UAB will not sign off on the firm selected to determine the viability of fielding a football program because it cannot produce an unbiased review, university officials said Friday afternoon.

The Athletics Assessment Task Force announced last week that OSKR had been unanimously selected to review the report that prompted the program's elimination and the athletic department's finances. The school had agreed to cover the cost of the study.

Andy Schwarz, an economist and OSKR co-founder, has published two articles for VICE Sports describing the Carr report, which determined that UAB would need to invest $49 million over five years to be competitive in Conference USA, as "riddled with inaccuracies." He said the firm erred in its projections of scholarship costs; revenue growth, which has held steady for decades; and the annual payout from C-USA.

UAB reviewed the proposal from OSKR to review the Carr report, which is standard procedure for all proposed contracts.

UAB Vice President of Financial Affairs and Administration Allen Bolton outlined administrators' concerns in an email to Wes Smith, the task force chairman and National Alumni Society president.

"To many, it is clear that OSKR formed their opinion on this issue long ago," Bolton wrote. "Any report they issue cannot be considered unbiased. For instance, they speculated in December that football at UAB was actually profitable and another article that led with 'Screw The Math.' Everyone has a right to their opinion, but due to their very own comments this firm does not meet the critical threshold for many of providing a fresh, new, unbiased analysis."

The task force was formed in January after the elimination of the football, bowling and rifle programs. During the process of selecting a financial firm to conduct the review, members vetted concerns about potential bias and determined that the firm had the capability of producing a solid report under intense scrutiny.

In an emailed statement, Smith said that, after the task force selected a firm, the UAB administration must approve that firm and draw up a contract. The administrators must evaluate the firm's professional credentials and ability to produce an unbiased report from its findings.

"The UAB administration has indicated that they are not comfortable engaging OSKR due to the firm's widely published opinion articles that present a public picture of bias," Smith wrote.

University officials also expressed concerns about communications between OSKR and both task force members and members of the Birmingham community outside of the selection process before the firm was invited to submit a proposal. "Unfortunately, these communications outside the selection process have further contributed to the perception that OSKR may have a bias in the matter," Smith wrote. "Given the facts, I cannot disagree with the concern that the process has been tainted."

Smith said that, while he supported the vote to select OSKR, he clearly voiced his concerns to the other members of the task force. Now at an impasse, he said he thinks the task force should select another firm that they and the administration can agree upon.

Bolton emphasized the importance of the task force's work, as well as finding a "fresh, new, independent, non-biased firm" to reevaluate the numbers.

"To be clear: we support this process, and the task force re-evaluation of the initial report," he wrote.

UAB officials are making more financial resources available to the task force and asking the group to extend the timeline for completing its work. Initially, the group aimed to have a final report in hand by April 2.

"It is my hope and strong desire that we can all agree on another firm and the AATF can complete the important work it was formed to do for the benefit of UAB and our community," Smith wrote. "The University has indicated flexibility in the timeline so that the work can be completed prior to the upcoming Conference USA meetings. It is my belief that the University Administration welcomes an unbiased, professional, transparent, and credible report to determine the feasibility of reinstating the football, rifle, and bowling teams at UAB."