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Death of a Coach, End of an Era

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Reilly Johnson
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Jaime Ritter
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UAB chapter.

Death of Coach, End of an Era

UAB Students started the semester with a devastating loss. Coach Gene Bartow passed away on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012, after a two-year struggle with stomach cancer. Bartow, also known as the “Father of UAB Athletics,” was a pioneer in developing campus-life at UAB. He first came to UAB in 1977 as Athletic Director and coach of the Men’s Basketball team. In his 22 years of service, he expanded UAB Athletics to include 17 Division I teams and lead the Men’s Basketball team to their best finish with a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight. Bartow’s legacy will forever be remembered as UAB moves forward in our Athletic programs. In 2011 alone, UAB experienced great achievements in Athletics—the Men’s Basketball team won the Conference USA Championship and made an NCAA Tournament appearance, Men’s Soccer won the Conference USA Championship, and the football team accepted a great new head coach in Coach Garrick McGee. Exciting things are ahead for UAB Athletics, and it is all made possible by the leadership of the great Coach Gene Bartow.

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Jaime is a junior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. There she is the captain of her varsity golf team and a journalism and English double-major. She is an active member in the Student Athletic Advisory Committee where she helps organize volunteer opportunities and social functions for student-athletes at UAB. Jaime enjoys cooking, entertaining friends, reading/writing blogs, fashion, and of course, golf. She aspires to eventually write for a major magazine or write chick-lit books.