University of Alabama System Board of Trustees Committee Backs Contract for UAB Football Coach
Members of the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees compensation committee approved a new five-year contract for head UAB football coach Bill Clark Wednesday. UAB President Ray Watts said Clark would remain the Blazers’ coach when Watts announced the team’s reinstatement in June, but an agreement did not come for more than three months.
The five-year contract runs from June 1, 2015, to June 1, 2020, and is for a base salary of $555,000 a year, plus incentives.
In 2014, his one season as UAB’s coach, Clark led the Blazers to a 6-6 record and bowl eligibility for the first time in a decade. Then in December Watts announced he was ending the football, bowling, and rifle programs because their expense.
The decision met with strong pushback from students, faculty and alumni, with Watts losing three no-confidence votes from campus governing bodies. Subsequent fundraising commitments from athletic boosters of more than $17-million over five years led Watts to bring the programs back.
The football team is expected to return to play fall 2017.
Auburn tabs USF’s Alex Golesh as its next coach, replacing Hugh Freeze on the Plains
The 41-year-old Golesh, who was born in Russia and moved to the United State at age 7, is signing a six-year contract that averages more than $7 million annually to replace Hugh Freeze. Freeze was fired in early November after failing to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three seasons on the Plains.
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The state’s largest utility has proposed delaying the rate increase from its purchase of a $622 million natural gas plant until 2028.
Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones announces run for Alabama governor
Jones announced his campaign Monday afternoon, hours after filing campaign paperwork with the Secretary of State's Office. His gubernatorial bid could set up a rematch with U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Republican who defeated Jones in 2020 and is now running for governor.
Scorching Saturdays: The rising heat threat inside football stadiums
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The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring an Audio Editor
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring an Audio Editor to join our award-winning team covering important regional stories across Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.
Judge orders new Alabama Senate map after ruling found racial gerrymandering
U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco, appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, issued the ruling Monday putting a new court-selected map in place for the 2026 and 2030 elections.
