The UAB Blazers football team represents the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the sport of American football. The Blazers compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and American Athletic Conference. The team is led by head coach Trent Dilfer, who was named the program’s 7th head coach on November 30th, 2022. Home games were previously held at Legion Field in Birmingham from the 1991 season to the 2020 season. A new stadium, Protective Stadium, has been the home of the Blazers starting from the 2021 season. The new stadium's capacity is over 47,000.
The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of the American Athletic Conference and participates in Division I of the NCAA. The school's men's basketball team plays in 8,508-seat Bartow Arena. The Blazers' colors are forest green and old gold. The men's basketball program has a long history of success spanning several decades.
The 2004 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, part of the 2004 bowl game season, took place on Christmas Eve 2004, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The competing teams were the UAB Blazers, representing Conference USA (C-USA) and the Hawaii Warriors, representing the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Hawaii won the game, 59–40. This was the third Hawaii Bowl, and was sponsored by Sheraton Hotels and Resorts.
The 2008 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Blazers' head coach was Neil Callaway, who entered his second year at UAB. They played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (C-USA). They improved upon a 2–10 record from the 2007 season and finished the 2008 campaign with an overall record of 4–8.
The 1999 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the college football season of 1999, and was the ninth team fielded by the school. The Blazers' head coach was Watson Brown, who entered his fifth season as UAB's head coach. They played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, and competed as a member of Conference USA. The Blazers finished their fourth season at the I-A level, and their first affiliated with a conference with a record of 5–6.
The 2001 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the college football season of 2001, and was the eleventh team fielded by the school. The Blazers' head coach was Watson Brown, who entered his seventh season as UAB's head coach. They played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, and competed as a member of Conference USA. The Blazers finished their sixth season at the I-A level, and their third affiliated with a conference with a record of 6–5.
The 2002 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the college football season of 2002, and was the twelfth team fielded by the school. The Blazers' head coach was Watson Brown, who entered his eighth season as UAB's head coach. They played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, and competed as a member of Conference USA. The Blazers finished their seventh season at the I-A level, and fourth affiliated with a conference with a record of 5–7.
The 2003 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the college football season of 2003, and was the thirteenth team fielded by the school. The Blazers' head coach was Watson Brown, who entered his ninth season as UAB's head coach. They played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, and competed as a member of Conference USA. The Blazers finished their eighth season at the I-A level, and fifth affiliated with a conference with a record of 5–7.
The 2005 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season and was the 15th team fielded by the school. The Blazers' head coach was Watson Brown, who served his 11th season in the positions. They played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, and competed as a member of Conference USA. The Blazers finished their tenth season at the I-A level, and seventh affiliated with a conference with a record of 5–6.
The 2006 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and was the sixteenth team fielded by the school. The Blazers' head coach was Watson Brown, who entered his twelfth season, and subsequently final as UAB's head coach. They played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, and competed as a member of Conference USA. The Blazers finished their eleventh season at the I-A level, and eighth affiliated with a conference with a record of 3–9.
The 2007 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and was the 17th team fielded by the school. The Blazers were led by first-year head coach Neil Callaway and played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, and competed as a member of Conference USA. The Blazers finished their twelfth season at the NCAA I-A/FBS level and their ninth affiliated with a conference with a record of 2–10.
The 2009 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (C-USA). The Blazers finished the season 5–7 and 4–4 in C-USA play.
The 2011 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Blazers, led by fifth year head coach Neil Callaway, played their home games at Legion Field and competed in the East Division of Conference USA. They finished the season 3–9, 3–5 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for fourth place in the East Division.
Bill Bradford Clark is a retired American football coach. He was the head football coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He held the position from 2014 season until June 24, 2022, when he retired because of health issues related to his back.
The 2014 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the East Division of Conference USA (C-USA). They were led by first year head coach Bill Clark and played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
The 2017 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the West Division of Conference USA (C-USA). They were led by second-year head coach Bill Clark and played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season 8–5, 6–2 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for second place in the West Division. They received an invitation to the Bahamas Bowl, where they lost to Ohio.
The 2018 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the West Division of Conference USA (C-USA). They were led by third-year head coach Bill Clark and played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season 11–3, 7–1 in C-USA play to be champions of the West Division. They represented the West Division in the C-USA Championship Game where they defeated Middle Tennessee to win their first ever C-USA championship. They were invited to the Boca Raton Bowl where they defeated Northern Illinois to claim their first bowl win in program history.
The 2020 UAB Blazers football team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Blazers played their final home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C-USA). They were led by fifth-year head coach Bill Clark.
