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football Edit

Davis Out

"After a lengthy evaluation of our men's basketball program we have decided to make a change in our leadership," said UAB Athletic Director Brian Mackin at an afternoon press conference at Bartow Arena on Friday. " With that the six year tenure of Mike Davis ended at UAB. Davis compiled a122-73 record at UAB. His tenure included one Conference USA championship, one NCAA appearance, three trips to the NIT and four consecutive winning seasons, a first in UAB basketball history.
There were bumps in the road however, that led Mackin to make the change. "UAB has high expectations and a great history started by our founder, the late Gene Baartow. We will uphold that standard."
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Mackin cited increased apathy amongst the fan base, a decrease in ticket sales and scholarship donations. Davis faced criticism from the fan base for perceived shortcomings in postseason play. The Blazers had been eliminated in first round upsets in 2010 and 2011 before falling in the second round of the 2012 tourney. "UAB has been to 14 NCAA tournaments and 11 NIT tournaments over the course of its history. Our expectations are to be in post season most of the time. We've only had three losing seasons in the program's history and two of those came in the last two seasons."
A national search will be conducted Mackin stated.. When questioned about what he was looking for in a head coach Mackin said he had "different buckets for different coaches."
"I want a face that can excite the fan base," Mackin said.
Bill Carr and Associates will assist in the search. This is the same firm that assisted UAB in the recent football search that led to the hiring of Garrick McGee. As in the football search Mackin will be assisted by a search committee.
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