06-12-2007, 08:20 AM
Thirty years ago on June 12, 1977, the media and city was waiting for final confirmation that Gene Bartow was going to be the new basketball coach at UAB's infant athletic program. In the meantime, the News looked at the challenges that UAB and Bartow might face. The bold print is mine for emphasis.
Quote:
The Birmingham News, Sunday, June 12, 1977
UAB aiming for big-time with Bartow
By John Clark, Executive sports editor
Gene Bartow will face the ultimate challenge when he joins the University of Alabama-Birmingham this week.
As head basketball coach and athletic director, Bartow will be charged with creating a complete major-college sports program for the Birmingham school which presently has no organized intercollegiate athletics.
UAB officials continue to be non-committal on the choice, now UCLA basketball coach, to build the school an athletic program. But it is one of the worst-kept secrets that Bartow has accepted the challenge.
Official announcement should come early this week, probably Tuesday.
Dr. S. Richardson Hill, UAB president, broke the school’s official silence Saturday when he talked about the school’s ambitions.
“Big-time college basketball is coming to Birmingham,” Hill said. “Anyone who thinks we are going for less than the best in our intercollegiate sports program should readjust his thinking.
“Our thinking is that whoever is assigned this job will not be leaving big-time basketball, rather that person will be bringing big-time basketball to UAB. Our entire approach to developing an outstanding program, including basketball, has been based on a desire to go first class as we always have.”
According to Dr. Hill, UAB has been seeking an athletic director and basketball coach “who will field a team of major importance nationally and will develop other excellent sports programs – golf, tennis, swimming and track.”
Intercollegiate sports for women also will be an important part of the program, he said.
Apparently the challenge of building a sports program from the basement up, combined with bickering among some UCLA supporters, motivated Bartow to abandon the most successful basketball program in the country. Bartow succeeded John Wooden as coach of the Bruins two seasons ago. His teams won Pacific-8 Conference championships both seasons, but failed to capture the national title.
UCLA fans think big. Wooden led the Bruins to 10 national titles in his last dozen seasons. Alumni wanted more of that.
According to UAB sources, the plan now is for the school not to field a basketball team until the 1978-79 season. This fall, Bartow will spend his time establishing an overall program and scouting and recruiting prospective players for the next season.
According to Dr. Hill, the recent success of North Carolina-Charlotte and Nevada-Las Vegas influenced the decision to go for a sport “that would be significant to the students as well as the community. I have been very impressed by the accomplishments of the Metro Seven Conference for the involved universities and the communities in which they are located. We feel the planned UAB program will have the same impact here.”
The young Metro Seven is composed of Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis State, St. Louis, Florida State, Tulane and Georgia Tech, all located in urban areas similar to UAB.
Hill hopes for UAB to compete with these schools and other NCAA Division I teams.
This will not be UAB’s first venture into intercollegiate athletics. In the late 1960’s, teams were fielded in basketball, baseball, golf and tennis, but little emphasis was placed on them and after a few seasons the programs were abandoned.
“There have been many changes since then,” Dr. Hill said. “We have an enthusiastic student body of over 12,000, a first rate physical education facility and the city now boasts a coliseum that seats 17,500. All these changes, plus the fact we have received tremendous pressures from community leaders, UAB faculty and staff, and most importantly, the students make us believe that the time for UAB basketball is now.
Dr. Hill said he had received expressions of support from members of the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees, University of Alabama President David Mathews and Crimson Tide basketball Coach C.M. Newton and football Coach Paul Bryant.
So the stage is set for Coach Bartow to come in and go to work.
That he will do within the next couple of days.
UAB aiming for big-time with Bartow
By John Clark, Executive sports editor
Gene Bartow will face the ultimate challenge when he joins the University of Alabama-Birmingham this week.
As head basketball coach and athletic director, Bartow will be charged with creating a complete major-college sports program for the Birmingham school which presently has no organized intercollegiate athletics.
UAB officials continue to be non-committal on the choice, now UCLA basketball coach, to build the school an athletic program. But it is one of the worst-kept secrets that Bartow has accepted the challenge.
Official announcement should come early this week, probably Tuesday.
Dr. S. Richardson Hill, UAB president, broke the school’s official silence Saturday when he talked about the school’s ambitions.
“Big-time college basketball is coming to Birmingham,” Hill said. “Anyone who thinks we are going for less than the best in our intercollegiate sports program should readjust his thinking.
“Our thinking is that whoever is assigned this job will not be leaving big-time basketball, rather that person will be bringing big-time basketball to UAB. Our entire approach to developing an outstanding program, including basketball, has been based on a desire to go first class as we always have.”
According to Dr. Hill, UAB has been seeking an athletic director and basketball coach “who will field a team of major importance nationally and will develop other excellent sports programs – golf, tennis, swimming and track.”
Intercollegiate sports for women also will be an important part of the program, he said.
Apparently the challenge of building a sports program from the basement up, combined with bickering among some UCLA supporters, motivated Bartow to abandon the most successful basketball program in the country. Bartow succeeded John Wooden as coach of the Bruins two seasons ago. His teams won Pacific-8 Conference championships both seasons, but failed to capture the national title.
UCLA fans think big. Wooden led the Bruins to 10 national titles in his last dozen seasons. Alumni wanted more of that.
According to UAB sources, the plan now is for the school not to field a basketball team until the 1978-79 season. This fall, Bartow will spend his time establishing an overall program and scouting and recruiting prospective players for the next season.
According to Dr. Hill, the recent success of North Carolina-Charlotte and Nevada-Las Vegas influenced the decision to go for a sport “that would be significant to the students as well as the community. I have been very impressed by the accomplishments of the Metro Seven Conference for the involved universities and the communities in which they are located. We feel the planned UAB program will have the same impact here.”
The young Metro Seven is composed of Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis State, St. Louis, Florida State, Tulane and Georgia Tech, all located in urban areas similar to UAB.
Hill hopes for UAB to compete with these schools and other NCAA Division I teams.
This will not be UAB’s first venture into intercollegiate athletics. In the late 1960’s, teams were fielded in basketball, baseball, golf and tennis, but little emphasis was placed on them and after a few seasons the programs were abandoned.
“There have been many changes since then,” Dr. Hill said. “We have an enthusiastic student body of over 12,000, a first rate physical education facility and the city now boasts a coliseum that seats 17,500. All these changes, plus the fact we have received tremendous pressures from community leaders, UAB faculty and staff, and most importantly, the students make us believe that the time for UAB basketball is now.
Dr. Hill said he had received expressions of support from members of the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees, University of Alabama President David Mathews and Crimson Tide basketball Coach C.M. Newton and football Coach Paul Bryant.
So the stage is set for Coach Bartow to come in and go to work.
That he will do within the next couple of days.