 You know, you never to think it would shut down the vision of the football team, the hurt, the anger, the pain. A lot of my teammates, alone with myself, you know, we cried, you know, we cried because we lost the brotherhood. We're here in Birmingham today to find out about how a few local leaders and a whole community completed one of the greatest comebacks in sports off the field. In 2014, UAB's football program was shut down due to the increasing cost of upkeep leaving stunned players scrambling for potential transfer options. I want to transfer. I want to give up on football. I even had spouts of depression after I wasn't even going to finish school. It's bigger than this, man. It's bigger than what you think. It's not about numbers. It's about families. Traditionally, Division I football programs are supported through alumni and fan donations. But in this case, UAB would need almost 50 million to keep the football program competitive. In about four hours, hundreds of University of Alabama Birmingham students rallied on the campus green. Putting that UAB jersey on every week is awesome, but it's not about the UA, it's about the B on there. Everybody got that this was more than just a football initiative. This was a citywide economic initiative. People from all walks of life began sharing and responding to the news. Fundraising at UAB, you could say, is very much on the rise. It was a monumental shift in the way we had raised money before. We had people from the community that were involved in this process, making gifts that we had never experienced at UAB for athletics. Phone calls and emails have been overwhelming. The show of support has been overwhelming. I think Birmingham has found its soul through this process in a sense. Brigham's influence combined with UAB's efforts and the fan support all led to one fateful day six short months later. As of today, we are taking steps to reinstate the football right for the moment. I got a phone call from a reporter at West Kentucky because I had committed there. And the first thing he asked me was, like, the football program is back, so what you're going to do? I didn't believe. I was like, hysterical. I was happy. Having UAB experienced in the time since that announcement has been unprecedented and will cover operational funding for the next several years, other athletic initiatives, and practice facilities they believe will rival those in conference USA and all other peer institutions. Giving in Birmingham is sort of part of our DNA. Being here in Birmingham, we all like the sense of connection. And this football team connects all of Birmingham from the east side to the west side to the north side to the south side. As it turns out, the effects of the football team's return will go far beyond the fans. It means a fresh start for UAB, the economy of Birmingham, and a second chance for the dreams of student athletes like Shaq. The only thing left to do now is play ball.