The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Athletics Celebrates Outstanding Performances in 2020-21
6/22/2021 12:10:00 PM | General
BIRMINGHAM – A global pandemic will always be associated with this past year, but the UAB Department of Athletics made history of its own by collectively putting together one of the most successful seasons UAB has ever seen.
Despite all the challenges that COVID-19 presented, the Blazers battled through each obstacle to achieve new milestones for many of its sports.
"The dedication and sacrifices our student-athletes, coaches and support staff showed throughout the most unique year in college athletics history was truly amazing," said UAB Director of Athletics Mark Ingram. "To achieve the amount of success both in competition and in the classroom is a testament to the core values of our department which is to Win Championships, Graduate with Honors and Make a Difference."
UAB football set the tone by capturing its second Conference USA title while battling through major adversity. When COVID-19 was at its peak, success for the Blazers came to a halt; four consecutive games were canceled which span 42 days – the longest layoff of any team in the nation.
When the Blazers were able to retake the field, UAB traveled to Rice on Dec. 12 with a chance to capture its third-consecutive C-USA West Division title. The Blazers were down seven starters, 11 key contributors and only traveled 40 scholarship players to the contest due to COVID protocol.
Despite all of the challenges, UAB answered the bell by defeating the Owls 21-16 to capture a league record third-straight C-USA West title. The team rode that momentum in Huntington the following week and defeated Marshall 22-13 to secure its second Conference USA championship in the past three years.
This championship was just the start of something great. Soon thereafter, men's basketball, softball, volleyball and men's golf teams were breaking records of their own.
On March 20, 2020, the Blazers welcomed home Andy Kennedy to lead the UAB men's basketball program. The second leading scorer in program history, Kennedy made it his mission to restore the Bartow Tradition, and he did not disappoint.
His team won 22 games, which is most in UAB history for a first-year coach and most wins since the 2015-16 season. While their conference championship hopes came up short, the program is optimistic for Kennedy and the team's future.
The softball team also hired a new coach in Joe Guthrie following the 2019-20 year, and his first year easily surpassed expectations. The team went 31-19, reaching its third ever C-USA championship game.
The 31 wins marked the most since 2015, and its 15-5 conference record was the second best in school history. The team also produced four All-Conference USA First Team selections, which are the most in program history.
Following a regular season which saw the UAB men's golf team earn the program's highest national ranking ever (No. 5), the Blazers earned a berth into NCAA Regionals for the 13th time in the program's illustrious history.
At Regionals, UAB captured the attention of the golf world with a miraculous comeback in the final round en route to a fifth-place finish, which qualified the Blazers for their eighth NCAA National Championship appearance. UAB finished 24th at nationals, its fifth best finish in school history.
Junior Nick Robillard was named the Conference USA Golfer of the Year, while Mike Wilson earned his second-consecutive C-USA Coach of the Year award.
Led by first-year head coach in Betsy Freeburg, the UAB volleyball team secured its first C-USA Championship berth since 2013. Redshirt sophomore Fernanda Maida was named All-Conference USA First Team and AVCA All-South Region Team. Her season was highlighted by achieving a program record 38 kills in one match – the highest single game kills total of anyone in the NCAA this past season.
Other notable performances included the women's cross country team finishing fifth at the Conference USA Championship (its best finish since 2017), women's tennis team notching 14 victories (the third most in school history and the most since the 2006-07 season), beach volleyball earning its first national ranking (No. 20) in program history, and track & field having three athletes qualify for NCAA East Prelims.
Along with all the notable performances on the field and court, UAB also achieved great success in the classroom and in the community.
Collectively, UAB maintained a 3.25 fall GPA and a 3.38 spring GPA. The Blazers saw 78 percent of their student-athletes maintain a 3.0 GPA and UAB had 11 players earn Conference USA All-Academic Team honors while celebrating 79 graduates.
And despite minimal face-to-face interaction due to the pandemic, UAB was still able to rank 10 nationally in community services and logged over 2,000 hours while having 100 percent participation from every team.
It was a banner year for UAB Athletics and it took extreme dedication from the student-athletes, coaches and support staff to collectively Win As One.
*A special thank you to all of the UAB Athletic Trainers for facing the challenges of COVID-19 head-on by continuously testing our student-athletes and giving them an opportunity to compete throughout the pandemic.
Despite all the challenges that COVID-19 presented, the Blazers battled through each obstacle to achieve new milestones for many of its sports.
"The dedication and sacrifices our student-athletes, coaches and support staff showed throughout the most unique year in college athletics history was truly amazing," said UAB Director of Athletics Mark Ingram. "To achieve the amount of success both in competition and in the classroom is a testament to the core values of our department which is to Win Championships, Graduate with Honors and Make a Difference."
UAB football set the tone by capturing its second Conference USA title while battling through major adversity. When COVID-19 was at its peak, success for the Blazers came to a halt; four consecutive games were canceled which span 42 days – the longest layoff of any team in the nation.
When the Blazers were able to retake the field, UAB traveled to Rice on Dec. 12 with a chance to capture its third-consecutive C-USA West Division title. The Blazers were down seven starters, 11 key contributors and only traveled 40 scholarship players to the contest due to COVID protocol.
Despite all of the challenges, UAB answered the bell by defeating the Owls 21-16 to capture a league record third-straight C-USA West title. The team rode that momentum in Huntington the following week and defeated Marshall 22-13 to secure its second Conference USA championship in the past three years.
This championship was just the start of something great. Soon thereafter, men's basketball, softball, volleyball and men's golf teams were breaking records of their own.
On March 20, 2020, the Blazers welcomed home Andy Kennedy to lead the UAB men's basketball program. The second leading scorer in program history, Kennedy made it his mission to restore the Bartow Tradition, and he did not disappoint.
His team won 22 games, which is most in UAB history for a first-year coach and most wins since the 2015-16 season. While their conference championship hopes came up short, the program is optimistic for Kennedy and the team's future.
The softball team also hired a new coach in Joe Guthrie following the 2019-20 year, and his first year easily surpassed expectations. The team went 31-19, reaching its third ever C-USA championship game.
The 31 wins marked the most since 2015, and its 15-5 conference record was the second best in school history. The team also produced four All-Conference USA First Team selections, which are the most in program history.
Following a regular season which saw the UAB men's golf team earn the program's highest national ranking ever (No. 5), the Blazers earned a berth into NCAA Regionals for the 13th time in the program's illustrious history.
At Regionals, UAB captured the attention of the golf world with a miraculous comeback in the final round en route to a fifth-place finish, which qualified the Blazers for their eighth NCAA National Championship appearance. UAB finished 24th at nationals, its fifth best finish in school history.
Junior Nick Robillard was named the Conference USA Golfer of the Year, while Mike Wilson earned his second-consecutive C-USA Coach of the Year award.
Led by first-year head coach in Betsy Freeburg, the UAB volleyball team secured its first C-USA Championship berth since 2013. Redshirt sophomore Fernanda Maida was named All-Conference USA First Team and AVCA All-South Region Team. Her season was highlighted by achieving a program record 38 kills in one match – the highest single game kills total of anyone in the NCAA this past season.
Other notable performances included the women's cross country team finishing fifth at the Conference USA Championship (its best finish since 2017), women's tennis team notching 14 victories (the third most in school history and the most since the 2006-07 season), beach volleyball earning its first national ranking (No. 20) in program history, and track & field having three athletes qualify for NCAA East Prelims.
Along with all the notable performances on the field and court, UAB also achieved great success in the classroom and in the community.
Collectively, UAB maintained a 3.25 fall GPA and a 3.38 spring GPA. The Blazers saw 78 percent of their student-athletes maintain a 3.0 GPA and UAB had 11 players earn Conference USA All-Academic Team honors while celebrating 79 graduates.
And despite minimal face-to-face interaction due to the pandemic, UAB was still able to rank 10 nationally in community services and logged over 2,000 hours while having 100 percent participation from every team.
It was a banner year for UAB Athletics and it took extreme dedication from the student-athletes, coaches and support staff to collectively Win As One.
*A special thank you to all of the UAB Athletic Trainers for facing the challenges of COVID-19 head-on by continuously testing our student-athletes and giving them an opportunity to compete throughout the pandemic.
UAB vs ECU Post Game Press Conference
Sunday, March 08
UAB vs North Texas Post Game Press Conference
Sunday, March 01
UAB MBB vs Tulane Post Game Press Conference
Sunday, February 15
UAB MBB vs Rice Postgame
Sunday, February 08
