The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Holds Pep Rally, Press Conference Surrounding UAB Football
9/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB Head Football Coach Bill Clark, who Tuesday received a five-year contract extension as the leader of Blazer football, and Director of Athletics Mark Ingram spoke to an enthusiastic group of UAB fans on Wednesday as part of a pep rally and press conference at the UAB Campus Green.
The exciting afternoon came on the heels of Tuesday's announcement that Clark had agreed to a five-year extension as head coach of the Blazers. Click above in the links for a photo gallery from Wednesday's event, and also see below for quotes from Clark and Ingram, who met with members of the media following the on-stage portion.
Fans can secure their Blazer Football Season Tickets by calling the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 or visiting UABSports.com. Just a $25 per season ticket deposit will reserve your seat as the Blazers return to the gridiron for the 2017 season.
Head Football Coach Bill Clark
On the highs and lows of the past few months and what it means personally
"I think you're appreciative. I'm just appreciative of this community and our students and how hard they fought. Through the tough times that's what got us through."
On the new contract and what it means for commitment to football
"It says everything. It says we're going to be here through the length of a recruiting period and I think we'll do nothing but get better. It really tells the stability of our program."
On what's next for Clark and the program
"We've got a historic story to tell and I wish I would've said that up on the podium, but this is history and it's never been done like this. I think there will be guys out there across the country that want to be a part of this history. Obviously we want to win our state and region, but I think it's become a national story."
On any doubts of this day coming
"I think we all go through highs and lows. There were some negatives to social media, but the positive is, I got all those Tweets and emails and constant outpouring that they cared about me, football, this program, school and community, and you've seen that. You've seen people step up and you're going to continue to see people step up."
On the new contract closing this chapter of UAB football
"I think it does. I'll be honest, I want to challenge our folks that we still have work to do. We've got to build these facilities we need to match the rest of our school. I think we know that, we've said it but let's do it."
On how much easier the job is to recruit and lead the program after the new contract
"I think it makes it a lot easier and it shows that stability. It was amazing what was going on when the season ended. This really gives them that exclamation point and shows it is for real, and it is going to be here."
On the moment the team takes the field for the first time in 2017
"It's going to be special. You're talking about real history. But, we don't want to just show up. That wouldn't be good enough for us and we talk about it everyday that anybody can just be there. We want to come out and do something and be a viable team, compete, and that's going to take a lot of work and we've got to get the right folks in here."
On the process since June 1
"It's been interesting. We had a lot of things to work through and it was what it was, and as I say that's water under the bridge and here we are now."
Director of Athletics Mark Ingram
On the contract process
"Coach and I started talking about it on June 1. We started having conversation about what we needed to do to get to this day, but as we began speaking, it centered on the team and our student-athletes. It focused on how we could recruit and how do we find out what we would be able to do for the NCAA and the conference. We had to take care of those matters first, and we both agreed that that was most important for the program. Not to say this wasn't important, but those things had to be addressed. Once we began speaking, it was very easy. Coach was great. Working with his agent Russ Campbell was a joy, so we appreciate all of it as being a comfortable and easy process."
On closing this chapter of UAB history
"We made the announcement on June 1. Our president stands up in front of everybody and says we plan to reinstate. Today, we announced we intend on doing that with Clark as our head coach. Bill Clark is going to be here for the next five years. I don't know what else we need to do. We are going to start scheduling games and make it even more official."
On football facilities
"The most important thing for us right now is to have a football operations facility. That is where our student-athletes live every day. It's a weight room, training room, locker room and offices and meeting rooms for our staff. That is where they will be 359 days out of the year. Now, we would be excited for an opportunity to play somewhere else downtown or somewhere else here in Birmingham. We would be thrilled about that, but to handle our business, we are going to take care of that operations facility first."
On how Clark's contract will help recruiting
"This tells recruits that it is official. They can leave nothing to doubt. There is no reason for them to question any more what our intentions are. If any other coach out there is telling them otherwise, that is simply not true."
On how important it was to sign Clark to a contract
"It was critically important for our program. All of our student-athletes know that Clark is going to be with us for the next five years. To every recruit that is sitting out there and considering UAB, it says that with absolute certainty, he is our coach."
On what happens next
"We are going to continue to recruit. Coach Clark and his staff have been hard at work at that all summer, trying to get the next great class of UAB Blazers to come here. We will sign a full class this February, and we will continue to build the team. We have a walk-on tryout next week. We are going to continue to work towards putting a team out on the field that we can all be proud of."
On how long the process took
"It has been pretty quick. When you think of all the hard work that has gone into it by the volunteers on the outside that worked towards that June 1 announcement. Since then, we have been moving very quickly. The NCAA and Conference USA have been fantastic to us. They have been so good to us in helping us create a reinstatement plan that works and meets all of their requirements and allows us to maintain our status both at the conference and the FBS levels. To be able to get that far this fast and now to sign Clark to a five-year agreement, I think we have worked very quickly."
On stadium possibilities
"We have had a lot of folks here in town tell us that they were interested in a new stadium. We would certainly be open to that conversation. If people want us to play in a new facility, we would love to be able to do that. At this point, that is not our priority."
For more information on UAB football, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_Football). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
