The challenging logistics behind a 'trip of a lifetime' for UAB

By Evan Dudley, special to AL.com

Bill Clark and his UAB team always believed they were capable of success in the program's first year back after a two-year hiatus.

So did athletic director Mark Ingram and he had a plan ready to set in motion.

As the last remaining seconds elapsed in UAB's 52-21 win over Rice on Nov. 4 - its sixth win of the season - Ingram put that plan into action. It included passports, equipment transport and other logistics related to an undertaking not seen since the 2004 Hawaii Bowl, the only bowl game in which UAB has participated.

The Blazers are now set to face off against Ohio in the 2017 Bahamas Bowl in Nassau, Bahamas on Dec. 22.

Although the Bahamas Bowl is not the only the bowl game located off the mainland -- the Hawaii Bowl also shares that distinction -- it is the only game played in a foreign country besides the 1937 Bacardi Bowl in Havana, Cuba. That means almost 200 passports required for the team and support staff.

The bowl is in its fourth year of existence and, according to Ingram, the Conference USA league office advised member schools to secure passports before the season began. Ingram took no chances and had passports ordered almost a full year in advance.

A few members of the team who enrolled before the fall semester and some staff were required to apply and expedite their passports, but Ingram didn't expect any problems.

"We really started nearly a year ago getting passports for all of guys because we've been asked to," he said. "So one thing we're not having to do now is scramble to get passports because we got out in front of that and fortunately we did. Now that we're in it, it's not a problem we're concerned about. Getting 20-30 a year is better than getting 150 a year."



Travel is obviously different than it is during the regular season.

UAB usually travels on a single charter plane but will charter two for the bowl game to accommodate the team, staff and families and some members of the UAB marching band. Multiple buses will be used to transport from the resort to various locations as capacity is smaller than that of charter buses in the states.

The team is set to leave Dec. 18 but the equipment will be making an earlier departure. During the season it is transported by semi-trailer to its destination a day or two before the team arrives but will travel by truck, train and boat to reach the Bahamas. Ingram said a shipping container was purchased and will be sent a week ahead to ensure a safe delivery.

However, the team still has to practice leading up to travel day. The practices will be stripped down without equipment, but players will have helmet and pads requiring them to lug it around with their other belongings once they hit the air for paradise.

Once on the ground, the Blazers do not have far to go to continue preparations for their opponent. The practice fields are on the Atlantis resort property, and the main ballroom will serve as a provincial locker room for the team to meet.

The bowl payout is an unknown at press time but Ingram has patterned a budget similar to that of Old Dominion and Middle Tennessee State, the last two C-USA representatives to play in the bowl. The league also advances money out of the payout for trip expenses. The goal, according to Ingram, is to break even on the budget.

Fans of UAB have shown interest in attending the event with a bowl applications mailed to season-ticket holders weeks in advance. But the ultimate deciding factor for Ingram was giving the Blazers a great bowl trip after two years without football games.

"From my perspective, if there's a team in the country that deserves a reward trip it's our team," Ingram said. "I'm thrilled for them to have what I think is a trip of a lifetime. They have outperformed and exceeded everyone's expectations, and it's the greatest comeback in college football history in my opinion."

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