BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Amid concern over the fate of UAB's football program, hundreds of people rallied on campus Sunday night in support of the team - and in protest of the Board of Trustees.

The concerns and upheaval of Sunday were worsened by the stark contrast to Saturday night, when some players were so excited about their victory they could hardly sleep, said Ty Long, a senior and a kicker on the team.

"We're staying positive because we know what this program's about," Long said.

The Blazers made history this weekend with a win on the road against Southern Miss that ensured bowl eligibility for the first time in a decade. But Coach Bill Clark told ESPN today that he worries the program could be shut down as soon as this week.

Clark later told AL.com's Kevin Scarbinsky that he hasn't heard anything official, one way or the other, concerning the program's long-term future, adding he still has faith in its survival.

Rumors about an impending end to the program have swirled for weeks, culminating in a grassroots, student-driven rally Sunday night on the Campus Green. More than 600 people - students, alumni and other supporters - sang and chanted for more than an hour.

Long has been a starter for a tumultuous four years - with different players, coaches and personalities.

"We fight a lot of battles each and every day, and we've still found a way to compete and win," Long said.

And the growing support has been evident, even before the program's future was called into question, he said. They have watched the crowds grow progressively larger, and they're not going to let that momentum falter. Instead, they're preparing for a bowl game.

"Everyone knows the right thing to do, but it comes down to this: Are they going to be man enough to do the right thing? Is it fair for one man to make a decision for this whole city?" Long said.

Rally spurred by 'murmurs among the students'

On Sunday afternoon, Mitchell Miller, a former mascot and Marching Blazer, saw several offhand comments on Twitter about possibly holding a rally at UAB - "murmurs among the students," he said.

He and a few other people used social media to organize, and the rally came together rapidly.

"I've supported this team a long time," he said. "I've watched the players become leaders."

They posted the information on several online message boards. Mitchell brought poster board and markers to make signs. Some of the Marching Blazers formed an impromptu pep band. Football players and other student athletes made plans to attend.

The cause is an important one for Mitchell, who moved from Decatur to Birmingham for college, transferred his allegiance from Auburn to UAB and "never looked back." He and several others were adamant that they wouldn't be at UAB if it weren't for the football team, the band, the dance team and other programs.

"If I had not had the opportunity to be a Marching Blazer or a mascot, I would not have come to UAB," he said. "I met my best friend here - we're both super fans, and he was a groomsman in my wedding. I met my wife here."

'It's really in the heart of some folks'

Many former players attended the rally to support the current players, said Justin Craft, a member of UAB's first Division I team.

"It's important to me because I know what these guys feel like out on the field," he said. "We laid the first bricks for these guys to accomplish what they've accomplished."

It would be foolish of the administration to shut the program down just after they have seen such success, he said. The team is important not only to the university, but to the city.

"They've accomplished probably the biggest turnaround in college football history, and they've done it with a dark cloud hanging over their heads all year," Craft said.

That ominous cloud has lingered long before this year, said Cornelius "Tony" Ratcliff, a 2004 graduate who proudly sported a #FreeUAB shirt.

Though Ratcliff didn't play football, many of his fraternity brothers did and he supported them at every opportunity. During a tour in Afghanistan he would wake up at 2 a.m. to listen online or check message boards to see how the Blazers had fared that week.

"When they say nobody cares, that's not true - people do," Ratcliff said. "They don't think it is, but it's really in the hearts of some folks."

'They're crippling the program'

Despite Ratcliff's ardor, he wasn't surprised about the program's rumored end. He said the current situation mirrors the response to the on-campus stadium proposals in that UAB does not have enough champions on the Board of Trustees. And when they have had supporters, those voices have been ignored, he said.

"At some point it's no longer about you," he said. "If this happens, football players are out of a scholarship, we're no longer in Conference USA, and there's a loss of revenue."

The effects wouldn't stop there, said Willie Howard, a 2010 graduate who worked on campus.

His cousin, a high school junior who plays football, included UAB on his short list of schools.

Cutting the football program would deter many prospective students from attending the university, a consequence that Howard says it doesn't seem the board has considered.

When it comes to the football team, university system officials have fallen into a vicious cycle, Howard said. They refuse to take the necessary steps to enrich the program and make it successful, then they turn around and cite the state that it's in as a reason to axe it.

"Why are there so many people who have control over the program but don't know anything about it?" he said. "They're crippling the program."