The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Rodney Bivens Named Assistant Football Coach At UAB
1/31/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 31, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- Rodney Bivens, who has made a name for himself as a highly-successful high school coach in the state of Alabama, has been named assistant football coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, according to an announcement by Blazer head coach Watson Brown.
Bivens will work with the UAB wide receivers and assumes the position previously held by Richard Moncrief, who resigned recently to become head coach at Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery.
Bivens, 47, joins the UAB coaching staff after spending the past three years as an assistant coach (running backs and quarterbacks) at Central High School in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He was head coach at Anniston (Ala.) High School from 1992-99 and helped lead his team to an Alabama Class 6A state championship in 1994. Anniston also won the state 6A crown in 1989 when Bivens was serving as defensive coordinator.
"I am really excited about having Rodney join our staff," said Brown. "We have come close to getting together before now. I've always had my eye on him and thought he'd be a great addition to our staff. I think it was a very positive move for our program when we hired Richard (Moncrief) from the high school ranks, and I believe Rodney will be a great asset for us as well."
In addition to his successful coaching stints at Tuscaloosa Central and Anniston High, Bivens also spent time as an assistant coach at Newnan (Ga.) High School (1999-2000), Bradshaw High School in Florence, Ala. (1981-87) and Shades Valley High in Birmingham (1981).
"I have always had a goal to coach at the college level and this is an exciting opportunity for me," said Bivens. "Now that I have the opportunity, I am going to make the most of it and work very hard to help coach Brown and the UAB program. I think this is a good fit for me and for me."
Two of Bivens' former players at Central are current members of the UAB team (junior tight end Sam Dudley and sophomore safety Julius Wainwright).
A 1980 graduate of the University of North Alabama, Bivens earned his Masters degree in physical education there in 1985.
