UAB Blazers The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs of the University of Alabama at Birmingham . The school is one of the twelve member institutions of Conference USA ( C - USA ) and participates in Division I of the NCAA . The school ' s football program , as with all other C - USA members , participates in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( still frequently referred to by its former designation of Division I - A ) , the higher of two levels of Division I competition in that sport . The UAB football team is led by Garrick McGee and currently plays its home games at 71 , 594 - seat Legion Field . The school ' s men ' s basketball team plays in 8 , 508 - seat Bartow Arena . The Blazers ' colors are forest green and old gold . While the football team entered post - season play only in the 2004 Hawaii Bowl , the men ' s basketball program has a long history of success spanning several decades . In addition to football and basketball , UAB also has programs in men ' s sports for baseball , golf , soccer , and tennis . Women ' s sports programs include softball , basketball , golf , soccer , bowling , tennis , track and field ( indoor and outdoor ) , cross country , rifle , volleyball and sand volleyball . Football . In contrast to many other colleges and universities that have decades of tradition , UAB only began its football program in the early 1990s . Jim Hilyer was the first head coach of the Blazers , coaching from 1991 - 1994 . Beginning with the first NCAA sanctioned Division III football team in 1991 , UAB quickly moved up the ranks of the collegiate football divisions at a rate which few had foreseen . Coach Watson Brown took over as head coach in 1995 and held the position through the end of the 2006 season , when he left for Tennessee Tech . The team is currently led by head coach Garrick McGee . UAB made the move to Division I - A , now FBS , football in 1996 and made the jump to Conference USA in 1999 . Since then , UAB has made a habit of playing many of college football ' s traditional powers . In 2000 , UAB achieved a monumental victory by beating LSU in Baton Rouge . In 2004 , UAB reached yet another milestone earning their first bowl trip in school history , the Hawaii Bowl . Though young , UAB ' s football program continues to make large strides both in on the field success and in attendance . UAB currently plays its home football games at Legion Field , where the latest average attendance is 23 , 139 according to NCAA figures . However , on February 3 , 2011 , it was announced that UAB will be moving forward to build a stadium on campus with seating for an estimated 25 , 000 - 30 , 000 . Although UAB developed a funding plan that would not require public funds and had significant corporate and private sponsorship , the University of Alabama Board of Trustees refused to approve the oncampus stadium without even a vote of the board members . Basketball . Men ' s Basketball . The UAB Blazers , in effect , started their entire athletics program with the creation of a men ' s basketball team in 1978 . Setting the standards high from the start , UAB hired former UCLA , University of Illinois and Memphis head coach Gene Bartow . Known to many as the " Father of UAB athletics " , Bartow led the Blazers to almost instant success . In 2004 , the school once again gained national attention when it upset No . 1 - seeded Kentucky in the second round of the tournament and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen . Since their inaugural season , the Blazers have made 14 appearances in the NCAA Men ' s Basketball Tournament including 3 Sweet Sixteen appearances and 1 Elite Eight appearance . UAB has also appeared in the NIT a total of 11 times , including 2 appearances in the NIT Final Four . After only 34 years of basketball , UAB has had 31 winning seasons including memorable wins over Virginia , Kentucky , Louisville , Alabama , Florida , Villanova , Indiana , and Memphis , among others . The Blazers have amassed an impressive 664 wins to only 385 losses since 1978 giving UAB one of the best all - time winning percentages in college basketball . The UAB men ' s basketball team has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll many times in school history and as recently as 2010 . UAB has been ranked as high as # 9 in the nation . Up until the early 1990s , UAB played its home games at the Birmingham – Jefferson Convention Complex . Today , UAB plays its home basketball games in Bartow Arena where the Blazers have won more than 80 percent of its games . Women ' s Basketball . Though largely overshadowed by the men ' s basketball program at UAB , the Blazers women have a strong history in their own right . Since UAB began a women ' s basketball program , UAB has won 4 conference championships , made 2 NCAA Tournament appearances , and 5 WNIT appearances as recently as 2013 . No team in Conference USA has advanced further than the Blazers ' Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NCAA tournament of the 1999 - 2000 season . The Blazers have also advanced to the Elite Eight of the WNIT . UAB Women ' s basketball took home the WBI championship in 2011 . Soccer . Men ' s Soccer . UAB began a men ' s soccer program back in 1979 . Throughout its history , UAB has enjoyed great success in the men ' s soccer program . The men ' s team has been in the NCAA Tournament a total of 7 times including 2 Sweet Sixteen appearances and 1 Elite Eight appearance in 1999 . The men ' s team has been ranked nationally numerous times throughout its history , including top 25 rankings in 16 of the last 18 seasons . One of UAB ' s biggest wins in the men ' s team history came when UAB upset the # 1 - ranked UCLA Bruins in 1997 by a score of 2 - 0 . UAB would upset another # 1 - ranked team in 2006 when they beat the SMU Mustangs by a score of 2 - 1 . The men ' s team plays their home games at UAB ' s West Campus Field . Since 1993 , the men ' s team has won nearly 80 % of its games played at West Campus Field . UAB has frequently been among the national leaders in soccer attendance , finishing as high as 16th nationally in average attendance . The highest attended home soccer game in UAB history came in 2011 when 3 , 141 fans saw the Blazers defeat Clemson 2 - 1 . Although many traditions , cheers , and chants take place at each home game , there is one that " stands above the rest , " according to current head coach Mike Getman . Led by alumni super - fan Andrew Robillard , who has not missed a UAB men ' s home soccer match in 22 seasons , the whole student section sings " God Bless America " in unity . The Hillsborough Times has reported this tradition as one of its " 12 College Sports Traditions you Don ' t Want to Miss . " Women ' s Soccer . Though only beginning a women ' s soccer program only in 1996 , the UAB women ' s soccer team has already been in the NCAA Tournament and has also been ranked several times in its history . The UAB women ' s soccer team has won the Conference USA Championship 3 times in ten years , including the most recent in 2006 . Paul Harbin is the head coach of the women ' s team . Like the men , the women ' s team plays their home games at UAB ' s West Campus Field . Golf . Men ' s Golf . Frequently ranked among the nation ' s better collegiate programs including as high as # 8 in 2011 , the men ' s golf program has gained considerable recognition . Over the program ' s history , UAB has made 7 appearances in the NCAA Men ' s Golf Championship tournament including 6 times in the last 10 years . The UAB golf team has won 2 conference titles including the 2008 Conference USA Championship . Several UAB golfers have gone on to have success as professional golfers including 2010 U . S . Open champion Graeme McDowell and Garrett Osborn . McDowell won the Haskins Award during his senior season in 2002 . UAB ' s golf team is led by coach Alan Kaufman . Synchronized Swimming . Even though the UAB synchronized swimming team was formed recently , in the 1998 - 1999 season , the team has quickly established themselves as dominant in the sport having finished numerous times among the Top 5 teams in the nation . Currently , the team is being dropped as a varsity sport from UAB Championships . Conference Championships ( 43 ) Rivals . UAB ' s main rivals are conference opponents Memphis and Southern Miss of Conference USA , as well as Alabama of the SEC , Auburn of the SEC , and Troy of the Sun Belt Conference . The UAB - Memphis football rivalry is called the Battle for the Bones ( sometimes known as " The BBQ Bowl " ) and includes both professional and amateur barbecue contests as part of the pregame festivities . The winner of the game receives a traveling 100 - pound bronze rack of ribs trophy , known as ‘ The Bones ’ trophy . Mascots . The current UAB mascot is a green dragon named Blaze . Former mascots included a strange cartoonish Nordic warrior and perhaps the most beloved Beauregard T . Rooster that met an untimely demise when threatened with legal action by the San Diego Chicken . Blazers ISP Radio Network . UAB athletic events can be heard on the following stations :