The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
#StayUndefeated: The Secret Behind UAB Football’s Home Success
1/31/2020 1:35:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM – Prior to 2017, the UAB football team had a winning percentage of .583 at Legion Field dating back to 1991.
Add 18 wins, zero losses and the nation's fourth longest active home winning streak, and UAB now sits amongst the top 40 teams in the country for overall home winning percentage (94-54-1, .634).
So what is the key? How have the Blazers been so successful at home in recent years?
"It was something Coach Clark started in 2014. Before every game, we claim the field, circle up and pray," Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Lyle Henley said. "The first thing he does is points up and tells us to look around. 'Think about the price you've paid and give everything you've got.'"
The Blazers make the trip to Legion Field every Friday morning at 6 a.m. for training in the offseason. It starts with explosive running drills, and it ends with 70 rows – approximately 140 ascending steps in a 72,000 capacity stadium – which serves as constant reminder of who the Blazers play for and why they can't let the home fans down.
"It's a combination of both physical and mental toughness," Henley said. "We start out with all explosive movements in the beginning of training for the first and second quarters, then the stadium steps are the third and fourth quarters. It's a finisher just like in a game.
"You've got guys now who have been in the system for four years since we brought the program back. It is ingrained in them. Any time you say the Old Grey Lady, anyone who has played here since The Return knows what that is. It is more of a mindset than anything."
Senior linebacker Luke Brasher is one of those players who has been in the system since The Return. He knows that the pain and sacrifice is all worth it to represent Birmingham.
"It works because it puts your body to such extreme conditions to where you want to quit, but you know you can't quit on your own home turf," Brasher said. "When you are going up those stadium steps and your legs start to fatigue, you know you have to finish. You look around and know that in six months there are going to people sitting right where I was running, and we want them to be impressed with what we do on the field."
There have been some historic moments at Legion Field throughout the past three years. Records have fallen, trophies have been raised and 18-consecutive celebrations have ensued.
And it's all because when the Blazers get to a game at Legion Field, it's easier than the training sessions six months beforehand.
"The one thing about the steps themselves is that you can't cheat those," Henley said. "You've got to perform them. There is no trick to them. It doesn't matter what kind of shape you are in – good or bad – they are there, and you have to go for them. When you get to a game and it's tough, it's the fourth quarter and it's 4th-and-1 and you think you can't do anymore, all you have to do is look up at the top of the stadium and know that you've been in a worse place before and that this is nothing you can't overcome."
UAB opens the 2020 season on Thursday, Sept. 3 at Legion Field against New Mexico State, and the preparation has already began.
Add 18 wins, zero losses and the nation's fourth longest active home winning streak, and UAB now sits amongst the top 40 teams in the country for overall home winning percentage (94-54-1, .634).
So what is the key? How have the Blazers been so successful at home in recent years?
"It was something Coach Clark started in 2014. Before every game, we claim the field, circle up and pray," Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Lyle Henley said. "The first thing he does is points up and tells us to look around. 'Think about the price you've paid and give everything you've got.'"
The Blazers make the trip to Legion Field every Friday morning at 6 a.m. for training in the offseason. It starts with explosive running drills, and it ends with 70 rows – approximately 140 ascending steps in a 72,000 capacity stadium – which serves as constant reminder of who the Blazers play for and why they can't let the home fans down.
"It's a combination of both physical and mental toughness," Henley said. "We start out with all explosive movements in the beginning of training for the first and second quarters, then the stadium steps are the third and fourth quarters. It's a finisher just like in a game.
"You've got guys now who have been in the system for four years since we brought the program back. It is ingrained in them. Any time you say the Old Grey Lady, anyone who has played here since The Return knows what that is. It is more of a mindset than anything."
Senior linebacker Luke Brasher is one of those players who has been in the system since The Return. He knows that the pain and sacrifice is all worth it to represent Birmingham.
"It works because it puts your body to such extreme conditions to where you want to quit, but you know you can't quit on your own home turf," Brasher said. "When you are going up those stadium steps and your legs start to fatigue, you know you have to finish. You look around and know that in six months there are going to people sitting right where I was running, and we want them to be impressed with what we do on the field."
There have been some historic moments at Legion Field throughout the past three years. Records have fallen, trophies have been raised and 18-consecutive celebrations have ensued.
And it's all because when the Blazers get to a game at Legion Field, it's easier than the training sessions six months beforehand.
"The one thing about the steps themselves is that you can't cheat those," Henley said. "You've got to perform them. There is no trick to them. It doesn't matter what kind of shape you are in – good or bad – they are there, and you have to go for them. When you get to a game and it's tough, it's the fourth quarter and it's 4th-and-1 and you think you can't do anymore, all you have to do is look up at the top of the stadium and know that you've been in a worse place before and that this is nothing you can't overcome."
UAB opens the 2020 season on Thursday, Sept. 3 at Legion Field against New Mexico State, and the preparation has already began.
Players Mentioned
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