A group of donors in Birmingham, Ala. is not ready to let the UAB football program die, raising about $6 million to bring the Blazers back.
According to AL.com, the UAB Athletics Assessment Task Force announced their fundraising mark at a meeting Thursday at the Bartow Arena. The funds would also reinstate bowling and women's rifle, two programs shuttered alongside football.
The crowd of 200+ was so ecstatic with the announcement they broke out in a raucous "U-A-B" chant, AL.com reported. The task force's next goal will be turning pledges into actual gifts.
"I'm overwhelmed at the support," Justin Craft, the head of the task force's fundraising subcommittee, told AL.com. "This is really something people want. I think Birmingham wants this program to return."
The school's booster group, the UAB Football Foundation, was initially hesitant to donate because the gift agreement's language indicated any money given was non-refundable. The school has since reversed that policy, AL.com noted, and donors can receive a refund if the football program is not restored by New Year's Day, 2016.
"It'd be a double standard if they truly are sincere about wanting to gauge interest... I don't think the title at the top of the form should make a different," Craft said. "But now that the changes have been made, we are totally happy and want to transition as many as we can."
The UAB football program was initially shut down at the end of last season because the school said it was not generating enough money. The school also said the financial problems would worsen if forced to cover its student-athletes' full cost of attendance, ESPN reported.
However, Daniel A. Rascher and Andrew D. Schwarz released an independent report last month suggesting UAB's football program was still profitable and would have continued to if not shuttered. UAB also faced criticism for leaked documents that indicated administrators came to their decision early in the season and withheld it from the public to avoid demonstrations while the team was playing.
While the current fundraising total was a nice start, Craft told AL.com, more will likely be needed to really revive the program.
