INTERVIEW: Big-Picture Perspective On Colleges Ending Football Programs
On December 2, the University of Alabama at Birmingham announced it is cutting its football, bowling and rifle teams after the 2014-2015 season, triggering intense emotions from students and the community. UAB President Dr. Ray L. Watts cited the high cost of keeping the programs competitive, especially football, as a factor in the decision. According to university officials, $20 million of the $30 million athletic department’s budget is subsidized. This is the first time in two decades a school of UAB’s size ended its football program.
While the reason for the cuts is the subject of some dispute, nationally, colleges and universities are struggling with the growing costs of maintaining competitive athletic programs. Some experts think UAB is at the forefront of a new trend. Malcolm Moran, the director of the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University, has reported on college athletics for more than 30 years. He tells WBHM’s Dan Carsen why schools — especially those outside the five largest athletic conferences — might start scaling back costly collegiate athletic programs:
Florida’s 6-week abortion ban will have a ‘snowball effect’ on residents across the South
Abortion rights advocates say the ban will likely force many to travel farther for abortion care and endure pregnancy and childbirth against their will.
Attitudes among Alabama lawmakers softening on Medicaid expansion
Alabama is one of ten states which has not expanded Medicaid. Republican leaders have pushed back against the idea for years.
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
