UAB USGA issues damning report on Watts' decision to disband football, other decisions

I'll let the report speak for itself:

http://www.uab.edu/usga/images/2014-2015/Projects/USGA%20-%202014%20Athletic%20Decision%20Process%20Report.pdf

New page added, includes links to prior coverage of death of UAB football, fallout

I've added a new page to the site. It contains links to any and all media coverage regarding the death of UAB football, rifle and bowling and the fallout. I will update it as stories become available and time permits. You can see it here:

http://www.fireraywatts.com/p/prior-media-coverage-of-freeuab.html

There's also a link in the right sidebar to the main FireRayWatts.com site.

Ray Watts does it again, this time lies to School of Medicine Faculty

Ray Watts, revisited

By Ralph Harbison

UAB Class of '93

“O villain, villain, smiling, dammed villain!

My tables—meet it is I set it down

That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain—“

Hamlet Act 1, scene 5, 106–108

I am not one to quote the Bard. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge Shakespeare fan. I have seen many performances and own some of the movie versions of his plays, and like most everyone who attended U.S. schools, I own multiple editions of much of what he wrote. It is just that quoting him is not part of my typical speech or writing pattern.

But this quote, applied to this situation, is one that I cannot ignore.

When the news broke that Watts had killed UAB’s football, rifle, and bowling teams, I immediately thought that he did so under duress. I figured that he was under more pressure than he could handle and, as a man not made for that position is want to do, he gave in to it. Great trials make legends of great men and women, while leaving those without the resolve broken along the way. That is how history works. For example, in any great (or lesser) battle, any number of troops has the chance to perform some amazing act of gallantry, yet only a few do so. While all have courage, only a precious few have the inner strength to take the steps needed to rise above the din and become those fabled types. Besides, I knew the history of UAB all too well. I knew the stories, both public and private, of the many ways the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees has tried to inhibit the growth of UAB.

I can list them all here, but for brevity’s sake, I will not. Suffice it to say, the pressure on the administration has been amazing, and yet they resisted it. UAB has dorms, a Greek System, an athletic department, and many other programs that were opposed by the UABoT.  From there, I decided that he was a patsy, played as a fool by the Board of Trustees. He was sold a bill of goods about UAB and her need to be shed of the failure of football for the benefit of the campus as a whole.
And yet, my memory returns to a little over one year ago. In the late summer of 2013, the stories started to circulate about how the UAB Honors Program was under siege by Dr. Watts. According to the inside sources, there was a study being done that no one was privy to.

The same sources said that the Program, despite being award winning and a basis for study nationwide, not to mention amazingly successful, would be destroyed and replaced with a typical “within the student’s major” honor’ program. Well, those of us with connections to the program, from faculty to students and alumni, manned the battlements and put up the defense. And Watts backed down, but in the process he labeled Honors Program undergraduates “elitists.” Dr. Watts had sought no input from other stakeholders, he relied on a secret study that seemingly used no real world information, he consulted no faculty, and he ignored any information that countered his pre-conceived notion of what the outcome should be. Does this not match the athletic department fiasco nearly line for line? Except for the outcome, that is.

And then, I learned about the Respiratory Therapy Program. At one time, this was an associate’s program that was converted to a baccalaureate program. A few years ago, the word was given that it would be transitioned into a graduate degree program, much like physical therapy and occupational therapy had been. There is logic to that move. Suddenly, with no warning, the announcement came that the program was dead. Upon further research, we have learned that Dr. Watts did not inform the faculty or students, and that information sent to the Board of Trustees was intentionally misleading to make it appear that the final goal was still the transition, up to and until the program was announced as dead.

Why would a top level medical program not offer a program of this sort? The typical reason given is that there are other places where it can be taken. Please keep that answer in mind. If that is true, can the same not be said for every single major on the undergraduate side of campus?

So, I revisit the videos of Watts killing the football team. I see a cold, calculating, heartless man. I see Tristan Henderson, a veteran of the Iraq war and a “fully grown man” stand up to Watts, calling him out passionately about his “numbers,” and I see Watts not phased. I watch as Ty Long stands and mentions how he has NEVER ONCE seen this man at a game. And then, with the same condescension he directed at the Honors students, I hear him proclaim that he has 41 years as a Blazer (a number quickly proven to be false, simply by looking at his resume) and that we “do not know what we do not know.” And with further reflection, I have revisited my opinion of Watts, and I wish to share it with you.

Watts predates the athletic department at UAB. He is a product of the West Side of Birmingham, and for those who do not know the history of Birmingham, that is the factory town side. That side was also, historically, the most pro-Bama side of town, not that there was ever a pro-Auburn side of Birmingham.  More than likely, he never understood why UAB needed any of that foolishness when Alabama had Bear Bryant. Plus, he was not affiliated with UAB during the rise of the Bartow regime or the birth of the new vision for UAB. These events that are seminal for UAB fans are nothing to him, from the basketball success to the birth of football to the growth of the undergraduate side of campus.  Further, he seems to be driven by a “disorder” that I refer to as “just a” syndrome. For example, it was not enough for him to be just a pre-med student, he had to be an engineering student.

Then, it was not enough to be an engineering student, he had to be a materials engineering student. It wasn’t enough to go to medical school, he had to go to Harvard for his internship. It was not enough to be just a doctor, he had to be a neurologist. At that time, he realized that a neurologist does not carry the same prestige as being a neurosurgeon, so he cannot be just a neurologist, he has to be part of the faculty of a medical school, too. But that is not enough, so he has to be in the administration.

Here is the catch: to someone with this syndrome, everyone else is beneath him. No matter your station in life, your successes or accomplishments, or your impact on those around you, you are nothing compared to him. He does not want or need your input because you are just a {insert your term here}. This also fuels his desire to be accepted by those above him. He craves to be part of the Good Old Boy’s Network, to sip $100 bottles Scotch and smoke imported cigars in some country club. He wants to feel like he is one of the 0.000001% of the population, and not just a pawn.

Watts is a pawn none the less, but not the pawn I had earlier envisioned. At first, I thought he was innocent. Now, I am 100% certain that he is a willing co-consipiritor in all of this. I believe that Watts wants to return UAB to an extension center of the Tuscaloosa campus, removing all vestiges of independence from her. He is still a pawn in that those above him see him as an expendable tool that will be sacrificed to protect them, but he is not a victim.

As he walks the grounds of my beloved UAB, surrounded by armed security lest some of the great unwashed masses attempt to touch him, I see the spin machine try to portray him as a kind, loving man and a wonderful doctor who truly cares about UAB. That description flies in the face of a man who talks down to students, ignores faculty, calls major donors “liars” on national television, threatens and attempts to cajole those he considers beneath him not to vote “no confidence,” and killed the hopes and dreams of the athletes and coaches of two teams by email, much as one cancels an Amazon order. It leads me to conclude that any good attributes seen by his patients were faked by him, a mask put on to trick those beneath him.

The man who stood by, without any sign of emotion, and canceled those sports did not love UAB and did not care one iota about the students or staff. The man who refused to meet with Dr. Messina and discuss the situation does not see the faculty as critical parts and equals in matters of governance. This man is the Vichy France of school administration. This is the same man who, though he and his spin machine, will attack students, staff, faculty, donors, and alumni to preserve his ability to destroy UAB.

I return to Shakespeare, to a quote from Othello that fits many in the movement to free UAB from the Good Old Boy’s Network and create a better tomorrow.

“I hold my peace, sir? no;

No, I will speak as liberal as the north;

Let heaven and men and devils, let them all,

All, all, cry shame against me, yet I'll speak.”

CBS Sports report shows Ray Watts lied about everything

This report is damning in every respect. If anything says this decision was corrupt, it's this investigative piece by CBS Sports. Thank you, Jon Solomon, for not letting this story die in the national press:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/jon-solomon/24913760/death-of-uab-football-anger-remains-but-study-banks-on-healing.

The full CarrSports report is here.

Some excerpts:

The more detailed report includes assumptions consultant Bill Carr made in his work, no financial model for what happens if UAB must leave Conference USA as expected, and UAB's hope to reduce the money it owes for canceled football games by finding new opponents for the impacted teams.

Carr assumed a 20 percent drop in Blazer Club and Champion Club donations for 2015-16. By 2016-17, the study projects a 10 percent increase in Blazer Club donations for 2016-17 when reseating occurs at men's basketball games, followed by 5 percent annual increases. Champions Club giving is expected to increase by 4 percent beginning in 2016-17.

Carr's report to UAB in November uses the same projected subsidy numbers with and without football. The report projects that 79 percent of UAB's athletic department will be subsidized by the university or student fees starting next year, up from 67 percent in 2014-15.

Student fee revenue was $5 million in 2012-13 and is estimated to reach $6.4 million in 2018-19. (UAB has said student fees for 2016 and beyond have not been set yet.) Direct and indirect institutional support is projected to be $14.9 million per year without football.

UAB is projected to lose roughly $2 million per year in NCAA and Conference USA revenue starting in 2015-16. That includes $900,000 in C-USA TV revenue, $800,000 from the College Football Playoff, and $40,000 in C-USA bowl money.

CBSSports.com also requested from UAB all emails discussing the football program's future among four key stakeholders over the past two years, and documentation showing Mackin's new job description and any compensation change since he resigned last month as athletic director to become special assistant to the university president for athletics. A university spokesman said, "There are no emails pursuant to your request, and there is not a document regarding Brian's reassignment."

It's this last one that bothers me the most. No emails whatsoever? Who's hiding what? And no document regarding Mackin's reassignment? Again, that smacks of lies and corruption.

Mama called, and I had to answer

By John A. Knox

In the three weeks since UAB President Ray Watts abruptly terminated the football, bowling and rifle programs without due process, I have logged thousands of miles traveling back and forth to the Magic City.

Why go to so much trouble, some ask?

Because mama called.

You might recognize the phrase. It was uttered by my boyhood hero, Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.

When he said it in 1958, the Bear meant “mama” in the sense of “alma mater”—his university. Bryant had had great gridiron success as head coach at Kentucky and Texas A&M. But the team at the University of Alabama, where Bryant had starred as an end in the 1930s, had fallen on hard times. Alabama alumnus “Ears” Whitworth had led the Crimson Tide to only four wins in three seasons, including an 0-10 debacle of a season in 1955. The once-great Tide was shut out eleven times in those three years, twice by Auburn. Instead of embracing mediocrity or abandoning football altogether after these lean years, however, the Alabama faithful reached outward and upward, to someone who could take their program and their university to new heights.

Bryant heard mama’s call, accepted it, and the rest is college football history.

Much later, Bryant used the phrase in reference to his deceased mother, in a famous South Central Bell TV ad: “Have you called your mama today? I sure wish I could call mine.”

I mean this phrase in the same two senses as my hero.

The mama’s cry I have heard from my university, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), has been muffled. It sounds like a suffocated scream. The dynamic, ambitious university I knew, led by some of the best university administrators I have ever met, is in a chokehold. The dreams and visions I heard, in face-to-face conversations with its leaders from Joe Volker through Ann Reynolds, are being scaled back—drowned in page after page of consultant-speak and stymied in vision and mission statements that carefully omit any mention of the undergraduate part of UAB.

This is not the university that Joe Volker founded, and I loved.

But the fingers around the throat of UAB are not only Watts’s. From all corners of the university, and at a level above the UAB president, the message I hear is that this is not just about football, or about sports. The message is consistent: the very survival of the 11,679-student-strong undergraduate component of UAB as we know it is at stake.

You can’t try to kill off that big a university without a struggle that leaves marks. And the fingerprints on the neck of the “West Side” of UAB—Watts’s contemptuous phrase for the undergraduate part of UAB that he studiously avoids—correspond to those who pull Watts’s strings. We will learn more about them in the coming months.

Even with so many fingers around her neck, mama gasped out a cry. And, as the Bear said back in 1958, “when mama calls, you just have to come runnin’.”

And so I have.

And so have thousands of others: 11,283 UAB supporters comprise one social media page alone, with the total growing daily.

Because, as Alabama proved back in the 1950s, you don’t just fold up the tent and close the tailgate after a few bad seasons. Sometimes you get stuck with an Alabama alum who just can’t coach worth a lick, instead of a national championship-caliber coach. In 24 years of football at UAB, the Blazers never had a year as miserable as Alabama had in 1955 under Ears Whitworth. Not even when UAB was prevented from hiring Jimbo Fisher and ended up with Neil Callaway, an Alabama alum with a worse head coaching record (.300 lifetime winning percentage) than even ol’ Ears himself (.338)! If Alabama could make it through those lean seasons and emerge on top with Bear Bryant, then UAB could do the same.

Unless, that is, those in high places wanted UAB to fail.

But “mama called” is only half of the reason I’m sitting here in Birmingham right now, instead of spending time with relatives far away.

The other reason is my mom, who died four years ago tonight.

My mom grew up in Kentucky, where a young Bear Bryant made his start as a head coach in the 1940s. Our family relocated to Birmingham in the momentous year of 1963, and followed Alabama football religiously while falling in love with a city that had so much potential buried beneath so much baggage. When UAB landed Gene Bartow and began its athletics program, we became instant fans of Birmingham’s team. Mom’s favorite memories were of UAB beating Kentucky in basketball in the NCAAs, more than once. She loved Blazer football, too, and made sure we all had Hawaii Bowl T-shirts. She would have been so excited about the UAB-Kentucky football matchup in 2016 that was slated to happen… that is, until Ray Watts decided to save money by spending millions on broken contracts.

The night she died, Mom listened to the miraculous UAB win over Final Four-bound VCU in Bartow Arena. I still wonder if that breathtaking comeback—UAB was down 19 points with 13:15 to go in the game—stole the very last breaths out of her.

Like the Bear, I sure wish I could call my mom tonight. But I know in my heart what she’d say. She’d say that miracle comebacks are part of the DNA at UAB, and the city of Birmingham, too. A Presbyterian pastor’s wife with Baptist fire in her, and a partner in our family’s newspaper in Kentucky to boot, she’d tell me to fight like hell for UAB.

And I will. Because this isn’t just about football, or sports. It’s about academic integrity, and the autonomy of a university and a city in the clutches of its bitter foes. It’s about dreams deferred.

In the memories of Joe Volker and Dick Hill and Gene Bartow and my mom, I fight.

John Knox is an associate professor of geography at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA and the 2014 CASE/Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Professor of the Year for the state of Georgia. He is a 1988 summa cum laude graduate of UAB in mathematics, with honors in interdisciplinary studies. He earned a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was a post-doctoral fellow at Columbia University in New York City.

UAB Faculty Senate Resolution No. 2: A vote of no confidence in President Ray Watts

This resolution, the second of two drafted by the UAB Faculty Senate at its Dec. 9, 2014, regular meeting, will be presented to the entire senate for approval at a January 2015 meeting:

WHEREAS, shared governance is central to the ability of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to achieve its teaching, research, and service missions, and

WHEREAS, the UAB Faculty Handbook, as approved by the President, Provost, and Board of Trustees states, “the principle of shared governance is essential for ensuring a culture of trust, collaboration, and mutual accountability.” (Section 1.2.2.1.) and

WHEREAS, the UAB Faculty Senate Constitution, as approved by the President and Provost, states, the Senate represents “faculty viewpoints on matters of general interest and concern to the faculty and the University to the President and to advise the President, other administrative officers of the University, and members of the Board of Trustees on such matters.” (Article V.1.) and

WHEREAS, the UAB Faculty Senate Constitution further states, “Whenever possible, the President, the Provost, and the appropriate administrative officials must notify the senate of pending policy decisions and other matters of interest and concern.” (Article V.3.) and

WHEREAS, the UAB Faculty Senate Constitution further denotes one power of the Senate as, “sharing responsibility with the President and the Administration for strategic planning” (Articl
V.1.) and

WHEREAS, the Manual of the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama System states, senior administrators “hold positions of public trust of high order, requiring unquestioned confidence in their professional integrity by all the institution's constituencies.” (Section 106) and

WHEREAS, UAB reports, in the 2005 SACS-COC compliance certification, that “policies and procedures affecting faculty cannot be changed without a rigorous review by the faculty.” (Comprehensive Standard 3.7.4) and

WHEREAS, During President Watt’s 22 month tenure, he has failed to apply principles of shared
governance, including decisions related to:
1. Selection of University administrative officers.
2. Disbanding of athletic programs.
3. Changes in academic operations.
4. Changes in faculty benefits.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that recent decisions by President Ray Watts were exercised in a manner that demonstrates no respect for, or commitment to, shared governance.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the UAB faculty has no confidence in President Ray Watts and his ability to lead the University going forward.

UAB Faculty Senate Resolution No. 1 demanding full, transparent review of decision to end football, rifle, bowling

This resolution, one of two drafted by the UAB Faculty Senate at its Dec. 9, 2014, regular meeting, will be presented to the entire senate for approval at a January 2015 meeting:


WHEREAS, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has established itself as one of Alabama’s fastest growing universities, with enrollment increases in recent years, and

WHEREAS, the recent strategic plan for athletics was not performed in a transparent or comprehensive fashion.

WHEREAS, UAB students have reflected an ever-increasing interest in living on campus, being involved in campus life, and expanding the University’s extra-curricular and athletic offerings, and

WHEREAS, in recent years UAB has made dramatic strides in student life through program and infrastructure improvements including the campus green, enhanced on-campus housing, greater athletic offerings, an advanced student recreation center, and a new student center soon to be completed, and

WHEREAS, UAB’s alumni family have expressed their support for athletic programs, specifically citing football’s ability to unify and provide a catalyst for fellowship among alumni and a greater permanent connection to their alma mater, and

WHEREAS, many University constituencies, including city and county leaders, have expressed their support of UAB Athletics and have offered their assistance in facilitating it, anticipating UAB Athletics’ potential to further enrich area entertainment opportunities and provide economic stimulus, and

WHEREAS, the UAB faculty believes that Athletics plays an important role in achieving the mission of UAB and acknowledges that the Athletic Department and all student athletes contribute to the University in positive ways, and

WHEREAS, the NCAA FAR Handbook denotes the need to involve a faculty viewpoint in the administration of intercollegiate athletics program (pg 9) and further states that the FAR should be a senior advisor to matters related to intercollegiate athletics (pg 19.), and

WHEREAS, the strategic plan for UAB Athletics was implemented without the benefit of input from faculty, students, alumni, or the NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR), and 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that UAB Faculty fully support NCAA-sanctioned athletics, including football, rifle, and bowling, and all student athletes that participate, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that UAB Faculty request a comprehensive analysis of UAB Athletics that is transparent and includes consideration of campus-wide impact for discontinuation of any athletic program.

UAB Faculty Athletics Representative Frank Messina's statement to Faculty Senate

Dr. Frank Messina Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) Statement to the Faculty Senate, Dec. 9, 2014:

As the endowed Alumni & Friends Professor of Accounting and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), I am entering my 22nd year on the faculty of UAB.

Last Wednesday, December 3, 2014, in an email entitled, “Shared Governance,” I received a request from the Faculty Senate asking in my role as Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR), if I was included in the discussions regarding the recent decision to eliminate sports at UAB.

I responded by email to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, providing a timeline outlining the extent of my involvement as FAR over the course of the last year in meetings with Carr Sports, a consulting group that I understood was retained to review the performance of the athletics program at UAB and propose strategies for improvement. I give permission to the group for that email to be distributed.

Thank you for this opportunity as UAB’s FAR to formally answer this request. I would like to give you a brief background on my duties as UAB FAR. Much of the initial information I am about to go over is taken directly from the NCAA’s Faculty Athletics Representative Handbook.

As a member of the NCAA, each University is required to have a FAR (NCAA Constitution 6.1.3). Faculty voices and influence have been present in the NCAA for as long as the NCAA has been in existence.

The term “faculty athletics representative” derives from NCAA usage and denotes the perceived need on the part of the NCAA to involve a faculty viewpoint in the administration of intercollegiate athletics programs.

I was officially appointed FAR by President Carol Garrison on October 1, 2008. A partial list of my documented UAB duties as FAR are as follows:

• The faculty athletics representative provides oversight and advice in the administration of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics’ programs and plays a strategic role to ensure athletic integrity, institutional control of intercollegiate athletics, and enhancement of the student-athlete experience,
• Provides advice to the President and Provost that reflects the traditional values of the faculty, and which is rooted in the academic ethic of UAB,
• Promotes a balance between academics, athletics and the social lives of student athletes, and
• Serves as a bridge between the academic and athletic components of the university working to more fully integrate athletics into the overall educational mission of the university.

In my first meeting with President Watts in February, 2013, I provided him with a listing of FAR duties and a handout from the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association (FARA) entitled, “What College Presidents and Chancellors Need to Know – Faculty Athletics Representative.” Included in the FARA document that I gave to President Watts - it states that the FAR should be an integral part of decision making on athletics though “inclusion in discussions with the president and athletic administrators on important athletic matters.”

In that meeting we together went through my list of duties along with this handout. I wanted to make sure that President Watts fully understood the important role the FAR plays in athletic administration. He stated that he understood and was excited to be working with me as FAR. Since that time, I have continued to meet with President Watts on a regular basis to discuss with him various issues related to UAB athletics.

Several times in the past week I have been questioned about my involvement in the decision that was announced on December 2, 2014, to eliminate certain sports programs at UAB. The only way I know how to answer that question honestly and completely is to summarize the various meetings and discussions I have had since February 2013 regarding the future of UAB athletics:

• When President Watts became President in February 2013, we had a brief discussion regarding the viability of the football program, which was struggling at that time under Coach McGee. We did not discuss, nor was it proposed, that the football program should be eliminated. Since the arrival of Coach Clark, however, I have expressed to President Watts on many occasions that I believed that the football program was moving in the right direction and that with University support and Coach Clark’s leadership, excellence was achievable.
• In early 2014, I participated in three strategic planning sessions with Carr Sports (which were large group meetings). It was my understanding that the purpose of those sessions was to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the athletics programs at UAB and what it would take to improve them. There were no discussions during those sessions of eliminating any sports programs. It was my understanding that Carr Sports was going to prepare a strategic plan based on the discussions.
• In August 2014, I asked Athletic Director Brian Mackin about the status of the Carr Sports Strategic Plan and he informed that it had been delayed because of the changing governance structure taking place within the NCAA, which would apparently impact some financial aspects of the report.
• During my regular meetings with President Watts this year we did not discuss the possibility of eliminating any sports programs nor was I asked my opinion on such a topic. During my meeting with President Watts on November 13, 2014, I specifically asked him about the rumors regarding the elimination of the football program. President Watts informed me that the University was evaluating the Carr Sports Strategic Plan and that no decisions had been made regarding the elimination of any sports. I expressed my opinion at that meeting that all of our sports programs were very valuable to the University and asked to be involved in any decision to eliminate any of them.
• On Saturday, November 29, 2014, while at the football game with the University of Southern Mississippi, I asked AD Mackin about the Carr Sports Strategic plan, to which he replied that he had “done all he could do.” He would not elaborate further.
• Concerned about AD Mackin’s comments, I emailed President Watts and Allen Bolton, Vice President-Financial Affairs and Administration, indicating that as FAR I was receiving inquiries from faculty, staff, students and alumni regarding the athletics programs and that I would like to be a part of the process. VP Bolton emailed me back and indicated that I should be prepared to meet in the next day or two.
• On December 2, 2014 at 9:00 am, I met with VP Bolton, who informed me that for financial reasons, several sports, including football, were being eliminated and that a press conference would be held later that day. During that meeting, I expressed my opinion that eliminating these programs would have a significant impact on the faculty, staff, and students, as well as the City of Birmingham, and offered some alternatives. VP Bolton told me that he would express my opinions to President Watts.

As FAR, I have been entrusted by the faculty of our University to represent them in the administration of athletics. Based on my understanding of the duties and responsibilities outlined in the FAR Letter of Agreement – Projected Responsibilities, and based on my substantial experience and dealings with the past presidents, I anticipated being directly involved in any meetings and discussions involving the possibility of eliminating any sports program at UAB. Regrettably, that was not the case in this instance.

I hope that I have addressed your question to your satisfaction. I believe that it is an important part of my role as your FAR to respond honestly to questions presented to me by the faculty about my duties. Through my statement here today, as well as the email I sent to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee last week, I have attempted to do that by providing you with my understanding of the facts regarding my involvement as FAR in the decision that was announced last week.

I trust that my efforts to fulfill my duties as FAR by responding truthfully to the faculty’s questions will not be viewed negatively by any of my colleagues at UAB. I plan to continue in my role as Faculty Athletics Representative to the best of my abilities and look forward to continuing to represent you, the faculty, our student-athletes and our University’s best interests.

The Fire Ray Watts support continues to grow

Today marks two weeks since UAB President Ray Watts announced his decision -- and apparently his decision alone, with no support or input from anyone at UAB -- to kill UAB football, rifle and bowling. Since that time, the voices calling for him to step down, step aside and/or revisit his decision have grown exponentially.

Watts, however, refuses to budge and continues to double-down on his decision. He was a colossal embarrassment at Saturday's graduation ceremonies, refusing to fulfill is mandated role as University president, and despite being listed as a participant in the programs, sat with his head hung in shame while surrounded by body guards. Hell, he didn't even show up for the doctoral ceremony at noon. If that's not the sign of a spineless leader, I don't know what is.

That said, here's a partial list with links to people condemning Watts and/or demanding his resignation:

UAB Faculty Senate considers no confidence vote for President Ray Watts

Past USGA presidents call for Watts to resign

19 past Mr. and Ms. UAB winners say Ray Watts' decision will destroy UAB

Nursing students call for vote of no confidence

Taking a stand on UAB - again: Birmingham City Council passes another resolution, councilwoman rips Watts

UAB decision reflects troubling secrecy trend at universities

Developers concerned over UAB football decision

Elements of Guile: Ray Watts tells UAB that 'mistakes were made'

Hoover mayor, council call for continuation of UAB football program

UAB Champion Club: Ray Watts lied point-blank regarding fundraising

A letter to Ray Watts from the members of the UAB Champion Club, posted at the UABStrong Website, reprinted with permission:

December 8, 2014
Dr. Robert E. Witt
Chancellor
The University of Alabama System
500 University Boulevard East
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401
Dear Dr. Witt,
For many years, the members of the Champion Club have been one of the primary sources of charitable giving to UAB Athletics. We have been involved in countless endeavors to strengthen our programs, facilities, and our institution. The Champion Club has been a driver of funding necessary to elevate UAB Athletics and it has been an honor to do so.
This past Saturday, UAB released information regarding Dr. Ray Watts decision to dissolve UAB football.  Although we disagree with his decision and the assertions included in the rationale, there are two points in particular that are simply not true.  In fact, they are disingenuous, especially to those who have worked so hard for, and care so deeply about, UAB and its impact on our students and greater community.
Below are the excerpts we wish to bring to your attention from UAB's website:

“We met with our biggest donors before we made this decision, and also studied past and current giving. The financial support was simply not there.”
“Suggestions that there existed sufficient philanthropic and community support to maintain football are simply not true. To be clear, we did not turn down a single donation, nor did we receive tangible gifts or written commitments.”

Please be advised that none of us were contacted by Dr. Watts, Brian Mackin or any UAB staff member regarding the alleged deficit reported in the Carr Report. In fact, the vast majority of our members learned of the Carr Report results through the media following Dr. Watt's announcement of abandoning football last Tuesday.  It is important to note that Dr. Watts "officially" had the study for two weeks before notifying the public.  In that interim period, if his intentions were genuine, why would he not make contact with UAB's leading donors and business leaders seek our help and resources in working towards a solution?
This situation is extremely disappointing and has called into question the leadership of UAB. At a minimum, students, faculty, alumni, donors, and most importantly, the players of all impacted sports, deserved a transparent and honest process which would have provided an opportunity to analyze the Carr Report and create a framework that would have saved and elevated UAB athletics and the university.  If Tulane University, who mirrors UAB in so many ways, could work to galvanize and unite their community in saving its football program, surely UAB could have made an authentic attempt to do the same.
To hear Dr. Watts say that he never turned down a single check is also disingenuous because all of us would have made major investments to save UAB Football; however, as with the UAB Football Foundation, the City of Birmingham, and our community at large, we were never given that opportunity.
We want to know why. 

Sincerely,

UAB Champion Club Members
Harold Ripps
Don Hire
Adam Cohen
Justin Craft
Charlie Nowlin
Roy Berger
Craft O’Neal
Jimmy Filler
Barney Ireland
David Cockran Jr.
Michael Putt
Don Huey

Watts support is non-existent on campus

As this post is being written, the UAB Faculty Senate is meeting in a packed auditorium. Based upon news media reports on Twitter (@JohnArchibald, @UABKscope, @WaronDumb), not one member of the faculty or member of the audience has spoken in favor of Ray Watts remaining as president, or in favor of his actions as president. As the meeting transpires, plane is circling campus pulling a banner that says #FireRayWatts.

Multiple faculty members have stated in the meeting that's Watts actions last week have vastly damaged the university's image. His continued actions have not helped. How can this man remain as president and UAB succeed?

Fire Ray Watts is the only vote the senate can take.

Watts' incompetence goes far beyond the football decision

From the "Reader Opinions" section of The Birmingham News:

Watts isn't a competent leader for School of Medicine
Other people have covered all of the pertinent sports stuff. Let me add some unrelated fuel to the "Fire Watts" flames.
While I have close ties to the UAB athletic program, what I really understand is medicine and particularly cardiology. Dr. Watts, although he is an MD, is  not a competent leader for the School of Medicine and has, in fact, almost ruined it. When I was a Research Fellow in Cardiovascular Diseases in the early 1980s UAB was one of the Top Ten Cardiovascular Research Institutes in the world. Now it isn't even the best heart program in Birmingham. Most of this decline has occurred on Mr. Watt's watch.
For example, we do meaningful research in our cardiovascular group, some of which was presented at the American Heart Association meeting two weeks ago. None of our research is in association with UAB. Rather it is in association with Duke University. Our complex arrhythmia work is done in association with Emory University. My work in my personal area of special expertise, cardiac-neural networks and autonomic dysfunction, is in association with Vanderbilt University. The guys at St. Vincent's in Birmingham do our complex cardiac valve work.
Outside our group, Auburn University's new medical school is not part of the UAB network. It is part of the VCOM network headquartered in Blacksburg, Va. UAB needs to dismiss Dr. Watts before he can do any more harm. This episode also underscores the need for UAB to get away from the University of Alabama Board of Trustees and establish its own board.
And another thing: Immediately after reading Dr. Watts email last evening I emailed the UAB athletic department and instructed that my monthly contribution be discontinued. It may not be much in the grand scheme of things, but some of Dr. Watts' mystical mathematics assumes that contributors will continue to send money. If you are a contributor to anything at UAB and you oppose the discontinuation of the football program, vote with your checkbook and tell the university that you are discontinuing your financial support.
I suspect that when money stops flowing in to nonathletic areas, it will get the attention of a number of folks who can make positive things happen.
W. Ross Davis, MDAuburn

How to save UAB $1 million a year

Dear President Watts,

Given the fact that UAB is in the middle of a billion-dollar capital campaign, I wanted to swim against the tide, so to speak, and make a contribution.  See attached for my contribution.  I believe it would be worth, all told, at least $1 million per annum.

John Knox

Garrick McGee knew, when he left, UAB football would be shut down

I just dropped a nuke on the UAB Administration and I copied Ray Watts, Mayor William Bell, and Governor Bentley.

I present to you evidence that former UAB football coach Garrick McGee knew that UAB football was going to be shut down before he left UAB last year, that he was prepared to speak out, and that somebody contacted his agent to tell him to keep quiet. The shutdown of UAB football needs to be investigated…

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/veys2b0qe95npiw/AAAT0h27nij8LQtgGUlfIBsxa?dl=0

Elliott Brindley
UAB Class of 2001