UAB belongs in this conversation

I recently saw a graphic resurfacing on X, formerly Twitter. College Basketball Report ranked the top 100 programs nationally by combined football and basketball winning percentage over the last decade.

Would it surprise you to know that UAB ranked 31st in the country and seventh among Group of 6 programs through 2025?

It surprised a lot of people, which is the whole problem with perception at UAB.

UAB played East Carolina on national television the other night — homecoming — and the Blazers won a good game that went to overtime. But the entire narrative on Twitter until the final whistle was the empty seats at Protective Stadium. A win on national television, and the only thing anyone wanted to discuss was the attendance.

That narrative needs to change, and to start that process, the narrative around the program itself must change.

The data says UAB is one of the best Group of 6 programs in the country in the two sports that matter most — and has been for a decade, even through the worst coaching hire in recent G6 history. The data also says the institution has chronically underinvested relative to its conference peers and its own university profile. Both of those things are true, and both of them require action — from the institution and from the fan base.

Look at the G6 company UAB is keeping on that list. Boise State at No. 7. Liberty at No. 8. Memphis at No. 9. San Diego State at No. 10. Toledo at 16. James Madison at 25. UAB at 31. Those are programs that have either been in the conversation for Power 4 invitations or are building toward one.

UAB is winning more in the two major sports over the past decade than programs like Appalachian State, Western Kentucky, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Fresno State, Ohio, Buffalo, Coastal Carolina, North Texas, Middle Tennessee, Hawaii, Colorado State and Temple — programs that are widely perceived to be at UAB's level or better. Most of them aren't, and in basketball, most of them have never been close.

Jacksonville State (No. 60), Troy (No. 61) and South Alabama (No. 100) were also in the top 100. All three are overachieving relative to investment because sports matter in Alabama. But they don't have the basketball heritage and pedigree that UAB has, and they are not UAB's institutional peers or the measure of UAB's success. UAB shouldn't be benchmarking its athletic budgets against theirs, or against the average of theirs.

In all-time college basketball winning percentage, UAB ranks 27th nationally — 965-562 (.632) since the program tipped off in 1978. Only four mid-major programs that also play FBS football have a higher all-time winning percentage: UNLV, Western Kentucky, Memphis and Temple. Those programs have had 67 to 129 seasons to build their records. UAB has had 48.

Andy Kennedy is 145-62 (.700) in six seasons as head coach, with two conference tournament championships, two NCAA Tournament appearances and the 15th most wins in the NCAA over that span — six consecutive 20-win seasons. His contract was extended through 2031 at $1.5 million a year, which puts him well below his peers at Memphis and South Florida.

In football, Bill Clark went 49-26 (.653) across six playing seasons, won two CUSA championships and survived the shutdown to rebuild the program from scratch. Under Clark, UAB football was one of the best in what was then the Group of 5, and the momentum he built carried the program into the American Conference.

Then UAB went from Prince and the Revolution to a drunk bar band.

Trent Dilfer went 4-8, then 3-9, then was fired during his third season with the team at the bottom of the conference. The team finished 4-8. He never won a road game in 15 attempts. Coaches at other G6 schools have lost more games, but when they were hired, the move was at least defensible. Going from Bill Clark to Trent Dilfer was not. It was the worst hire this century by a G6 program, and I'd argue the worst hire by any G6 program, period. Considering the foundation Clark built and the momentum of joining the American, the DiLLLLLLfer Error was an absolute disaster — one embarrassment after another.

Even with all that dragging the average down, UAB is one of the top G6 programs in the two sports that matter most. Now let's look at the bigger picture.

UAB is a Carnegie R1 research university — the highest research classification in the country — and the only public four-year university in the state's largest metropolitan area, with $915 million in annual research expenditures and a workforce that makes it Alabama's largest employer. Times Higher Education ranked it the No. 1 young university in the United States. TIME ranked it No. 137 globally in 2026 — top five among public institutions in the southeast and the highest-ranked institution in Alabama.

Birmingham is the No. 1 college football market in the country per Nielsen's 2026 Fandom Index — first nationally in interest level and live-event attendance. Protective Stadium is a $175 million facility that is five years old. Bartow Arena is being renovated. The university just welcomed a record freshman class, and the story of the shutdown, the rebuild and the return is unlike anything else in college athletics.

Based on that profile and the on-field results, UAB belongs in the same conversation as Memphis, South Florida, Tulane, Boise State, James Madison and San Diego State when the discussion turns to the top G6 programs and the possibility of advancing to the ACC, the Big 12 or a new best-of-the-best conference should the landscape create those opportunities. The numbers say UAB is one of those programs. The numbers also say the university hasn't been committed to investing at that level.

UAB has punched above its weight class from the day the university bought a basketball and the day it bought a football. Nobody is saying it has to match Memphis or Tulane dollar for dollar. But imagine what these programs could do if the institution committed to going for it right now.

The financial data makes the gap clear.

According to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, UAB's total athletic expenses are $42.1 million. The FBS median is $98.9 million, but a better comparison is UAB's own conference — the American Conference median is approximately $63.2 million. UAB is last among reporting schools in the conference in total athletic spending and producing better results than most of the programs above it.

Within its own conference, the gap is just as telling. Memphis is on the combined winning percentage list at No. 9, but Memphis is spending $73.2 million on athletics. Tulane is spending roughly $66 million and is not on the list. South Florida is spending $104.5 million — more than double what UAB spends — and is not on the list. UAB's football assistant coaching staff budget of $1.6 million ranked dead last among the nine American Conference schools with publicly available salary data in 2024. The NIL investment has been minimal, and the coaching salaries are modest compared to conference peers — Mortensen at $1 million a year, while Memphis is paying Charles Huff $1.8 million and South Florida is paying Brian Hartline $3.5 million.

UAB fans have made it possible through their giving for UAB to be in that position on this chart. The results are there despite the resources, not because of them.

Memphis, South Florida, James Madison and Tulane are investing in their front porches right now because conference realignment is reshaping the landscape and every G6 program is fighting for positioning. UAB's institution needs to recognize the urgency of this moment and invest accordingly.

I am not saying UAB fans need to give more, dig deeper, dig deeper, dig deeper. UAB fans have already done their part. They saved this football program. They fought the shutdown, showed up for the rebuild and stayed through three years of a hire that never should have happened and tried their best to smile and hope. They should not have to make that case twice. The institution needs to invest more and rise to this moment.

But showing up right now is how fans make that case impossible to ignore.

UAB is searching for an athletic director. A lively Protective Stadium during that search sends a direct message to every candidate in the country about the market, the fan base and the potential of this job. More fans in the building helps Mortensen and Kennedy recruit and retain players and gives the administration the evidence it needs to justify the investment this program deserves.

I understand those who checked out during the DiLLLLLLfer Error. The frustration was earned, but this is a new day. Mortensen and Kennedy and their players deserve seats filled.

There are two football games left at Protective Stadium — Charlotte on November 7 and UTSA on November 21. Be there and bring Momma'nem — your friends, your grandma, your aunt and your uncle, hijack your neighbors' kids, bring your church group — whatever it takes to close this football season strong. Then open the new era of Bartow Arena with loud and proud Blazer butts in seats.

Come back, show up, show out and don't let old narratives stick. The reality is that UAB is one of the best programs in the Group of Six in the two most important sports and it has coaches who can maintain and build on it if supported.