UAB HURT BY APR

UAB looks bad today in the P.R. department, but in reality, the football program will only take a minor hit... here's why... officially from UAB.

Statement Regarding APR From UAB Athletics Director Brian Mackin"That we face penalties for the academic performance of our student-athletesis unacceptable. We are firmly committed to devoting the resources andattention necessary for improvement. "We have taken a series of steps over the past two years to underscore thispriority and our enhancements will continue this year when we hire two moreacademic support staff. "We have expanded and enhanced our academic center and tripled the number ofcomputers available. And, we have established group math and writing labs sothat student athletes can get help in these key subjects. "Clearly, our efforts are having an impact ­ 12 teams (out of 16) havecurrent year APRs that are now are above the 925 mark; with continued annualimprovements our goal is for all teams to meet or exceed that mark in theirfour-year rolling average."Other pertinent information:For 2008-09 UAB will lose 2 scholarship ships out of 13 for basketballOne-Half scholarship in men¹s golfFootball loses 9 scholarships, but those were applied for 2007-08 season (inother words, UAB has already paid that penalty). Thus, football will beable to sign 25, or close to that number, in the coming year. Men¹s soccer, men¹s tennis and women¹s basketball all three last year hadpublic notice but no penalty this year.