In December 2014, the university announced that three sports were being eliminated at the end of the 2014–2015 academic year: football, bowling and rifle. This was the result of an external review commissioned by the university that cited the rapidly changing landscape of the NCAA and soaring operating costs.[62] The football program became bowl-eligible for the first time in a decade following a win against Southern Miss two days before the announcement.[63] On June 1, 2015, Watts announced the reversal of the decision to end UAB football due to the large public opinion against the decision and the public fundraising of more than $27 million towards the program. The Blazers football program, rifle, and bowling programs were all reinstated with the former expected to resume play as early as 2016,.[64] On June 4, 2015, Athletic Director Mark Ingram indicated that the 2017 season was a more reasonable timeline to field a football team for play.[65] The football team resumed play for the 2017 NCAA Football season achieving an 8–5 record, the program's best since 1993, and earning an invitation to the 2017 Bahamas Bowl, the team's first bowl game since 2004.[66] Blazer Football had a historic season in 2018, earning the program's first Conference USA championship, first bowl win and best-ever record of 11–3.[67]