UAB
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The 2006 UAB volleyball team won the C-USA Tournament title and competed in the program’s first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament. Honolulu, Hawai’i. Spring, 2006: The UAB men’s basketball team earned its third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament after finishing as Conference USA regular season and tournament runner-up. The synchronized swimming team took fourth place at the U.S. Collegiate Nationals. The Blazer softball team turned in one of its finest seasons in program history as the team won 31 games during the season to finish as the C-USA runner-up. Head coach Marla Townsend was named the C-USA Coach-of-the-Year. April 7, 2006: Mike Davis named as the fourth head basketball coach in program history. Fall, 2006: UAB’s fall sports teams made three NCAA Tournament appearances, claimed three C-USA titles and beat the No. 1 team in the country. The UAB cross country team won the conference championship and head coach Ray Stanfield was named C-USA Coach of the Year. The women’s soccer team ran through the C-USA Tournament, and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament. UAB’s men’s soccer team beat the No. 1 team in the country during the regular season and hosted a first-round NCAA Tournament game. To conclude the fall sports season, the Blazer volleyball squad won its first-ever Conference USA Tournament title and made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. December 17, 2006: Former Georgia offensive coordinator Neil Callaway was chosen to lead the UAB football team, becoming the third coach in the program’s history, and the second coach to lead the Blazers since becoming a Division I program in 1996. Spring, 2007: Zack Sucher matched UAB’s highest finish ever at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships, closing the tournament tied for fourth place with a five-under 275 during four rounds of play. Sucher became just the fourth UAB men’s golfer in program history to earn All-American status, nabbing a spot on the honorable mention All-America team. In addition, the men’s golf team made its fifth NCAA Regional appearance in the past eight years. February 14, 2007: Former UAB baseball player and alumnus Brian Mackin was selected as the program’s fourth full-time Athletics Director. Spring, 2008: UAB men’s golf team captures the program’s first-ever Conference USA Championship. The Blaz-
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In 2011, the UAB men’s basketball team secured the program’s first outright Conference USA regular season championship.
The 2012 UAB baseball team claimed the program’s first-ever Conference USA Tournament title.
ers went on to make the program’s seventh NCAA Regional and third NCAA National Championship appearances. Zack Sucher was tabbed secondteam All-America and captured four individual titles during the 2007-08 men’s golf season. May 21, 2008: The UAB baseball team made history by recording the program’s first-ever win over the then-No. 5 Rice Owls, 8-2, in the opening round of the Conference USA Tournament. Not only did the Blazers defeat the Owls for the first time in 10 tries, but it also was the secondhighest ranked opponent the baseball team has defeated in program history. The Blazers would go on to match their best-ever result in the C-USA Tournament, making it to the semifinals. 2009-10: The softball team capped arguably the most successful season in program history with 37 wins and its first ever NCAA tournament berth. The men’s basketball team also Participated in the postseason, advancing to the NIT quarterfinals and hosting defending national champion North Carolina at Bartow Arena. Individually, football’s Joe Webb and men’s soccer’s Two-Boys Gumede were selected as C-USA Offensive Players of the Year for their sports. Jala Harris became the first C-USA women’s basketball player ever to earn Freshman and Sixth Player of the Year honors in the same season. Feb. 23, 2010: The UAB softball team opened its new, on-campus facility, drawing a school-record crowd of 1,323 to its contest with Alabama. Spring, 2011: The UAB men’s basketball team captured the program’s first-ever outright Conference USA regular season championship. The Blazers were also selected to the NCAA Tournament, marking their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2006 and the program’s 14th NCAA selection in its 32-year history. The softball team earned its second NCAA berth in as many seasons as well. Furthermore, women’s tennis standout Jenny Cape became the first Academic All-American for her sport, while track and field also received its first Academic All-America selections, as Nora Mehl and Rhiannon Johns received the nod. Dec. 5, 2011:
UAB’s Director of Athletics Brian Mackin introduced new football head coach Garrick McGee in front of a standing room only crowd in the Green and Gold room inside Bartow Arena. McGee becomes the fourth head coach in Blazer football history. March 27, 2012: Jerod Haase was introduced as the new UAB men’s basketball coach by Athletic Director Brian Mackin. Haase, who spent the previous nine seasons at North Carolina, helping the Tar Heels to a pair of national championships (2005 and 2011), becomes the fifth head coach in the program’s 34-year history. May 27, 2012: The UAB baseball team celebrated the program’s first-ever C-USA Tournament title with a 5-0 victory over Memphis in the championship game. As a result, the Blazers reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991 and just the second time in program history. Spring, 2012: Three UAB spring sports reached the NCAA Tournament. Following the baseball team’s C-USA Championship dramatics, the Blazers were selected to compete at the Florida State regional. Meanwhile, the softball team made their third consecutive NCAA at-large appearance when UAB travelled to compete at the Tennessee Regional. Furthermore, the men’s golf team finished third at the NCAA Stanford Regional to the program’s fourth NCAA Championship appearance.
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