UM adds 2020 home game against UAB

CORAL GABLES — The Miami Hurricanes already have one nonconference football game scheduled against an Alabama program that’s generated plenty of headlines. Now they’re adding another.

Miami and AlabamaBirmingham announced Monday the two schools are set to face off at Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 19, 2020.

It will be the first meeting for the two schools and UAB, which recently reinstated football after briefly shutting down the program, is touting the game as a “marquee matchup” that will continue helping the school make recruiting inroads in Florida, a state known for producing top prospects. UAB played at Florida last November, with the Gators notching a 36-7 win.

The 2017 season marked UAB’s first after school officials decided to disband the program in 2014. The school quickly reversed course and reinstated the program after a public outcry, but the Blazers did not field a team in 2015.

A year later, the Blazers practiced for a season but did not play, returning to action instead last September when they opened against Alabama A&M. They went on to post an 8-5 record and earned a berth in the Bahamas Bowl, where they lost to Ohio 41-6.

“We have a lot of players on our roster from the state of Florida, so for them to have an opportunity to return home for a game like this is a big deal to the players and their families,” UAB coach Bill Clark said in a statement. “We also recruit the state of Florida very heavily and being able to bring our brand to them only helps.”

For the Hurricanes, of course, things are different.

Miami has experienced a surge in coach Mark Richt’s first two seasons in Coral Gables, posting a 10-win season last year for the first time since 2003.

Miami also won its first Coastal Division championship and played in its first ACC Championship Game.

A year earlier under Richt, in 2016, the Hurricanes won their first bowl game in more than a decade.

That success has helped lead to a series of spotlighted non-conference games for the Hurricanes, including a 2021 season-opening matchup against powerhouse Alabama in Atlanta, a 2019 matchup against Florida in Orlando and a Sept. 2 game against LSU in Arlington later this year.

Miami also has nonconference games set up against Michigan State in 2020 and 2021, Temple in 2020 and Texas A&M in both 2022 and 2023.

“We’re excited about the addition of UAB to our schedule for 2020,” UM deputy director of athletics Jennifer Strawley said in a statement.

“We are always striving for a competitive nonconference slate to complement our ACC schedule.”