MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama and UAB will meet on the football field for the first time in 2015 after the schools finalized a two-game, home-and-home series, while both Jaguar basketball teams lost at Arkansas State over the weekend and work continued on a major renovation of Jaguar Field, the home of the South Alabama softball program.
South Alabama UAB Series Set for 2015 and 2016
The South Alabama UAB series will open on Sept. 19, 2015, at Legion Field in Birmingham. The Blazers will make the return trip to Mobile on Sept. 10, 2016, for a game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
The two schools were once Sun Belt Conference rivals before UAB moved to Conference USA, and their men’s basketball programs have continued to meet regularly since. The football teams have never played, however, since South Alabama launched its program in 2009.
“Playing UAB is going to be good for our program as well as theirs, any time you can play teams in-state it’s a good thing. We are looking forward to that rivalry,” South Alabama head coach Joey Jones said.
Jones compared the arrangement to the long-running series between UAB and Troy. “I think this will be very similar to the UAB-Troy series which has been going on for a while now, both those schools have benefited from that rivalry,” he said.
South Alabama athletic director Joel Erdmann pointed to the short distance between the two campuses. “This is truly a great in-state series for the fans,” Erdmann said. “Each institution has a substantial amount of alumni and current students located within a reasonable driving distance of both Mobile and Birmingham. We are excited about playing UAB and encourage our fans to mark their calendars far in advance.”
The Jaguars went 6-6 overall and 4-3 in Sun Belt play in 2013, their first season as a full Football Bowl Subdivision member. South Alabama became bowl eligible but did not receive a bowl invitation.
UAB finished 2-10 and 1-7 in Conference USA, dropping its final six games, including a 62-27 loss to Southern Miss in the season finale. Blazers head coach Garrick McGee then left after two seasons to become offensive coordinator at Louisville under Bobby Petrino.
South Alabama’s only previous game against a Conference USA opponent was a 41-39 win over Tulane in the second game of the 2013 season. The Jaguars’ future schedules also include home-and-home series with Louisiana Tech in 2017 and 2018, Tulane in 2019 and 2020, and Southern Miss in 2020 and 2021.
Men’s Basketball Drops Sixth Straight
Arkansas State beat South Alabama 72-60 on Saturday night in Jonesboro, Ark., handing the Jaguars their sixth consecutive loss. South Alabama fell to 6-11 overall and 0-4 in the Sun Belt, while the Red Wolves improved to 10-5 and 3-1.
The Jaguars shot 34.5 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from 3-point range. Only one South Alabama player made as many as four field goals.
Freshman Aakim Saintil led the Jaguars with 10 points. Augustine Rubit had nine points and seven rebounds, freshman Ken Williams scored nine, Mychal Ammons added eight points and seven rebounds, and freshman Isaiah Maston finished with eight points.
Arkansas State won the rebounding battle 41-33. South Alabama finished with five assists and nine turnovers.
Kirk Van Slyke led all scorers with 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Red Wolves, and Ed Townsel added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Arkansas State shot 42.6 percent overall but made only 25 percent of its 3-point attempts.
First-year coach Matthew Graves and the Jaguars return to the Mitchell Center this week for two home games, hosting Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. and Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday at 4:05 p.m.
Lady Jaguars Fall to Unbeaten Red Wolves
The South Alabama women dropped a 73-60 decision at Arkansas State on Saturday afternoon, their second straight loss after opening Sun Belt play with back-to-back wins.
The Lady Jaguars led by eight points early in the second half before the Red Wolves answered with a decisive run. South Alabama fell to 4-10 overall and 2-2 in the conference, while Arkansas State improved to 10-6 and 4-0.
Meghan Dunn led South Alabama with 18 points, going 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-3 from 3-point range and 3-of-3 at the free-throw line. Colby Davis added 15 points and made 8 of 10 free throws.
Ronneka Robertson, the Sun Belt’s second-leading rebounder at 9.1 per game entering the contest, scored eight points but did not record a rebound.
South Alabama shot 47.8 percent in the first half but made just 7 of 24 shots (29.2 percent) after halftime. Arkansas State shot 15-of-29 (51.7 percent) in the second half and 42.9 percent for the game.
The Lady Jaguars, in their first season under coach Terry Fowler, open a two-game homestand Wednesday against Louisiana-Lafayette and host Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday.
Jaguar Field Renovations Under Way
Construction is in progress on a series of upgrades to Jaguar Field following a 2013 season in which the South Alabama softball team won its second consecutive Sun Belt Conference championship and hosted an NCAA Tournament regional for the first time.
The athletic department and head coach Becky Clark worked together on the plans, which include:
- A new hitting facility along the third-base line with hitting bays, storage, video analysis space and a covered bullpen.
- A larger press box and concession stand, including a radio broadcast booth, replacing the structures that were demolished.
- New bleachers providing seating from dugout to dugout, with chairback seats behind home plate.
- New sunken dugouts designed to reduce obstructed views for spectators.
Erdmann said the goal is to bring the look of Eddie Stanky Field, the home of Jaguar baseball, to the softball complex on a smaller scale.
