The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Letters from Mark Ingram
9/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | General
Dear Blazer Nation,
Recently we shared the exciting news that many of our fans had longed to hear… we had in fact agreed to a five-year extension of Head Football Coach Bill Clark’s contract! This was another positive progression in the reinstatement efforts for the Blazer Football program as we prepare for competition in 2017. Our next steps will be to begin scheduling non-conference games, complete the assistant coaching staff and continue recruiting student-athletes.
The fall meeting of the Alabama System Board of Trustees took place days later where our 2015-16 budget was formally approved. It was a tremendous opportunity for me personally to meet with members of the board, as well as leaders from our campuses in Huntsville and Tuscaloosa. It became clear to me that our entire system has much to be proud of.
I just returned from Dallas where I attended the D-1A Athletic Directors’ Association meetings. The association is comprised of Athletics Directors from FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) institutions, so it’s a fairly small group. While there, it was announced that former Maryland Basketball Student-Athlete, NBA Veteran and retired Congressman, Tom McMillen, has been hired as the Executive Director of the organization. This will be a key appointment as we collectively advocate for the great work being done on all of our campuses in Washington D.C.
Mark your calendars for the week of October 4 – 10 when UAB will celebrate Homecoming 2015! As usual, homecoming will be a fun time to see old friends, make new friends and for all of us to celebrate the many accomplishments of our great university. There are a number of events for our alumni, students and friends, including the 4th annual Hoops on the Haasephalt on Thursday Oct. 8th at 7pm. The event to officially begin the Blazer Basketball season is free and open to the public. This year, Hoops on the Haasephalt will be held on the Campus Green and begin with the crowning of Mr. and Miss UAB. Speaking of Blazer Basketball, we have already sold more season tickets to men’s basketball than all of last year, which is tremendous. You can reserve your season tickets at Bartow Arena by calling (205) 975-UAB1 or visiting UABSports.com.
On behalf of the UAB Department of Athletics staff and our nearly 350 student-athletes, we appreciate you continuing to support our program, in particular our men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, golf and cross country teams who are currently competing. Thank you for all you do for us…Go Blazers!
Warm Regards,
Mark T. Ingram
Director of Athletics
University of Alabama at Birmingham
