At 11 a.m., UAB Athletics hosted a press conference to announce Alex Mortensen, current interim head coach, as UAB’s future head football coach. To open, UAB’s President, Dr. Ray Watts, remarked that this “marks a very important step forward,” and praised Mortensen’s reliance, drive, and care for students.
Next, UAB Athletics Director Mark Ingram thanked fans for their patience in waiting for the announcement, and affirmed that UAB Athletics “[feels] very strongly that the [right] person…was right here under our nose.”
When Mortensen took the podium, he thanked the administration and UAB Athletics for the opportunity. “Speak softly while carrying big stick,” Mortensen remarked, quoting Theodore Roosevelt when discussing his plans to focus on improving the team today rather than boasting about what tomorrow might bring.
He listed some of his specific goals for the coming season, including stopping more runs, increasing the variety of offensive plays, and investing in field positions. Regarding calling his own plays, Mortensen plans to seek more advice and has not yet made a decision.
Although he was working as interim head coach while unsure if he would be head coach next season, he and his staff “tried to prepare as if [they were] going to be here and recruit in that manner.”
When asked about his message to incoming recruits, Mortensen reiterated his goal of helping them develop both as football players and as people.
Asked about the experiences that have influenced his coaching, he noted his time as the passing game coordinator at New Mexico Highlands University. He also listed the week of UAB’s game against Memphis, the same week that a UAB football player allegedly stabbed two other players, as a period of anxiety and fear that ended once his feet touched the field, reminding him of his love for the sport.
To end his time on the podium, an audience member from the UAB Athletics Foundation praised and expressed confidence in Mortensen.
“I’m asking the entire community to mobilize and get behind this guy, and get behind this university because we have a real chance to do something special.”
