Campus rally held after reports of possible UAB football shutdown

Students and alumni rallied on the campus of Alabama-Birmingham after multiple reports emerged Sunday that the school was prepared to shut the football team down this week.

According to Al.com, "hundreds" of people attended the rally to support the team and express their displeasure with the Alabama Board of Trustees, which would be making the decision about the football team's future. UAB is part of the University of Alabama system.

"If I had not had the opportunity to be a Marching Blazer or a mascot, I would not have come to UAB," Mitchell Miller, who helped organize the rally via social media, told Al.com. "I met my best friend here - we're both super fans, and he was a groomsman in my wedding. I met my wife here."

UAB beat Southern Miss on Saturday to become 6-6 and bowl eligible for the first time since 2004. The Blazers' turnaround is keyed in part by the hiring of Bill Clark, who signed a three-year contract as the team's coach before the season. Previous head coach Garrick McGee left to become the offensive coordinator at Louisville for 2014.

"It's important to me because I know what these guys feel like out on the field," Justin Craft, a member of UAB's first FBS team said about attending the rally. "We laid the first bricks for these guys to accomplish what they've accomplished."

Indications that the trustees were ready to shut the program down started flashing when former players wrote the school a letter in November about the importance of the team.

If UAB stops its football team the school may have to find a new conference for all its other sports. It's currently a member of Conference USA.

For more UAB news, visit BlazerSportsReport.com.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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