Communications

HEAD COACH
Bill Clark
Head Coach
Head Coach Bill Clark has made it evident he’s dedicated to rebuilding UAB football into a nationally
recognizable program.
Clark will lead the Blazers out of the tunnel for their return to the football field on September 3, 2017 against
Alabama A&M, just as he did in UAB’s last game, a 45-24 victory at Southern Miss on November 29, 2014.
In Clark’s first season as head coach of the Blazers in 2014, he turned around a program that was 2-10 the
year before into a team that finished 6-6 and earned bowl eligibility for the first time since 2004. For his
efforts, he was named the 2014 C-USA Coach of the Year by the league’s media.
PERSONAL
Birthday: June 28, 1968
Age: 48
Hometown: Anniston, Ala.
Education: Jacksonville State University, 1990
Family: Wife, Jennifer and two children, Katie and
Jacob
COACHING EXPERIENCE
2014 - UAB (HC) 6-6
2013 - Jacksonville State (HC) 11-4
2012 - South Alabama (DC) 2-11
2011 - South Alabama (DC) 6-4
2010 - South Alabama (DC) 10-0
2009 - South Alabama (DC) 7-0
2008 - South Alabama (DC) N/A
2007 - Prattville HS (HC) 9-1
2006 - Prattville HS (HC) 15-0
2005 - Prattville HS (HC) 11-1
2004 - Prattville HS( HC) 13-1
2003 - Prattville HS (HC) 12-1
2002 - Prattville HS (HC) 12-2
2001 - Prattville HS (HC) 12-1
2000 - Prattville HS (HC) 9-2
1999 - Prattville HS (HC) 7-3
1998 - Dothan HS (DC) 1-9
1997 - Dothan HS (DC) 10-2
1996 - Coffee HS (DC) 3-7
1995 - Coffee HS (DC) 3-8
1994 - Tuscaloosa County HS (DC) 3-6
1993 - Tuscaloosa County HS (DC) 7-3
1992 - Tuscaloosa County HS (DC) 5-5
1991 - Piedmont HS (Asst.) 10-2
1990 - Piedmont HS (Asst.) 12-1
Clark’s loyalty to the program has been paid back by the UAB Athletics Department, Board of Trustees,
donors and the city of Birmingham, as the Blazers plan to break ground on a $22 million on-campus
Football Operations Center in August of 2016.
Clark also proved that UAB will be a contender from the moment the Blazers return to the field in 2017 as
he signed the No. 2 rated recruiting class in Conference USA in 2016.
In 2014, the Blazers had a school record 15 players earn All-Conference USA honors, including three first
team selections (RB Jordan Howard, DE Diaheem Watkins and KR J.J. Nelson). Nelson was also named the
school’s first Walter Camp First Team All-American.
The Blazers also experienced the second-highest increase nationally in home attendance average, increasing
by more than 130 percent.
Prior to UAB, Clark was the head coach at Jacksonville State in 2013 and led the Gamecocks to an 11-4
record, their most victories since the 1992 campaign when JSU won the NCAA Division II National
Championship. That number set an Ohio Valley Conference record and was also the most wins by a firstyear
head coach.
Jacksonville State earned an at-large berth in the FCS Playoffs and captured two victories -- including a
second round win over No. 6 McNeese State -- to reach the quarterfinals. The wins were the Gamecocks’
first-ever in the NCAA Division I playoffs.
JSU concluded the 2013 season ranked No. 10 in
the final FCS poll. The Gamecocks, who ranked
sixth in the nation in FCS attendance, set 49 school
records in 2013 and broke 13 OVC marks, as well
as three NCAA records. JSU had two players earn
All-America honors and nine selected for All-Ohio
Valley Conference accolades.
Clark became Jacksonville State’s head coach after
five outstanding seasons at South Alabama as the
Jaguars’ defensive coordinator.
Clark’s defense at USA finished second in the
Sun Belt Conference in total defense in 2012 as
the Jaguars completed their first full season of
competition in the league. South Alabama posted
the best record of any Division I FCS Independent
in 2011 after winning the first 17 games in the
program’s history in 2009 and 2010.
During the 2010 season, South Alabama allowed
only 13 points and 254.6 yards per game en route
to a 10-0 record. In 2009, the Jags allowed only 5.9
points and 234 yards per game when the defense
forced 25 sacks and forced 23 turnovers in only
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