Dec. 2, 2014, is a date that will live in infamy for UAB fans. That's the day UAB President Ray Watts announced the school was terminating its football program, along with the rifle and women's bowling programs, ostensibly for financial reasons as outlined in a report created by an outside firm, CarrSports Consulting.
However, according to documents obtained by AL.com, the decision to kill football and the other two programs may have been made prior to the start of the football season.
The documents show that public relations firm Sard Verbinnen & Co. prepared detailed plans for UAB to announce last September that it would eliminate the three programs, months before the school made the actual announcement.
The documents also show the school pushed back the announcement date until the conclusion of the football team's regular season on the advice of both Sard Verbinnen and CarrSports.
The documents indicate that Watts misled his student-athletes, coaches, supporters, faculty members and others on at least three separate occasions in November and December when he said the decision to kill the three sports wasn't made until November.
AL.com reached out to UAB and received the following statement: "At UAB, as with any major organization, it is common to prepare for potential scenarios from a communications standpoint, even prior to a final decision being made. These documents are consistent with such a process. The decision was final in November after all information was garnered and analyzed."
Two different September announcement days
One "confidential draft" of a "Rollout Schedule Summary" and another of a "Full Rollout Schedule," both under Sard Verbinnen letterhead, include a detailed to-do list leading up to "Announcement Day - Wednesday September 17, 2014."
One of the items listed for that day: "B. Clark and/or B. Mackin to notify assistant football coaches and coaches of other cut teams, followed by football players and players of other cut teams."
Bill Clark was the UAB football coach. Brian Mackin was the UAB athletics director. A Sept. 17 announcement would've occurred during an open week after the Blazers started 2-1.
Another item on that to-do list included this instruction for Tuesday Sept. 16: "R. Watts to host call with select key UA Board of Trustee members to notify them of final announcement plan."
Another document shows consideration of another September date to go public with the news that UAB would eliminate the three programs.
A "Task List" on Sard Verbinnen stationery includes a different timeline. It details a weekly list of initiatives starting with August 11, 2014. That week's initiative says, "Carr Consulting to send full summary of findings."
That task list leads to a Sept. 30 "Announcement day." That was Tuesday of the week UAB beat Western Kentucky to improve to 3-2.
Football players may react very badly
Why did UAB not announce the elimination of football, rifle and women's bowling in September? An "Amended Confidential Memorandum" from Sard Verbinnen to UAB director of media relations Jim Bakken dated Sept. 5, 2014 recommends "a post-season announcement on Monday Dec. 1, 2014 or Tuesday Dec. 2, 2014, is the most suitable option to communicate the results of the athletic department's strategic review."
That memo offers "our basis for opposing a mid-season announcement." It suggests the potential for "a critical mass of immediate transfer requests ... where students refuse to finish out the season" or "a full team boycott."
"If not effectively managed," the memo says, "it is conceivable that UAB would not be able to field a competitive team - or any team."
The memo also suggests the possibility that UAB football players "may react very badly if an announcement is made during the season."
"Although we initially believed that an early- or mid-season announcement was best for students, upon consideration of the potential for immediate withdrawals and the impact on team morale, we have adjusted our view," the memo says.
That Sept. 5 memo further indicates that the decision to kill UAB football had already been made. It says, "It is plausible that the Blazers finish the season with a winning record. The team's record, however, is not the primary rationale behind this announcement and it will be critical to develop messaging that effectively communicates that."
A Sept. 5, 2014 memo from Bill Carr of CarrSports Consulting to Bakken says the firm is "preparing a summary document" on "the possible elimination of Football plus Women's Bowling and Rifle."
Carr's memo says "the university is now determining its course of action" but adds, "The nature of a decision and announcement to terminate sponsorship of a sport is challenging for all involved. ... An announcement at any point during the regular season would be extremely problematic for all parties. For example, a significant number of student-athletes might choose not to compete further this season. ... Therefore, CarrSports recommends that notification be delivered as soon as possible after conclusion of football's regular season."
UAB won its final regular-season game Nov. 29 at Southern Miss to finish 6-6. UAB announced the elimination of football, rifle and women's bowling three days later on Dec. 2.
Ray Watts on Nov. 11: No decisions made yet
On at least two occasions before that Dec. 2 announcement and one afterward, Watts said the decision was made sometime in November.
On Nov. 6, the day after AL.com reported the concerns of UAB football supporters that the program might be in jeopardy of elimination, Watts released a statement. It said the athletic department's "full strategic review of its programs" was "incomplete."
"We are working to accelerate the timeline for completion of the strategic plan and will communicate with the UAB community in the near future," the statement said.
On Nov. 11, according to minutes of the meeting, Watts told the UAB Faculty Senate, "The Athletic Department, as every other department, is going through their strategic plan process to reach for excellence. ... No decisions have been made yet as the department has just begun their process."
On Dec. 2, at a press conference after UAB announced the elimination of the three sports, Watts was asked for the specific date he made the decision. He said, "In the recent weeks when we got the very final (Carr) report, after due diligence in deciphering it, is when we made the decision."
The Carr report UAB made public Dec. 2 was dated Nov. 18. Among the documents AL.com obtained is a draft of that same Carr report dated Sept. 3. The two documents appear to be virtually identical, indicating that the data Watts said he relied upon to kill football had already been compiled by CarrSports by early September.
Two September memos indicate decision is made
Another document obtained by AL.com is a three-page "Confidential Draft" of a memo that's not on letterhead. It's under the title, "The University of Alabama at Birmingham: Athletic Department Announcement Key Messages."
It includes numerous detailed talking points, such as: "After an extensive strategic planning process, the Athletic Department and administration have determined that 2014/15 will be the final season for men's football and women's rifle and bowling."
The talking points attempt to explain and justify the decision that was announced Dec. 2, 2014. The memo is dated Sept. 9, 2014.
There's a similar one-page document titled, "UA System Board of Trustees Talking Points Regarding UAB's Athletic Department Announcement." Among them: "So we support the Athletic Department and administration's decision to make 2014-2015 the final season for men's football and women's rifle and bowling."
That "Confidential Draft" is dated Sept. 12, 2014.
The documents as a group raise one significant question: If the decision to eliminate the three programs wasn't made until November, as Watts said on multiple occasions, why were such detailed plans, timelines and talking points designed to announce and gain support for that decision prepared in September?