The UAB Blazers played their inaugural football season in 1991 as a Division III school. The Blazers were successful right off the bat finishing 4-3-2 (2 ties) under Jim Hilyer. By ‘93 UAB was a 1-AA independent (FCS) and by ‘95 a 1-A (FBS) independent.
The Blazers slumped into obscurity under a myriad of coaches until Bill Clark took over in 2014. Clark finished 6-6 and the program was shutdown for no reason other than the Alabama Crimson Tide were tired of sharing resources and potentially recruits.
Clark was patient, waited his turn, and the Blazers came back in 2017 finishing 8-5, 11-3 in 2018, and 9-5 in 2019.