NCAAbbs

Today we will look at the last article in the Birmingham News 30 years ago about Gene Bartow's hiring. This article was about the reaction from Alabama and Auburn to UAB's new athletic program. As you can see, the "Elephant in the Room" analogy is pretty accurate.

Quote:The Birmingham News, Friday, January 16, 1977

Wait-and-see Auburn, Bama attitude on UAB

By Clyde Bolton, News sports writer

Only time will tell whether the University of Alabama in Birmingham will appear on the Auburn and Alabama basketball schedules.

“We’ll have to wait and see how things work out,” Auburn Coach Bob Davis said after UAB announced the hiring of Gene Bartow as athletic director and coach, helmsman of a new intercollegiate sports program centered on baskets.

“Anytime you consider scheduling someone, you have to think about whether it would be worthwhile to you. There wouldn’t be any objections to playing them, there just wouldn’t be any reason to. There wouldn’t be any advantage to us.

“When you have an old established program, you have to wait until it would either be a great money deal or the other team is on a par with you.

“You can lose any game. You have to ask yourself what would be the consequences. Would it be worth the money?”

Davis, in fact, said Auburn likely would play Auburn-Montgomery before it played UAB. Since Auburn-Montgomery isn’t even an NCAA team, but an NAIA member, that may be awhile away.

“Everything changes,” Davis said. “You can’t say you’ll never do this or that. In a couple of years it might be to our advantage to play them (UAB). You don’t know how they’ll progress.”

UAB won’t field a team next season but will in 1978-79.

“I don’t really have any thoughts on scheduling,” Alabama Coach C.M. Newton said. “We’re in the same situation we’ve been in. We’re locked into 18 Southeastern Conference games and we have a couple of tournaments a year for the next four years. That leaves five dates to work with. I didn’t even know they were going to have a team until a week ago. I haven’t really given any thought to it.”

“I haven’t even thought about it,” Samford Coach Fred Crowell said. “I don’t know what the situation is. I don’t want to say either way.”

They were scared of the teams we were about to put on the court. It's science.

Quote:“Anytime you consider scheduling someone, you have to think about whether it would be worthwhile to you. There wouldn’t be any objections to playing them, there just wouldn’t be any reason to. There wouldn’t be any advantage to us.

“When you have an old established program, you have to wait until it would either be a great money deal or the other team is on a par with you.

“You can lose any game. You have to ask yourself what would be the consequences. Would it be worth the money?”

And this was said thirty years ago. The more things change...