UAB Expected To Apply To AAC This Week: Sources

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The University of Alabama at Birmingham is expected to apply to the American Athletic Conference this week, sources have told Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, and other outlets.

UAB is expected to join Florida Atlantic University, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the University of North Texas, University of Texas at San Antonio, and Rice University.

The applications will play out over the course of the week, and may be processed as early as Tuesday, according to sources. However, the applications are generally considered a formality, with acceptance all but certain.

The application signals a dramatic turnaround for the fortunes of UAB, which was not seriously considered the last time the AAC nabbed schools away from Conference USA in 2011. The school abandoned its football program in 2014, and was set to be kicked out of Conference USA. However, a devoted fanbase and a crew of Birmingham businessmen launched a successful campaign to revive the school’s football program, resulting in a new $200 million Protective Stadium opened earlier this month, two conference wins, a bowl game win, and a string of recent wins against Tulane and Jacksonville State.

The move would expand the AAC to a 14-team conference in football and baseball, an important addition after the conference lost the University of Cincinnati, the University of Central Florida, and the University of Houston to the Big 12 this fall. The conference unsuccessfully tried to lure Boise State University, the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado State University, and San Diego State University away from the Mountain West Conference.

The current crop of applications is expected to help the AAC expand into valuable recruiting territory across the South, including Birmingham, which consistently ranks number one in the country for how much college football it watches on TV. With the new addition, AAC would stand with the Mountain West as the two strongest non-Power Five conferences, according to CBS Sports.

Related:

• Uniquely Alabama: Protective Stadium Was A Long Time Coming
• Uniquely Alabama: The Religion Of Football