Nov. 24, 1978

Although it’s considered a fixture now, the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers tipped off their first men’s basketball game 40 years ago.

The athletic department was founded in 1977, with the splashy hire of UCLA head coach Gene Bartow (the man picked to succeed the legendary John Wooden).

The Blazers played their first game at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex before a crowd of more than 14,000. They lost that game to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, by a score of 64-55.

The Blazers didn’t have to wait long for the first victory – it came the next day, with a 67-51 win over San Francisco State.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

The mascot of the UAB Blazers against the UCLA Bruins during the third round of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at KFC YUM! Center on March 21, 2015 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Bartow Arena on the University of Alabama (UAB) at Birmingham campus is home to the UAB Blazers, an NCAA Division I men’s basketball program founded in the late 1970s. The arena is named for UAB’s first men’s basketball coach, Gene Bartow. At right is a statue of Blaze, the UAB team mascot. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, photograph by Jimmy Emerson)

University of Tulsa playing basketball against the University of Alabama at Birmingham at Bartow Arena, March 5, 2008. (Chris “Mojo” Denbow, Wikipedia)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.