re: Auburn & Bama Fans: Question regarding the return of UAB football

So much bad information in this thread. I don't think Alabama should have to play anyone, but I do think it would be more responsible of our state to have more in-state schools playing each other. I don't really care if UAB plays Alabama (though I am a fan of both schools), but these are the facts:

On the "only collected $28,000" garbage that has been passed around:

1.)That number is wrong as the AD has already said it was.

2.) This 20ish million in donations is over the course of 5 years (i.e, only roughly 4-5 million will be collected per year). The first payable year for *most* people is not until early 2016 and at best some have to pay in late 2015. UAB does not even begin play until 2017. If the first installment isn't paid in the first quarter of 2016 then maybe this would be an actual story. Right now it doesn't mean anything.

3.) Most people did not pay early because they had not at the time of that al.com news article even announced if/when UAB will be playing again or if Bill Clark's contract would be extended. Why is it taking months and months to extend a coaching contract? You can not blame supporters for not sending their pledges yet when the agreed upon dates are late 2015 to early 2016. UAB supporters only recently heard anything last week. The program has been "reinstated" for almost 2 months.

The "we don't gain anything from playing UAB" argument:

You don't gain anything from playing FAU or USM or Western Carolina. UAB certainly doesn't gain anything from a school in the Alabama system giving 2 rival schools 1 to 1.4 million dollars annually a piece all while the board is approving a shutdown of their football team in the name of "fiscal responsibility". I at least understand scheduling USM since there is history there. There is no history with MTSU or FAU, etc. It is dumb for our entire state that more of our programs do not play each other. UAB beat both FAU and USM on the road last season.

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I also don't see the point in having the team at all if it's being propped up by the university as a whole. I will still go to games but I definitely didn't think it was a terrible decision to end the program. No one, other than the athletes, attends UAB solely because they have a football team. I didn't, and I don't know anyone else who did either.

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Countless kids attend ANY school simply because they have a football team. Most kids doing band, cheerleading, dance, etc would choose other schools if they did not offer those programs. Most of those kids don't get full rides and end up paying near full tuition. That's in the 50-100 freshmen per year range minimum.