State Rep: 'Strong indications' UAB football won't be reinstated
Things aren’t looking good for the return of UAB football, at least according to an Alabama State Representative.
State Rep. Jack Williams told AL.com Thursday morning he's received "strong indications" that UAB President Ray Watts has decided not to reinstate the school's football program and plans to announce that news Friday night.
"This could lead to irreparable damage at UAB in its relationship with the community," Williams said.
Watts announced his decision to eliminate football, rifle and bowling last December, and Williams told Al.com that the president is “holding fast” to that decision. While Williams says the school is planning for a Friday night announcement, Watts said in a statement that no decision has been reached.
"We continue to consult with various stakeholders within the UAB community and consider the findings of the (College Sports Solutions) report, along with other important, valuable and mission-critical data, in order to make the best decision for UAB, guided by our vision, mission and strategic plan," Watts said. "We will meet with our constituent groups over the next week to receive their input as part of the decision-making process. We plan to make an announcement by June 1."
Williams told Al.com that Watts had meetings scheduled with powerful boosters on Thursday morning, both of whom would like UAB to reinstate football.
Williams said two key meetings are scheduled for this morning to try to convince Watts to reinstate football. Williams said four local business leaders have a meeting scheduled with University of Alabama System trustee Johnny Johns, and local philanthropist Jimmy Filler has a meeting scheduled with Watts.
Williams said he understands that Filler plans to present Watts with a multimillion-dollar guaranteed letter of credit to contribute to upgrading UAB's football facilities if that sport is reinstated.
When announcing his decision, Watts said the school could not afford to continue supporting the three eliminated sports. However, an independent economic analysis firm said in April that the decision to terminate the sports was was “ill-advised from a net cash-flow perspective.”
Additionally, the university enlisted College Sports Solutions to complete a report on the feasibility of reinstating the sports. According to Al.com, the CSS report said going either way were “viable options” for the school.
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!
