Report: UAB unlikely to receive bowl bid
The hits keep coming for UAB football.
After the end of the program was announced on Tuesday, it looks like the Blazers will not be invited to a bowl game despite their 6-6 record this season.
According to ESPN’s Brett McMurphy, UAB’s hopes of being invited to a bowl game “are pretty much dead.”
UAB’s conference, Conference USA, has five bowl berths and its rules require schools with the best records to be selection to the league’s affiliated bowls. Five teams, Marshall (11-1), Louisiana Tech (8-4), Western Kentucky (7-5), Rice (7-5) and UTEP (7-5), all have better records than the Blazers.
UAB registered its first non-losing season since 2004 this year under first-year coach Bill Clark, but the team’s only chance of playing in a postseason game would come from an at-large bid from a bowl game not affiliated with C-USA that has an opening.
“No one will touch them with what’s going on with the program since other options exist,” a source told McMurphy.
There are 76 overall bowl berths available with 79 bowl eligible teams. Additionally, Oklahoma State and Temple – both 5-6 – can clinch eligibility this weekend with wins. UAB’s chances of landing a spot do not look good.
The university opted to shut down the program, along with its bowling and rifle teams, at the end of the 2014-15 academic year due to financial concerns.
"The Athletic Department faces many challenges given the rapidly evolving NCAA landscape and soaring operating costs, which place extreme pressure and a growing financial burden on programs like UAB's. Costs are continuously spiraling upwards driven by cost-of-attendance payments to players, meals, equipment, facilities, coaches, travel and more," the school said in a statement.
Conference USA will announce its bowl lineup on Sunday.
For more UAB news, visit BlazerSportsReport.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
