# Battle for the Bones

The Battle for the Bones is a sports rivalry between the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers and the University of Memphis Tigers. The two NCAA Division I schools compete in various sports, with men's basketball and college football in particular being prominent.
The rivalry began in 1984, when the two schools first met in men's basketball. Memphis currently leads the series at 39–11. The football rivalry began in 1997. Since 2006 it has been known as the "Battle for the Bones" due to its trophy, a bronze rack of ribs.
The future of the rivalry was unclear as Memphis joined the American Athletic Conference in 2013 during the 2010–2013 Big East Conference realignment. However, the series continued semi-regularly in basketball after the Tigers departure from Conference USA. However, in October 2021, the UAB Blazers accepted an invitation to join the American Athletic Conference, thus renewing the rivalry and trophy as regular conference match-ups.

## Men's basketball

The Memphis–UAB men's basketball rivalry has the longest history of all their sports, and tends to be the most intense and heated affair. The first matchup between the Memphis Tigers and UAB Blazers was played in 1984, when the teams first met in basketball. The two teams have played at least twice a year since 1992, when they both moved to the Great Midwest Conference and later to Conference USA.
Head coach Gene Bartow was influential in both programs. He coached Memphis (then Memphis State) from 1970 to 1974, and in 1978 he became the first head coach of UAB's new program, which he led until 1996. His long tenure and success with the Blazers have led to him being known as the "Father of UAB Athletics".

### Notable games

March 17, 1985†: In only the second meeting between two schools, 2nd-seed Memphis took on 7th-seed UAB in the Second round of the 1985 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The Blazers, led by former Memphis coach Gene Bartow in their fifth consecutive NCAA appearance, played the Tigers closely in a game that had to go into overtime. Despite the best effort from UAB, Memphis would win 67–66 and go onto the Final Four.
March 10, 2006: After splitting the regular season series, the Blazers and Tigers met in the 2006 Conference USA men's basketball tournament final hosted at FedExForum. The John Calipari lead Tigers ultimately would win the game 57–46, clinching the first Conference USA title for Memphis.
February 16, 2008†: The #1-ranked Memphis Tigers were nearly upset before pulling out a 79–78 win. As the Tigers were down by 8 points with 2 minutes left, they went on a 9–1 run. After the conclusion of the game, an altercation between Memphis players and UAB fans occurred. Ultimately, people in the stands began booing the Memphis players off the court and throwing drinks and shakers at them as the players were escorted off the court by local police officers.
† Denotes game vacated by Memphis

### Game results

Rankings are from the AP poll (1936–present)
| UAB victories | Memphis victories | Tie games | Vacated wins |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 1 | February 4, 1984 | Mid-South Coliseum | No. 9 Memphis State | 53–51 |
| 2 | March 17, 1985$^A$ | Hofheinz Pavilion | No. 5 Memphis State$^†$ | 67–66$^{OT}$ |
| 3 | March 14, 1991 | Mid-South Coliseum | Memphis State | 82–76 |
| 4 | January 1, 1992 | UAB Arena | Memphis State | 67–63 |
| 5 | February 22, 1992 | Pyramid Arena | Memphis State | 63–58 |
| 6 | March 12, 1992$^B$ | Chicago Stadium | Memphis State | 79–67 |
| 7 | January 16, 1993 | UAB Arena | UAB | 50–47 |
| 8 | January 30, 1993 | UAB Arena | Memphis State | 69–53 |
| 9 | January 16, 1994 | UAB Arena | No. 22 UAB | 85–57 |
| 10 | February 12, 1994 | Pyramid Arena | Memphis State | 58–53 |
| 11 | March 10, 1994$^C$ | Shoemaker Center | Memphis State | 91–86 |
| 12 | January 21, 1995 | UAB Arena | UAB | 80–63 |
| 13 | January 28, 1995 | Pyramid Arena | Memphis | 74–67 |
| 14 | January 24, 1996 | Pyramid Arena | No. 12 Memphis | 86–77 |
| 15 | January 25, 1997 | Bartow Arena | UAB | 51–48 |
| 16 | January 22, 1998 | Pyramid Arena | Memphis | 86–70 |
| 17 | February 8, 1998 | Bartow Arena | UAB | 88–77 |
| 18 | January 2, 1999 | Pyramid Arena | UAB | 91–83 |
| 19 | February 11, 1999 | Bartow Arena | Memphis | 78–75 |
| 20 | January 26, 2000 | Pyramid Arena | Memphis | 84–70 |
| 21 | February 16, 2000 | Bartow Arena | UAB | 102–75 |
| 22 | January 27, 2001 | Bartow Arena | Memphis | 76–73$^{OT}$ |
| 23 | February 19, 2001 | Pyramid Arena | Memphis | 86–69 |
| 24 | January 23, 2002 | Pyramid Arena | Memphis | 102–81 |
| 25 | February 8, 2002 | Bartow Arena | UAB | 64–46 |
| 26 | February 15, 2003 | Pyramid Arena | Memphis | 94–70 |
| 27 | March 8, 2003 | Bartow Arena | No. 18 Memphis | 90–79 |
| 28 | February 21, 2004 | Pyramid Arena | No. 23 Memphis | 73–66 |
| 29 | January 22, 2005 | Bartow Arena | UAB | 73–70 |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 30 | January 26, 2006 | FedExForum | No. 3 Memphis | 73–66 |
| 31 | March 2, 2006 | Bartow Arena | UAB | 80–74 |
| 32 | March 10, 2006$^D$ | FedExForum | No. 5 Memphis | 57–46 |
| 33 | January 16, 2007 | FedExForum | No. 17 Memphis | 79–54 |
| 34 | February 8, 2007 | Bartow Arena | No. 8 Memphis | 70–56 |
| 35 | February 16, 2008 | Bartow Arena | No. 1 Memphis$^†$ | 79–78 |
| 36 | March 8, 2008 | FedExForum | No. 2 Memphis$^†$ | 94–56 |
| 37 | January 17, 2009 | FedExForum | Memphis | 81–68 |
| 38 | February 26, 2009 | Bartow Arena | No. 5 Memphis | 71–60 |
| 39 | February 3, 2010 | FedExForum | Memphis | 85–75 |
| 40 | March 3, 2010 | Bartow Arena | Memphis | 70–65 |
| 41 | January 22, 2011 | Bartow Arena | Memphis | 76–73$^{OT}$ |
| 42 | February 16, 2011 | FedExForum | Memphis | 62–58 |
| 43 | January 7, 2012 | Bartow Arena | Memphis | 62–59 |
| 44 | February 11, 2012 | FedExForum | Memphis | 79–45 |
| 45 | January 12, 2013 | Bartow Arena | Memphis | 69–53 |
| 46 | March 9, 2013 | FedExForum | No. 25 Memphis | 86–71 |
| 47 | December 10, 2016 | FedExForum | Memphis | 62–55 |
| 48 | November 30, 2017 | Bartow Arena | UAB | 71–56 |
| 49 | December 8, 2018 | FedExForum | Memphis | 94–76 |
| 50 | December 7, 2019 | Bartow Arena | No. 15 Memphis | 65–57 |
| 51 | January 29, 2024 | Bartow Arena | UAB | 97–88 |
| 52 | March 3, 2024 | FedExForum | Memphis | 106–87 |
| 53 | January 26, 2025 | FedExForm | No. 24 Memphis | 100–77 |
| 54 | March 2, 2025 | Bartow Arena | No. 18 Memphis | 88–81 |
| 55 | March 16, 2025$^E$ | Dickies Arena | No. 16 Memphis | 84–72 |
| Series: Memphis leads 40–12 |||||
| † Vacated by Memphis |||||

#### Notes

* ↑ Memphis has vacated all NCAA Tournament wins and loses between 1982 until 1986, including the game against UAB during that period. Memphis has also vacated all of its victories from the 2007–08 season. These 38 wins are not included in Memphis's all-time record, nor is the victory against UAB during this season counted in the series record between the two teams.
$^A$ NCAA second round $^B$ 1992 Great Midwest Conference men's basketball tournament $^C$ 1994 Great Midwest Conference men's basketball tournament $^D$ 2006 Conference USA men's basketball tournament $^E$ 2025 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament

## Football

The Blazers and Tigers began competing in football after the Blazers football team joined Division I in 1997. The series has been played nearly every year since, and is led by UAB with a win–loss record of 10 to 7. In 2006, the schools introduced a trophy, a 100-pound (45 kg) bronze rack of ribs alluding to the two cities' reputation for barbecue, and dubbed the game the "Battle for the Bones". In keeping with the theme, a fan barbecue competition accompanies the game.

### Game results

Rankings are from the AP Poll (1936–present)
| UAB victories | Memphis victories | Tie games |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 1 | September 6, 1997 | Memphis, TN | Memphis | 28–7 |
| 2 | October 9, 1999 | Birmingham, AL | Memphis | 38–14 |
| 3 | October 14, 2000 | Birmingham, AL | UAB | 13–9 |
| 4 | October 27, 2001 | Memphis, TN | UAB | 17–14 |
| 5 | September 28, 2002 | Birmingham, AL | UAB | 31–17 |
| 6 | October 4, 2003 | Memphis, TN | UAB | 24–10 |
| 7 | September 25, 2004 | Birmingham, AL | UAB | 35–28 |
| 8 | November 1, 2005 | Memphis, TN | UAB | 37–20 |
| 9 | October 7, 2006 | Birmingham, AL | UAB | 35–29 |
| 10 | November 17, 2007 | Memphis, TN | Memphis | 25–9 |
| 11 | October 2, 2008 | Birmingham, AL | Memphis | 33–30 |
| 12 | November 14, 2009 | Memphis, TN | UAB | 31–21 |
| 13 | November 20, 2010 | Birmingham, AL | UAB | 31–15 |
| 14 | November 12, 2011 | Memphis, TN | UAB | 41–35 |
| 15 | November 17, 2012 | Birmingham, AL | Memphis | 46–9 |
| 16 | October 21, 2023 | Birmingham, AL | Memphis | 45–21 |
| 17 | November 16, 2024 | Memphis, TN | Memphis | 53–18 |
| Series: UAB leads 10–7 |||||