Division of Conference USA (C-USA). Through the 2020 season, the Blazers played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.[1] The Blazers will open the new Protective Stadium, located on the grounds of the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex, for the 2021 season.[2] Since their inaugural 1991 season, the Blazers have played in 324 games, and entering the 2021 season, they have compiled an all-time record of 153 wins, 169 losses and 2 ties, and appeared in four bowl games. The Blazers qualified for a fifth bowl game in 2020, but that game was canceled amid COVID-19.[3][4]
For the 1991–92 seasons, UAB competed as a Division III independent, unaffiliated with a conference. As a Division III school, the Blazers compiled an overall record of 11 wins, 6 losses, and 2 ties before moving up to Division I-AA for the 1993 season.[5] As a Division I-AA independent for the 1993 through 1995 seasons, UAB compiled an overall record of 21 wins and 12 losses before they moved up to Division I-A.[4] The Blazers entered the 1996 season as an I-A independent,[6] and in their first I-A game, UAB lost to in-state rival Auburn 29–0. They finished their first I-A season with 5 wins and 6 losses. Already a participating member of Conference USA in other sports, on November 13, 1996, UAB was admitted to the league as a football playing member effective the 1999 season.[7]
The longest tenured head coach of the Blazers was Watson Brown who led UAB for 12 seasons between 1995 and 2006.[8] Brown coached the Blazers to their first bowl game in the 2004 Hawaii Bowl and led the team to an overall record of 62 wins and 74 losses before he resigned after the 2006 season.[8] After Bill Clark led UAB to a record of six wins and six losses in his first season as head coach, on December 3, 2014, university president Ray Watts announced the elimination of the football program effective at the end of the 2014–15 season.[9] However, due to major public outcry, followed by a significant fundraising drive, UAB announced within six months that the football program would be reinstated, with play restarting in 2017.[10]
Seasons
[edit]| Bowl Eligible | Bowl game berth ^ |
| Season | Head coach | Conference | Conference finish | Division finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | Post–season result | AP Poll [A 2] |
Coaches' Poll [A 3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Jim Hilyer | Division III Independent | — | — | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | N/A | N/A |
| 1992 | — | — | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
| 1993 | Division I-AA Independent | — | — | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
| 1994 | — | — | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
| 1995 | Watson Brown | — | — | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |
| 1996 | Division I-A Independent | — | — | 5 | 6 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1997 | — | — | 5 | 6 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998 | — | — | 4 | 7 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999 | Conference USA | T–2nd | — | 5 | 6 | — | — | — | — | |
| 2000 | T–5th | — | 7 | 4 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001 | T–2nd | — | 6 | 5 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002 | T–5th | — | 5 | 7 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003 | T–6th | — | 5 | 7 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004 | T–2nd | — | 7 | 5 | — | Lost Hawaii Bowl to Hawaii Warriors, 40–59^ | — | — | ||
| 2005 | — | T–5th | 5 | 6 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006 | — | 5th | 3 | 9 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007 | Neil Callaway | — | 6th | 2 | 10 | — | — | — | — | |
| 2008 | — | T–4th | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009 | — | T–4th | 5 | 7 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010 | — | 5th | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011 | — | T–4th | 3 | 9 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012 | Garrick McGee | — | 5th | 3 | 9 | — | — | — | — | |
| 2013 | — | T–5th | 2 | 10 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014 | Bill Clark | — | T–3rd | 6 | 6 | — | — | — | — | |
| 2017 | — | T–2nd | 8 | 5 | — | Lost Bahamas Bowl to Ohio Bobcats, 6–41^ | — | — | ||
| 2018 | 1st | 1st | 11 | 3 | — | Won Conference USA Football Championship vs. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, 27–25 Won Boca Raton Bowl vs. Northern Illinois Huskies, 37–13^ |
— | — | ||
| 2019 | 2nd | T–1st | 9 | 5 | — | Lost Conference USA Football Championship vs. Florida Atlantic Owls, 6–49 Lost New Orleans Bowl vs. Appalachian State Mountaineers, 17–31^ |
— | — | ||
| 2020 | 1st | 1st | 6 | 3 | — | Won Conference USA Football Championship vs. Marshall Thundering Herd, 22–13 Gasparilla Bowl vs. South Carolina Gamecocks – canceled |
— | — | ||
| 2021 | — | 2nd | 9 | 4 | — | Won Independence Bowl vs. BYU Cougars, 31-28^ | RV | — | ||
| 2022 | Bryant Vincent (Interim) | T–4th | – | 7 | 6 | — | Won Bahamas Bowl vs. Miami RedHawks, 24-20^ | — | — | |
| 2023 | Trent Dilfer | American Athletic Conference | T-8th | – | 4 | 8 | — | – | — | — |
Totals
[edit][when?]
| Wins | Losses | Ties | Win percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular-season games | 172 | 187 | 2 | .479 |
| Bowl games | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 |
| All games | 153 | 169 | 2 | .481 |
Reference: [3]
| ||||
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- General
- 2021 UAB Football Media Guide. Birmingham, Alabama: UAB Media Relations. 2021.
- National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "Bowl/All-Star Game Records" (PDF). 2014 NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA.org. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF). 2014 NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA.org. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- Specific
- ^ Clegg, Jonathan (December 3, 2014). "Without UAB football, what happens to Legion Field?". The Wall Street Journal. WSJ.com. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ "UAB Football Releases Complete 2021 Schedule" (Press release). UAB Blazers. January 27, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
- ^ a b "2021 UAB Football Quick Facts" (PDF). UAB Blazers. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
- ^ a b DeLassus, David. "Alabama–Birmingham Yearly Totals". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on December 8, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ Bolton, Clyde (August 4, 1993). "The Blazers' I-AA debut draws near". The Birmingham News. p. 1C.
- ^ Martin, Wayne (November 9, 1995). "UAB football approved for I-A". The Birmingham News.
- ^ Martin, Wayne (November 15, 1996). "Blazers football gets league ok for '99". The Birmingham News.
- ^ a b "Watson Brown takes Tennessee Tech job after 12 years at UAB". USA Today. Associated Press. December 9, 2006. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ "UAB shutting down football program". ESPN.com. ESPN.com news services. December 3, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ "UAB to reinstate football for 2017 season". ESPN.com. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- ^ a b Football Bowl Subdivision Records, p. 80