UAB football has struggled, and Bill Clark knows the project ahead of him.

Bill Clark

That wasn’t illustrated any more than with a question from a fan during a radio interview.

While in studio for The Opening Drive on WJOX in Birmingham, Clark talked about his program and spring football, and then he took call-in questions from fans. One of the first questions laid out the state of the program.

“Can I be honest with you?” the fan asked. “You’re coming in at either the best time or the worst time right now. It doesn’t get any worse than last year, finishing the season getting blown out by a winless team in Southern Miss. I know you had nothing to do with that. 2-10. There are people that are itching for a reason to follow UAB football, but they refuse to give anyone a reason to go to any games or root for them. You come in, and your job at Jacksonville (State) is a better job than the job right now at UAB. That’s the perception. Right now, if UAB football ceased to exist, it might make news for a day, but nobody would care. That’s how bad things are right now. I’m letting you know what you’re up against. It’s complete apathy, because UAB has done nothing to energize the fans.”

UAB has won five games in the past two seasons, and head coach Garrick McGee left for the offensive coordinator job at Louisville. To his credit, Clark was upfront about what needs to be done.

“I’ll try not to get me down on this note. I think the biggest thing from us is you’ve got to see it,” he said. “We say to our players all the time: The proof is in the pudding. Talk is cheap. I think our guys have been talked to a lot about that. The one thing I’m going to promise you is these guys are going to play their tails off. You’re just going to have to see it. We’re going to have to make it happen. I agree.”

The remaining calls for Clark were from supportive fans who said they would attend a game this season for the first time. Clark thanked them for the support.

UAB opens the 2014 season against Troy.