This is the report that UAB fans have been waiting on. The study that was conducted to review the numbers that were used to justify the termination of the UAB football program has concluded. Even though reports said the results would be released on Monday, AL.com received the results this evening and the news is positive for the Blazers.
The study conducted by College Sports Solutions (CSS) revealed that reinstating the football, bowling and rifle teams was a viable option for the university and that doing so would result in UAB athletic department taking on an annual deficit of $3.165 million dollars annually. A figure that is a mere drop in the bucket for a university that has a budget north of $1 billion dollars.
While the study said continuing on without the programs was also a viable option, the overall results are much more positive than the original report used to kill off the programs late last year.
UAB’s athletic department would have an annual deficit of $3.165 million if it reinstated football, rifle and bowling, according to a school commissioned report, obtained by AL.com.
The report, produced by College Sports Solutions, was presented to the UAB Athletic Assessment Task Force on Friday and is scheduled to be released to the public on Monday. Watts has revealed that he will announce his decision about whether to reinstate football, rifle and bowling by June 1.
CSS deduced that both continuing to exist without the three sports and reinstating them were “viable options” for UAB. However, it also stated in the report that due to the strong desire throughout the community for the sports to return a decision to reinstate them would boost donations greater than current levels.
“It would foster much goodwill and stimulate a substantial amount of spiritual and financial support from alumni, donors, ticket holders, friends, students, faculty and the community,” CSS wrote. “It could create a unique opportunity, not only through that support, but also through unprecedented positive national attention to the University.”
The firm was hired to review the CarrSports Consulting report that revealed last year that UAB athletic expenses would grow to $38.5 million by 2019, but revenue would increase by less than $1 million. It determined UAB would need to spend $49 million over a five-year period to be competitive in football. Those findings were the impetus behind UAB president Ray Watts‘ decision to disband three sports.
CSS’ report, which included a review of UAB’s financial records, portends a much more manageable deficit which could be closed by booster donations, increased student fees and corporate sponsorship, among other revenue sources.
Justin Craft, a former UAB player, has led private fundraising efforts and said Friday that he had raised $7.5 million in private donations. The Birmingham City Council recently pledged $2.5 million over the next five years, and the UAB Undergraduate Student Government Association passed a resolution to increase student fees resulting in a pledge of $550,000 annually if football, rifle and bowling teams come back.
The CSS report speculates that football could return in 2016 and that ticket sales and donations would increase in that scenario. Last year, UAB averaged 21,841 fans per game, an increase of 10,548 fans per game, the second-highest rise in the nation, according to recently released NCAA attendance figures.
Both Watts and the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees would look “favorably upon return of football, bowling and rifle if such a return were made with sound financial considerations and plans,” CSS concluded, based on interviews conducted with Watts and trustee Finis St. John. Watts had publicly stated that all options were on the table when he commissioned the task force to review his decision.
In its process of assessing campus-wide interest in UAB athletics, CSS determined there was a strong consensus “that the elimination of the three sports, particularly football, has been detrimental to the university.”
“We were struck by the near unanimity of these campus groups in their opinion that the elimination of the sports was damaging to the notion of a stimulating campus environment and detrimental to UAB’s own self-respect,” the report said.
Without football, UAB would still lose money until 2020 where it would make a $152,201 profit, according to CSS’ projections.
So we are officially at a crossroads with this entire situation. The original study used to terminate the football, bowling and rifle team looks like an absolute hatchet job at this point, as the study done by CSS returned much favorable results for those hoping that the programs will return in the near future.
While the athletic department wouldn’t be flipping a profit, a deficit of three million bucks is absolute chump change when you consider the fact that the same boosters and supporters who have raise over $12.5 million dollars in a matter of days would be able to cover that deficit to make ends meet. The crazy part is, that that donation figure as it sits doesn’t even include several big money donors and businesses who plan on donating to the cause so that football can return to the Southside of Birmingham.
At this point, I don’t see how Ray Watts can continue to justify his reasoning for terminating the programs after the results of this study has been made public. The study even took notice of the overwhelming support that the program had been receiving despite being terminated last year, and noted that this support would help the program thrive financially.
At this point the only road block for the football program being brought back is Watts or anyone higher up wo doesn’t want it to come back. The evidence is right there in black and white that it is possible for football program to exist for UAB, so the only question remaining is: Why does UAB not deserve to have a football program in 2016?
That my friends is only a question Ray Watts can answer at this point.