UAB Football- March 12, 2014

UAB Assistant Coach Richard Owens is shown during the first spring football practice session in Birmingham, Ala., Wednesday, March 12, 2014. (Mark Almond/malmond@al.com)

(MARK ALMOND)

The task force reviewing UAB athletics has chosen a new firm to determine the viability of fielding a football team after its first selection was rejected by university officials last month.

The UAB Athletics Assessment Task Force has unanimously chosen College Sports Solutions to conduct a study of the university athletic department's finances and determine whether football is sustainable, said Wes Smith, task force chairman and president of the UAB National Alumni Society.

CSS will partner with local accounting firm Borland Benefield to complete the study.

The new deadline is May 15, giving ample time for the university and community to review the findings before the annual Conference USA meetings in June.

In March, the task force announced that California-based firm OSKR had been unanimously selected. But after UAB reviewed the firm's proposal, university officials said they would not approve hiring OSKR, saying the firm's consultants couldn't produce an unbiased report.

During the three weeks after OSKR was rejected, the task force quietly continued discussions of which firm to select as a replacement. But UAB remained in the news, as AL.com's Kevin Scarbinsky reported that an outside public relations firm, Sard Verbinnent & Co., had prepared detailed plans for the university to announce in September 2014 that the school was eliminating the three programs.

UAB President Ray Watts issued a statement denying claims made by State Rep. Jack Williams that the football decision was made before the 2014 season, saying "this is categorically untrue."

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.

The task force discussed and vetted similar concerns about potential bias with College Sports Solutions and its employees, including ties to Carr Sports, the firm that produced the initial report leading to the elimination of the UAB football, bowling and rifle programs.

Smith said task force members are confident that the firm will not be biased for or against the university, Carr Sports or the UAB community. He also emphasized that the task force alone selected CSS, without outside input.

"The transparency required by the public scrutiny CSS will be subjected to in performing the work and their resulting report, requires the utmost professional excellence and integrity that is able to withstand such," Smith said. "We are unanimously in agreement as to the professionalism and integrity of CSS."

Smith said that the task force is comfortable selecting CSS because the firm employs independent contractors. No member of the team working on the UAB football study will have worked with or for Carr Sports or in prior roles as co-workers.

"This is a small industry," Smith said. "If you eliminated those who 'know' each other, you would employ no one and certainly not those who are qualified."

In an email, he outlined the task force's reasoning in the selection of CSS: The firm has deep knowledge of intercollegiate athletics; possesses the necessary qualifications to analyze qualitative data and produce reasonably quantifiable projections; and the ability to complete the work in the time frame requested.

"The Task Force looks forward to working with CSS to produce the comprehensive, professional, transparent and credible analysis promised to all UAB constituents," Smith said.

Smith will serve as the primary point of contact with CSS, but the entire task force will work with the firm when necessary.

The school is covering the costs of the study. After rejecting the first firm, they offered more financial resources to the task force and asked the group to extend the timeline for completing its work. Initially, task force members hoped to have a final report in hand by April 2.

Clay Ryan, an attorney and the university's liaison to the task force, said in a prepared statement that it is vital that fundraising efforts continue while CSS conducts its work.

"It is important, as we have discussed with Chairman Smith and task force leaders, that they continue to work on a parallel track and in concert with UAB Football Foundation leaders to raise private funding needed to reinstate football, rifle and bowling," Ryan said. "This aspect of the effort is critical and time sensitive, given our ongoing discussions with Conference USA."

Ryan said the five-year projection of $27 million necessary for athletic operations is "a reasonable floor" to use for fundraising efforts.

"In addition, the new report will give a good estimate on additional funding from public and private sector leaders necessary for facility upgrades to give our coaches and players the tools they need to have a consistently excellent program," Ryan said.

The fundraising subcommittee will deliver weekly written progress reports through May 15.