Brown discusses UAB’s football struggles

By Kevin Bush / Selma Times – Journal

University of Alabama Birmingham head coach Watson Brown was this past Tuesdays guest speaker at the Selma Quarterback Club.

Brown has been in the coaching profession for 28 years, and is known for being one of the best offensive minds in the game.

Prior to coming to UAB Brown was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. During his stint there the Sooners were always ranked among the top in the country for offensive output.

Brown didn’t focus on his past accomplishments on Tuesday night. He focused more on the struggles of a Division 1 football team faces throughout the season.

Some of the biggest obstacles that athletic departments face now are limited scholarships, and tight budgets.

The UAB athletic department has a 13 million dollar budget, and 3.5 million of that is allotted for scholarships for the whole department.

Some of the Division 1 schools write off their scholarship budget every year, but UAB has to pay that back into the department.

Quality facilities are also a problem at some of the schools.

All colleges have athletic problems, but it is the schools that learn how to overcome the problems that go on to major success.

The Quarterback Club will hold its next meeting on October 22, and athletic director for Auburn University David Housel we be the next guest speaker.