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UAB Blazers Football: 3 Reasons Why Bill Clark is a Coaching Legend

By Michael Hanich

Dec 21, 2019; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; UAB Blazers head coach Bill Clark on the sidelines in the second half against the Appalachian State Mountaineers in the New Orleans Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2019; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; UAB Blazers head coach Bill Clark on the sidelines in the second half against the Appalachian State Mountaineers in the New Orleans Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports /
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Syndication: Shreveport Times/The Times
Syndication: Shreveport Times/The Times /

1. He is a Winner on the field

Coach Clark has had a successful coaching career at many schools he has coached. From 1999 to 2007, Clark was the head coach of the nation’s most impressive high school football dynasties.

At Prattville, Clark accounted for an overall record of 106-11 and a playoff record of 23-6. He won two state titles and six regional titles. Clark became the defensive coordinator of the South Alabama Jaguars from 2008 to 2012. After several years in Mobile, Alabama, Clark was hired as the head coach of the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in 2013. He finished that season with an overall record of 11-4 (5-3 in conference play).

In his first year as the head coach of UAB football, coach Clark accounted for an overall record of 6-6 and a conference record of 4-4 in a tough C-USA conference. He brought the program its first .500% season since 2004 when the Blazers first went to a bowl game. On that team in 2004 was four-time Pro-Bowl wide receiver Roddy White.

Even with the program dead, coach Clark dug in deep and attempted to create a team like it was brand new. The NCAA allowed players to immediately transfer without having to redshirt. This didn’t stop some of the top players on the team from waiting for the program to be returned.

Coach Clark and the Blazers were officially back on the field for the 2017 season. Not only did they not miss a beat, but they showed they were better than when the University shut down the team. They finished the 2017 season with an 8-5 overall record and their second-ever trip to a postseason bowl game.

The following year, the Blazers would make history. The Blazers accounted for their first 10-win season at 11-3, their trip West Divisional title, their first C-USA Conference Championship title, and their first bowl win.

They would earn another trip to the C-USA Conference Championship game before losing to the Florida Atlantic Owls, led by head coach Lane Kiffin and running back Devin Singletary. In the COVID-19 2020 season, the Blazers would defeat the North Texas Mean Green for another conference title. The only reason the Blazers didn’t go to a bowl was because of COVID-19.

Finally, this past season, the Blazers would be just short of making it to their fourth consecutive C-USA Conference Championship game appearance as they lost to an undefeated #22 UTSA Roadrunners team. The Blazers would go on to shock the #12 BYU Cougars 31-28 in the 2021 Independence Bowl.

Clark has accumulated an overall record of 49-26 (32-12 in C-USA play) in his six years coaching UAB football.

After the program returned for the 2017 season, Clark accumulated a record of 43-20 (28-8 in C-USA play). Overall, he had accumulated a 60-30 record, including his 2013 season at Jacksonville State when the Gamecocks went 11-4 (5-3 in conference play).

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