If you want to understand the UAB Blazers football record, you have to look past the box scores. Honestly, the numbers alone don’t tell the half of it. Most college football programs follow a pretty predictable line—they win some, they lose some, and maybe they hire a new coach every five years. UAB? They literally died and came back to life.
It’s one of the weirdest, most resilient stories in sports.
Currently, as we move through early 2026, the program is trying to find its footing after a chaotic few years. People look at the 2025 season and see a 4-8 record, but they forget the absolute firestorm that happened mid-season. Trent Dilfer, the Super Bowl winner turned coach, was fired just six games in. He left with a 9-21 total record and, incredibly, zero road wins.
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The Dilfer Experiment and the 2025 Crash
Let’s be real: the Trent Dilfer era was a gamble that didn't pay off. When UAB hired him in 2023, they were looking for a "splash." What they got was a steady decline. In 2023, they went 4-8. In 2024, they regressed further to 3-9. By the time 2025 rolled around, the wheels had completely fallen off.
Dilfer was let go after a brutal 53-33 loss to Florida Atlantic in October 2025. He left the team sitting at 2-4. Interim coach Alex Mortensen—who has since been named the permanent head coach for the 2026 season—managed to steady the ship slightly, finishing the year 2-4 as the interim. That included a massive, gutsy 31-24 upset over No. 22 Memphis in the "Battle for the Bones."
That one win against Memphis is why fans still have hope. It showed that the talent is there; the leadership just needed to change.
A History of Defying the Odds
To understand why a 4-8 season feels like a setback, you have to remember where this program was a decade ago. In December 2014, the school's administration literally shut the program down. They said it wasn't financially viable. The fans, the city of Birmingham, and the players didn't accept that.
They fought. They raised millions. And in 2017, the Blazers returned.
Under Bill Clark, the "resurrection" years were nothing short of a miracle. Look at the UAB Blazers football record during that stretch:
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- 2017: 8-5 (Bowl appearance in the first year back!)
- 2018: 11-3 (Conference USA Champions)
- 2019: 9-5 (Division Champs)
- 2020: 6-3 (Conference USA Champions again)
Clark built a culture of "Birmingham Tough." When he stepped down for health reasons in 2022, the program had a winning identity. That’s why the Dilfer years felt so jarring—it was the first time since the return that the program felt like it was losing its soul.
The All-Time Numbers
If you’re a stat nerd, here is the raw data on the UAB Blazers football record through the end of the 2025 season.
The Blazers have played 30 seasons of FBS football (excluding the two-year hiatus). Their all-time record stands at 179-204-2. That’s a winning percentage of roughly .468. They’ve been to six bowl games and hold a 3-3 record in those appearances.
It's not Alabama or Georgia numbers. But for a program that started as a club team and was once left for dead, it’s respectable.
What Really Happened in 2025?
The 2025 season was a rollercoaster of high-scoring games and defensive collapses. The Blazers averaged 26.4 points per game, which isn't terrible. The problem? They gave up 38.2 points per game. That ranked them 135th out of 136 FBS teams in scoring defense. Basically, you can't win if you're a human sieve on defense.
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Jalen Kitna did his best at quarterback, throwing for 2,462 yards and 13 touchdowns in 10 games, but the lack of a run game (only 130 yards per game) and those 15 team interceptions made it impossible to stay consistent.
Why the Future Might Actually Be Bright
Alex Mortensen is the key now. He’s young, he’s a former NFL quarterback (briefly with the Titans), and he was the offensive coordinator under Dilfer. The players seem to actually play for him.
When he took over as interim in 2025, the energy shifted. Winning two of the final six games—including that season finale at Tulsa—gave the boosters enough confidence to pull the "interim" tag off his title.
Real-World Takeaways for Fans
If you're betting on or following UAB in 2026, keep these things in mind:
- The "Road Curse" is over: Dilfer couldn't win away from Protective Stadium. Mortensen already broke that streak by winning at Tulsa to end 2025.
- Watch the Defense: The Blazers hired Steve Russ to fix the defense in 2025, but it takes time to install a 3-4 system with the right personnel. If they don't stop the run in 2026, the record won't improve.
- Recruiting is resetting: Several key players, like Iverson Hooks, transferred out after Dilfer was fired. Mortensen is currently rebuilding the roster through the portal.
The UAB Blazers football record is currently in a "rebuilding" phase, but history shows you should never count this program out. They’ve survived worse than a 4-8 season.
If you are looking to track their progress, keep a close eye on the spring transfer portal window. Mortensen needs defensive line depth if he wants to compete in the American Athletic Conference. You should also check the 2026 schedule—early games against Samford and Illinois will tell us everything we need to know about whether the "Birmingham Tough" identity is actually back.