re: Florida wins the UAB lottery. Gators setting up a super tough schedule in '17

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Attendance is not an arbitrary standard at all. It is an NCAA requirement for a team to remain at the FBS level it must have either an actual or paid attendance average of 15,000 a game. If not for the City of Birmingham buying 5,000 tickets a year (1/3rd of the requirement), UAB football would have failed to meet this requirement a long time ago.

The others aren't particularly arbitrary either. Playing college football is expensive. In the last decade, half a dozen colleges have dropped their programs and there are many more teetering on the brink.

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The problem is and always was the way it was handled. If you are considering shelving a program, you should clearly define what they need to do to keep it. If they do not, that is that.

Honestly, it does not really matter who is buying the tickets as long as they are bought. This is pretty similar to UA basketball (at least during Grant tenure --- avery may change that) lots of tickets were purchased but not used.

Also, it is true that some schools have dropped football, but more university have started football programs.

Maybe one day the power 5 will break off. When that day comes I would love to see the other schools shift to Spring football, but again that is just because as a fan I am all for football all year.

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As far as the second one goes, I disagree. If private citizens want to buy tickets and not go, that's fine. Their money. Where I firmly disagree is with the city straight out subsiding the program at a cost to the taxpayers of $1,000,000 cash money. I don't so much mind in-kind support through services like buses, parking lot use, LE support, etc but plain out cash like that is simply too much for me. That's about 20 miles of road paving that went to empty seats in Legion field

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See your point, but that is not how the city views it.

The city does not do it out of the kindness of their heart though. They want to keep Legion Field viable and hopefully one day put a stadium of some capacity in a redone BJCC. All cities take a loss like this trying to encourage business. Look at how much cities spend in tax breaks for stadiums. UAB and the city have a mutually beneficial arrangement. The University bought lots of eyesore property to help the city when it was cash strapped and has done some really good work like the Woodlawn Initiative. It would be difficult justify keeping Legion Field upkeep solely for the Classic, which is huge economic boon to the city.

I do not know what the future holds for UAB, but I think they at least now have pretty clear expectations to be met. That gives them a shot. What happens now is up to them and the fans who live in the area.

Nice to have an actual discussion where we just agree to disagree.

I do see your point from a political and philosophical point.

I guess my point would be that the voter's ultimately reject or endorse the spending each election cycle.

"c tv"...are you really this stupid, OR just that dumb at trolling ???

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FSU doesn't count because you play them every year. It's a rivalry game.

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Not sure if serious...

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Perhaps we should schedule the Steelers as well?

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Nah...Bama get's them in '17