UAB Hosts East Carolina for Homecoming Thursday Night on ESPN

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – UAB returns to Protective Stadium on Thursday night for its annual Homecoming game as the Blazers host East Carolina in a nationally televised American Conference matchup. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

The Blazers enter the contest 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the American, while East Carolina comes to Birmingham at 3-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play. UAB is a perfect 3-0 at Protective Stadium this season, with victories over ULM, Navy and Samford, while the Pirates have won three straight following an 0-2 start.

Thursday will feature a full day of Homecoming festivities under the theme "Blaze the Seas," highlighted by ESPN's SportsCenter on Campus broadcasting live outside Protective Stadium from 4-4:30 p.m. CT with Matt Barrie and Chase Daniel. The game is presented by Legacy Credit Union.

GAME INFORMATION


Matchup	East Carolina (3-2, 1-0) at UAB (3-3, 1-1)
Date	Thursday, Oct. 15
Kickoff	6:30 p.m. CT
Location	Protective Stadium – Birmingham, Ala.
Television	ESPN
Television Crew	Matt Barrie (PxP), Chase Daniel (Analyst), Paul Carcaterra (Sideline)
Live Stream	Watch ESPN
Radio	WJOX-FM 94.5 / Varsity Network
UAB Radio Crew	David Crane (play-by-play), Bryant Turner (analyst), Landrum Roberts (sideline)
Series	East Carolina leads 9-4
Theme	Homecoming – "Blaze the Seas"
Entitlement Sponsor	Legacy Credit Union
Social Media	X \| Instagram \| Facebook

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

HOMECOMING AT PROTECTIVE — UAB enters Thursday with a 23-7 all-time record in Homecoming games and has won nine of its last 10. The Blazers have won four consecutive Homecoming contests, defeating Middle Tennessee in 2022, Florida Atlantic in 2023, Tulsa in 2024 and No. 22 Memphis last season. Since the program returned in 2017, UAB is 8-1 on Homecoming.
PROTECT THIS HOUSE — UAB is 3-0 at Protective Stadium this season, defeating ULM 26-20, Navy 24-20 and Samford 33-14. The Blazers have averaged 27.7 points per game at home and have rushed for 630 yards, an average of 210.0 per contest, in those three victories.
SPORTSCENTER COMES TO BIRMINGHAM — For the first time, ESPN's SportsCenter on Campus will originate from Birmingham. Matt Barrie and Chase Daniel will host the live show outside Protective Stadium from 4-4:30 p.m. CT, providing another national spotlight leading into the 6:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.
BACK ON ESPN — Thursday marks UAB's third appearance on an ESPN linear network in a four-game stretch. The Blazers defeated Navy 24-20 on ESPN on Sept. 25 before playing at Memphis on ESPN2 last Saturday. The East Carolina matchup marks UAB's second appearance on ESPN's flagship network this season.
LOCKING DOWN THE PASS — UAB continues to boast one of the nation's best pass defenses, allowing just 126.0 passing yards per game, which ranks second nationally and first in the American Conference. No opponent has passed for more than 182 yards against the Blazers this season.
NO. 1 DEFENSE IN THE AMERICAN — UAB enters Thursday allowing 316.8 total yards per game, the best mark in the American Conference. The Blazers have held two opponents below 300 yards and are limiting teams to 25.8 points per contest.
TWENTY IS PLENTY — UAB is 3-0 when holding opponents to 20 points or fewer this season, defeating ULM 26-20, Navy 24-20 and Samford 33-14. The Blazers are 0-3 when surrendering 21 or more.
GROUND GAME CONTINUES TO PRODUCE — UAB is averaging 179.5 rushing yards per game and has topped 175 yards on the ground four times this season. Roderick Robinson II leads the Blazers with 403 rushing yards, while Bam McReynolds has added 316 yards and four touchdowns.
MIMS MAKING PLAYS — Wide receiver Ty Mims leads UAB with 302 receiving yards on 17 catches, averaging 17.8 yards per reception. Mims had three catches for 79 yards at Memphis and surpassed 1,500 career receiving yards in the process.
SMITH PROVIDES THE BIG PLAY — CJ Smith has 11 receptions for 231 yards and a touchdown this season and is averaging 21.0 yards per catch. His breakout performance came against Samford, when he recorded 85 receiving yards, including a 54-yard reception on UAB's first offensive play.
PIERCE EMERGING — Safety Jo'Tavion Pierce is coming off a season-high 12 tackles at Memphis, including 10 solo stops. Pierce ranks second on the team with 44 tackles and has added 4.0 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three pass breakups and a forced fumble.
DEAN IN THE BACKFIELD — Marlin Dean leads UAB with 8.0 tackles for loss and five sacks while also forcing three fumbles. Dean's five sacks lead the American Conference on a per-game basis, highlighted by his 4.5-TFL, 2.5-sack performance against Navy.
DUH-LONG-UH-RANGE GETS LONGER — Jonah Delange enters Thursday 14-of-16 on field goals this season and perfect on all 13 PAT attempts. At Memphis, Delange connected from 49 and a school-record 57 yards, surpassing Ty Long's previous UAB record of 54 yards set at Ohio State in 2012. Delange is now 45-of-54 for his career, including 21-of-26 from 40 yards or longer.
FLIPPING THE FIELD — Punter Oliver Straw is averaging 46.1 yards on 14 punts this season with eight punts of 50-plus yards and seven downed inside the 20. He has now recorded 206 career punts for 8,860 yards and sits just 140 yards shy of 9,000 career punting yards. He was named as the Ray Guy Award's Ray's 8 for the second week in a row, after the Memphis game.
TOUCHBACK MACHINE — Owen Simpson has been a weapon on kickoffs since returning to the role against Navy. Simpson has produced touchbacks on 14 of his last 17 kickoffs and has 22 touchbacks on 30 attempts this season.
PIRATES BRING THE PRESSURE — East Carolina enters Thursday leading the nation with 10.2 tackles for loss per game, totaling 51 through five contests. The Pirates also lead the American with 2.8 sacks per game and have allowed only one passing touchdown this season.
ECU'S GROUND THREAT — Running back TJ Engleman Jr. has rushed for 386 yards on just 45 carries, averaging 8.6 yards per attempt with three touchdowns. He has topped 125 rushing yards in each of ECU's last two games, including 136 yards against Rice.
RED-ZONE OPPORTUNITY — East Carolina opponents have scored on 16-of-17 red-zone possessions this season, including 10 touchdowns. UAB has scored on 12-of-15 trips inside the 20, with Jonah Delange accounting for seven field goals on those possessions.
THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL — UAB is 14-9 all-time in games played on Thursday and 22-21 overall in games played on days other than Saturday. Thursday's matchup will be the 24th Thursday game in program history.
OCTOBER FOOTBALL — UAB owns a 64-63-1 all-time record in the month of October. The Blazers are 1-1 this October following a 33-14 victory over Samford and last week's loss at Memphis.
SERIES HISTORY — East Carolina leads the all-time series 9-4, with the programs meeting for the first time since 2013. UAB's most recent victory over the Pirates came in 2006, a 17-12 win in Birmingham.

HOMECOMING THURSDAY
The 2026 Homecoming theme is "Blaze the Seas," with festivities beginning with the UAB Homecoming Parade at noon. Blazer Village opens at 2:30 p.m., followed by SportsCenter on Campus from 4-4:30 p.m. outside Protective Stadium before kickoff at 6:30 p.m. Fans are encouraged to arrive early, wear green and help showcase Blazer Nation to a national television audience.

KIDS 12 AND UNDER FREE FOR EAST CAROLINA GAME
UAB Athletics has announced that kids ages 12 and under will receive FREE admission to the Blazers' home game against East Carolina on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 6:30 p.m. CT at Protective Stadium. Fans can redeem the offer online using promo code U12FREE and must purchase at least one reserved ticket through the promotion to receive complimentary youth tickets. The promo code is valid until 2:30 p.m. CT on Oct. 15.

After the online promotion expires, families can still take advantage of the offer at the Protective Stadium box office by purchasing at least one reserved ticket. Fans may also contact the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at (205) 975-8221 for assistance. Individual game tickets can be purchased by clicking here, while group tickets and fan experience packages are available by clicking here.

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