Kennedy on interim AD role, what he wants in UAB's next athletic director

UAB men's basketball coach Andy Kennedy made his first public comments Friday since being named interim athletic director on Aug. 18, telling WBRC Fox 6's Mike Dubberly that balancing both roles has been demanding but that he views the opportunity as "a labor of love."

"No rest for the weary, Mike. That's for sure," Kennedy said on "Good Day Alabama." "My day job is pretty consuming. But anytime you have the opportunity to try to step into a vacuum and help facilitate the athletic department moving forward, this is a labor of love for me. I believe green and gold."

Kennedy, who played basketball at UAB, has spent the summer meeting with university administrators, the school's teams and student groups, and attended fan day. He said his immediate focus is on supporting student-athletes and coaches as the fall semester begins.

"We're just starting the fall term. A lot's happening normally with the start of a new school year, and we just wanna make sure everybody's supported properly as we go through this transition."

When Dubberly asked what Kennedy wants to see in UAB's next permanent athletic director, Kennedy pointed to vision and the ability to bring people together.

"Vision is very, very important," Kennedy said. "The ability to unify not only on campus, but the greater Birmingham community. The Birmingham community has been so terrific in their support for the building of UAB and UAB Athletics in particular. Gotta get back to unifying. There's gotta be a vision. There's gotta be a common cause, and we gotta be really, really determined and relentless in our pursuit of excellence in this ever-changing world of intercollegiate athletics."

In the meantime, Kennedy is preparing to coach an almost completely new roster for men's basketball as the Blazers look to return to the postseason after missing it in 2025-26.

Kennedy did not use the interview to campaign for the permanent job.