By JL Carter Sr.
Since announcing its plans to drop football last December, the University of Alabama at Birmingham raised more than $17 million exclusively to aid in the program’s reinstatement. Now, the Blazers are adding a new chapter to one of sports’ biggest headlines around economics, athletics and higher education over the last 10 years.
So maybe HBCUs should get a piece of that action. What if every historically black Division I program simultaneously said “we’ll drop football if you (alumni and community members) don’t step up with the gifts and support?
So as poorly as UAB’s plan to cut football was executed, it yielded the right result. The program earned national coverage and the community responded with the same financial windfall HBCU alumni always say that we need to invest in our programs, but we never seem to generate.
We’ve been begging and pleading students, alumni and fans to support our teams and our programs, to no avail. Our best programs trail UAB in financial and cultural positioning.
Unfortunately, I think this plan would backfire as many alumni and other so-called supporters would let the programs die.