The 2014 UAB season ended with a bang as they defeated rival Southern Miss 45-24 to make the Blazers bowl eligible with a 6-6 record. The UAB family thought it might have a chance to play in a December bowl game. Little did they know they would have to wait until September of 2017 for another game on the gridiron.
UAB President Ray Watts decided to cut the football, rifle, and bowling programs based on a campus-wide strategic planning initiative that outlined what priorities on campus needed better funding. After several protests and campaigning, President Ray Watts reinstated all three programs on June 1, 2015.