UAB Blazers NCAA Tournament History: A Decade of March Madness
The UAB Blazers represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham in NCAA Division I athletics. The Blazers have a rich athletic history, particularly in men's basketball, which has seen considerable success in the NCAA Tournament. This article examines the UAB Blazers' performances in the NCAA Tournament over the past decade, highlighting their appearances, records, and significant moments.
A Legacy Forged on the Hardwood: The History of UAB Basketball
The UAB Blazers, in effect, started their entire athletics program with the creation of a men's basketball team in 1978. Setting the standards high from the start, UAB hired former UCLA, University of Illinois and Memphis head coach Gene Bartow. Known to many as the "Father of UAB athletics", Bartow led the Blazers to almost instant success.
Tommy Burns, a native of Birmingham and a UAB history student, recalls being invited to the Student Government Association president's office to discuss basketball. The news that UAB would be starting a men's basketball team in the spring of 1978 had everyone in school and in the town excited. The team needed a name, though. According to former UAB dean Tennant McWilliams' book, a group of faculties, staff members, and administrators had been using "Name Our Team" forms to ask for suggestions from the general public, staff members, and students. Burns, an early participant in UAB's Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter who actively promoted student life, met with a few other students in the SGA office to brainstorm some names.
"We went around the room," Burns says. "I came out with 'Trailblazers,' because the Portland Trail Blazers were about to win the NBA championship. And somebody said no, because that would be too much like them, and it's too long-it won't fit on a marquee." Barons were among the other names that were proposed, debated, and discussed (the original Birmingham Barons baseball team was no longer in existence at that time). "This went on for a while," Burns says. Then he went back from his original idea and offered a shortened version of his initial recommendation: "Blazers." Burn says, "My thought was that this was the first team; they were blazing the trail." According to Burns, at the conclusion of the brainstorming session, participants selected four names-Blazers, Barons, Titans, and Warriors.
In 2004, the school once again gained national attention when it upset No. 1-seeded Kentucky in the second round of the tournament and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. Since their inaugural season, the Blazers have made 15 appearances in the NCAA men's basketball tournament including 3 Sweet Sixteen appearances and 1 Elite Eight appearance. After only 34 years of basketball, UAB has had 31 winning seasons including memorable wins over Virginia, Kentucky, Louisville, Alabama, Florida, Villanova, Indiana, and Memphis, among others. The Blazers have amassed one of the best all-time winning percentages in college basketball. The UAB men's basketball team has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll many times in school history and as recently as 2010. UAB has been ranked as high as #9 in the nation. UAB's most recent conference championship occurred in the 2021-2022 season when they won the CUSA conference tournament championship. Until 1988, UAB played its home games at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. The UAB Blazers men's basketball team represents the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in NCAA Division I men's college basketball, with the 2023-24 season being the Blazers' first as members of the American Athletic Conference. The Blazers play home games at Bartow Arena and are coached by Andy Kennedy.
Read also: A Look Back at Marquette in the NCAA Tournament
Since their inaugural season, the Blazers have made 17 appearances in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, and 13 appearances in the National Invitational Tournament. UAB has been productive in its NCAA tournament appearances, reaching the Elite Eight once, and the Sweet Sixteen 3 times. After 46 years of basketball, UAB has had 40 winning seasons, including 29 seasons with at least 20 wins. UAB's win percentage ranks 28th among NCAA Division I basketball programs with at least 40 seasons. The Blazers have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) one time. UAB has retired four jersey numbers since its inception and they now hang from the rafters of Bartow Arena.
UAB in the NCAA Tournament Since 2014
Over the past decade, the UAB Blazers have made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Their most recent appearance was in 2024. During this period, they have played four games, with a record of 1 win and 3 losses (1-3). Their highest seed was 12, and their lowest was 14. The best finish they achieved was in the Second Round.
Appearances: 3Most Recent Appearance: 2024Games Played: 4 (1-3)Highest Seed: 12Lowest Seed: 14Best Finish: Second Round
Year-by-Year Breakdown
Here's a detailed look at each of their tournament appearances since 2014:
2024
- Seed: 12
- Overall Record: 0-1
- How Far They Went: First Round
- Who They Lost To: No. 5 San Diego State, 69-65
In 2024, as a 12th seed, UAB faced the No. 5 seed San Diego State in the first round. The Blazers lost a close contest with a final score of 69-65, ending their tournament run in the initial stage.
Read also: Fighting Irish and the NCAA Tournament
2022
- Seed: 12
- Overall Record: 0-1
- How Far They Went: First Round
- Who They Lost To: No. 5 Houston, 82-68
In 2022, UAB, again seeded 12th, was defeated by No. 5 Houston with a score of 82-68 in the First Round. This loss marked another early exit for the Blazers in the tournament.
2015
- Seed: 14
- Overall Record: 1-1
- How Far They Went: Second Round
- Who They Beat: No. 3 Iowa State
- Who They Lost To: [Information missing from provided text]
The 2015 tournament saw UAB as a 14th seed. They achieved an upset victory against No. 3 Iowa State in the first round, advancing to the second round. However, their journey ended in the second round with a loss to an unmentioned opponent.
Beyond Basketball: Other Sports at UAB
While largely overshadowed by the men's basketball program at UAB, the Blazers women have a strong history in their own right. Since UAB began a women's basketball program, UAB has won 4 conference championships, made 2 NCAA Tournament appearances, and 5 WNIT appearances as recently as 2013. No team in Conference USA has advanced further than the Blazers' Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NCAA tournament of the 1999-2000 season. The Blazers have also advanced to the Elite Eight of the WNIT.
UAB began its football program in the early 1990s. In 2000, UAB achieved a monumental victory by beating LSU in Baton Rouge. In 2004, UAB reached its first ever bowl game, falling 59-40 in the Hawaii Bowl to Hawaii. In 2011, an effort to build an on-campus stadium failed to gain approval by the University of Alabama board of trustees; this served as a harbinger of the program's eventual termination following the 2014 season.
UAB announced on June 1, 2015, that their football program will be re-instated. UAB was granted permission by the NCAA to rejoin NCAA Division I FBS level football and would be bowl-eligible when they officially returned to the field in fall 2017. The Blazers responded with the program's best regular-season record ever at 8-4. In 2018 the Blazers overachieved, completing their best season to date by finishing the year with a school record of 11-3 and a dominating win (37-13) over Northern Illinois in the 2018 Boca Raton Bowl.
Read also: Can Arkansas Make a Run?
UAB began a men's soccer program back in 1979. Throughout its history, UAB has enjoyed great success in the men's soccer program. The men's team has been in the NCAA Tournament a total of 7 times including 2 Sweet Sixteen appearances and 1 Elite Eight appearance in 1999. The men's team has been ranked nationally numerous times throughout its history, including top 25 rankings in 16 of the last 18 seasons. One of UAB's biggest wins in the men's team history came when UAB upset the #1-ranked UCLA Bruins in 1997 by a score of 2-0. Since 1993, the men's team has won nearly 80% of its games played at West Campus Field. UAB has frequently been among the national leaders in soccer attendance, finishing as high as 16th nationally in average attendance. Though only beginning a women's soccer program only in 1996, the UAB women's soccer team has already been in the NCAA Tournament and has also been ranked several times in its history. The UAB women's soccer team has won the Conference USA Championship 3 times in ten years, including the most recent in 2006.
Since 1989, Tarr has led the men's tennis team to numerous top finishes in the Conference USA, including a handful of trips to the NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament. Since 1989, the men's team has accumulated a winning percentage just shy of seventy percent. The UAB men's tennis team has produced numerous player who have gone on to the ATP World Tour. Frequently ranked among the nation's better collegiate programs including as high as #8 in 2011, the men's golf program has gained considerable recognition. Over the program's history, UAB has made 7 appearances in the NCAA Men's Golf Championship tournament including 6 times in the last 10 years. The UAB golf team has won 2 conference titles including the 2008 Conference USA Championship.
The UAB Softball program played its first season in 2000. The Blazers have made the NCAA Tournament 5 times (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014). The Blazers advanced to the Super Regionals in 2013 by winning the Louisville Regional. UAB lost to #2 overall seed Florida Gators in the Super Regionals 4-3 and 1-0 to barely miss advancing to the College Softball World Series. The Blazers finished the 2013 Season nationally ranked, #16 in the USA Today/NFCA poll and #17 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll. UAB has one Conference regular season Championship in program history (2013).
tags: #UAB #NCAA #tournament #history
