Report: C-USA won’t keep UAB without football
Conference USA won’t let UAB remain a league member without football, according to a report from CBS Sports’ Jon Solomon.
UAB dropped its football program in December along with rifle and bowling due to financial reasons. If football does not return for the 2016 season, Solomon is reporting that UAB “will most likely be a C-USA member for one more academic year in 2015-16.”
The conference’s executive committee is scheduled to meet in June, where a “formal vote on UAB’s future will take place.” C-USA currently has a bylaw that requires football participation as “a condition of membership.” Solomon is reporting that “there is not interest from two-thirds of C-USA’s presidents to change the league’s bylaws.”
At the same time, C-USA is “reluctant to kick out UAB and leave its sports without playing schedules.”
There are also financial stipulations at hand. From CBS:
UAB would not receive a full revenue share next year in C-USA if it stays. UAB is expected to receive about $2.2 to $2.4 million this fiscal year from C-USA. The College Football Playoff is expected to be worth about $800,000 for UAB. C-USA’s postseason football revenue increased by about 500 percent this year due to the CFP compared to past revenue from the Bowl Championship Series.
UAB has been a C-USA member since its inception in 1995 and school president Ray Watts wants to remain in the league, even without football.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
