UAB — American Athletic
PPA off / def
0.18 / 0.32
2025
Class rank
#135
class of 2026
Returning PPA
80%
returning production
2026 schedule
2025 results (4–8)
Statistical comps — 2025 UAB's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (38 in / 33 out)
Origins
The university shut the program down in 2014 after a winning season, and the city raised the money to bring it back. Clark's 2017 team went 8-5 in its first year of existence again, which does not happen.
Founded 1969 · Split from Alabama's Birmingham extension center into its own university · first football 1991 · defined by Bill Clark
All-time record
Win %
44.0%
30 seasons played
Winning seasons
9
30% of seasons
By level: FCS 1–2 (1994–1995) · FBS 147–186 (1996–2025)
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 2018 | 11 | 3 | Conference USA |
| 2021 | 9 | 4 | Conference USA |
| 2019 | 9 | 5 | Conference USA |
| 2017 | 8 | 5 | Conference USA |
| 2000 | 7 | 4 | Conference USA |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1994 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 309 | 54% |
42% | 73 of 136 | 5.6 | 12% |
| 2nd down | 229 | 45% |
40% | 82 of 136 | 5.3 | 10% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 38 | 71% |
63% | — | 4.4 | 8% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 43 | 19% |
47% | — | 7.9 | 21% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 59 | 8% |
41% | — | 10.0 | 27% |
| 4th down | 32 | 38% |
38% | — | 3.6 | 13% |
132 drives · 38% ended in points · 7.6 plays and 43.2 yards per drive · 1.13 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 8 | Memphis |
Solomon Beebe run for 81 yds for a TD (Jonah Delange KICK) |
81 | 7.06 |
| 10 | UConn |
Brandon Hawkins Jr. 68 Yd pass from Ryder Burton (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed) |
68 | 5.47 |
| 2 | Navy |
Jalen Kitna pass complete to Iverson Hooks for 51 yds for a TD (Jonah Delange KICK) |
51 | 5.16 |
| 4 | Tennessee |
Jalen Kitna pass complete to Kaleb Brown for 61 yds for a TD (Jonah Delange KICK) |
61 | 4.86 |
| 11 | Rice |
(00:03) No Huddle-Shotgun #15 R.Burton pass complete deep middle to #6 B.Hawkins Jr. caugh… |
21 | 4.51 |
| 12 | North Texas |
(00:05) No Huddle-Shotgun #4 J.Jackson rush left for 29 yards gain to the UNT35 (#14 Q.Ham… |
29 | 4.16 |
| 4 | Tennessee |
Jalen Kitna pass complete to Brandon Hawkins Jr. for 30 yds for a TD (Jonah Delange KICK) |
30 | 4.14 |
| 14 | Tulsa |
(05:44) Shotgun #7 J.Kitna pass complete deep middle to #5 K.Brown caught at Tulsa50, for … |
57 | 4.12 |