BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers are officially members of the American Athletic Conference.
The move became official as of July 1.
“This is a monumental day for the UAB Department of Athletics,” said Director of Athletics Mark Ingram. “Moving to the American Athletic Conference will provide our entire institution and city of Birmingham increased exposure through the AAC’s multimedia rights agreement with ESPN and will renew old rivalries with our peer institutions such as Memphis, Tulane, East Carolina, USF and more.”
The move comes after UAB spent 28 years as a Charter member of Conference USA. In that time, the Blazers captured six conference championships across football, men’s basketball, softball and baseball.
The reconfigured American Athletic Conference will consist of 15 schools – UAB, Florida Atlantic, Charlotte, North Texas, Rice and UTSA joining East Carolina, Memphis, North Texas, SMU, Temple, Tulsa, USF, Wichita State, and Navy as a football-only member.
“I want to issue a warm welcome to our six distinguished schools as they officially enter our conference,” said Commissioner Mike Aresco. “UAB, Florida Atlantic, Charlotte, North Texas, Rice and UTSA are going to be great additions to our powerful conference. Together with our nine outstanding incumbent universities, we will continue to elevate our brand and to make our mark on college athletics at the highest level. The 15 schools of our reinvented American Athletic Conference join together to celebrate our remarkable first decade and to look forward to the next decade with renewed determination and commitment. The future is bright.”
