Bill Clark (American football)
Bill Bradford Clark (born June 28, 1968) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), a position he has held since 2014 season.
 Clark at 2017 C-USA media days | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | UAB |
| Conference | Conference USA |
| Record | 34–19 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | June 28, 1968 Anniston, Alabama |
| Alma mater | Jacksonville State University |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1990–1991 | Piedmont HS (AL) (assistant) |
| 1992–1994 | Tuscaloosa County HS (AL) (DC) |
| 1995–1996 | Coffee HS (AL) (DC) |
| 1997–1998 | Dothan HS (AL) (DC) |
| 1999–2007 | Prattville HS (AL) |
| 2008–2012 | South Alabama (DC) |
| 2013 | Jacksonville State |
| 2014 | UAB |
| 2017-present | UAB |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 45–23 (college) 106–11 (high school) |
| Bowls | 1–2 |
| Tournaments | 2–1 (NCAA D-I playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 C-USA West (2018-2019) C-USA (2018) | |
| Awards | |
| 2X C-USA Coach of the Year (2014,2017) Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award (2018) Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year (2018) | |
Clark was born in Anniston, Alabama and grew up in Piedmont, Alabama, where he graduated from Piedmont High School. After he served as an assistant coach at several high schools, Clark got his first head coaching job at Prattville High School in Prattville, Alabama.[1] During his tenure at Prattville, Clark compiled an overall record of 106 wins to only 11 losses (106–11) and won back-to-back Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) state championships in 2006 and 2007.[2] In 2008, Clark was hired to serve as the first defensive coordinator at South Alabama. He stayed in that role through the 2012 season when he was hired as head coach at Jacksonville State.[3] During his only season as head coach at Jacksonville State, Clark led the Gamecocks to their first playoff victories, 49 school records, 13 OVC records and three NCAA records.[4] In January 2014, Clark was hired to serve as the fifth head coach at UAB following the resignation of Garrick McGee.[4][5]
On December 2, 2014, UAB president Ray L. Watts announced that, after commissioning an in-depth inspection of UAB's athletic budget and revenue and how the elimination of football from the athletic program would affect those, UAB had decided to close down the football program in order to save money. On June 1, 2015 news reported that the UAB Blazers football program would be reinstated.[6] In September 2015, Clark and UAB agreed to a five-year contract extension.
Head coaching record
College
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville State Gamecocks (Ohio Valley Conference) (2013) | |||||||||
| 2013 | Jacksonville State | 11–4 | 5–3 | T–3rd | L NCAA Division I Quarterfinal | ||||
| Jacksonville State: | 11–4 | 5–3 | |||||||
| UAB Blazers (Conference USA) (2014–present) | |||||||||
| 2014 | UAB | 6–6 | 4–4 | T–3rd (East) | |||||
| 2017 | UAB | 8–5 | 6–2 | 2nd (West) | L Bahamas | ||||
| 2018 | UAB | 11–3 | 7–1 | 1st (West) | W Boca Raton | ||||
| 2019 | UAB | 9–5 | 6–2 | T–1st (West) | L New Orleans | ||||
| UAB: | 34–19 | 23–9 | |||||||
| Total: | 45–23 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
- Hicks, Tommy (December 18, 2012). "Bill Clark excited about opportunity at Jacksonville State". AL.com. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- "Alabama High School Football Head Coaches: Bill Clark". Alabama High School Football Historical Society. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- "Jacksonville State hires Bill Clark". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 18, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- Champlin, Drew (December 18, 2012). "Bill Clark leaving Jacksonville State to be UAB's head football coach". AL.com. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- "UAB to hire Bill Clark". ESPN.com. ESPN.com news services. January 21, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- McGuire, Kevin (November 30, 2014). "Report: UAB shutting down football program". NBCsports.com. Retrieved December 2, 2014. See also Gray, Jeremy (December 2, 2014). "It's official: UAB kills football program". AL.com. Retrieved December 2, 2014.