re: I have the random urge to hate on UAB Football right now…

UAB’s under the control of the University of Alabama Board of Trustees, and there’s lots of anecdotal evidence that this group doesn’t care much for the Blazers:

UAB tried to hire future Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher, but funds were denied at the 11th hour with no public comment.

UAB played in one of the most decrepit facilities in FBS, city-owned Legion Field. A proposal for a small stadium was denied as "the wrong project at the wrong time."

Coach Bill Clark created a plan for a $10 million practice facility funded substantially through private donations, replacing fields that routinely flooded. The mayor supported the project. The board never approved it, but months after killing football, greenlit a $4.5 million soccer complex.

When a local business arranged to upgrade practice turf at no cost, UA trustee Finis St. John had the project killed, according to an AL.com report.

In 2011, St. John implied publicly that UAB shouldn't have athletics. St. John and others feel the medical school should be UAB's focus, not football. In the state of Alabama.

UAB fans believe the trustees encourage a cycle of defeat in order to preserve focus on the Crimson Tide. When the trustees claimed UAB hadn't built enough support to warrant a stadium, fans used the Fisher denial to argue they never had a chance.

The idea here is that Alabama trustees want to hold down UAB for the benefit of the Crimson Tide. UAB’s Watts made the call to end the program, but the trustees probably had a fair bit of behind-the-scenes influence leading up to it.

Auburn has no dog in this hunt. All Bryant Jr. and Bama BOT.