10 years of playing for the name on the back

Bill Clark had a phrase he used with his players at UAB. Play for the name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back.

In 2017, he flipped it.

"We said, what if we played for the name on the back?" Clark said. "But the biggest thing was that it was more than football. It was about these folks that we would represent. And what was so cool about it was to see our players to really get to know these folks."

The name on the back was not the player's name. It was the name of a child served by Children's Harbor — a nonprofit that strengthens families of seriously ill children through no-cost counseling, support services and programs. UAB players wore those names on specially designed gray jerseys at Legion Field on Oct. 7, 2017, against Louisiana Tech. The Blazers won 23-22 on a blocked field goal with three seconds remaining.

Nine games later, the tradition has become part of what UAB football is. Saturday's game vs. Charlotte at Protective Stadium will be the 10th annual Children's Harbor game, and 99 children will have their names on the backs of UAB's gray jerseys this weekend.

UAB (4-4, 2-2 American) hosts Charlotte (1-7, 1-3) at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+. The game can also be heard on JOX 94.5 FM. Fans are encouraged to wear gray.

'Almost 10,000 children'

Cat Outzen, the CEO of Children's Harbor, said the demand from families starts the moment the previous game ends.

"These kids, they look forward to it all year," Outzen said. "We've got people that, and families that call as soon as this game is over asking when their kid gets to be out there. I mean, just the memories, the relationships that they build, it's such a big thing. I mean, almost 10,000 children that we've played with and celebrated together. It's something I look forward to every year."

Outzen has been involved with the game for six or seven years — not from the beginning, but long enough to watch it grow from a small gathering into something that fills a sideline.

"When I first started, we had maybe one or two families meet players and then three or four, and now it's almost everybo- I mean, that whole sideline is just full of people," Outzen said. "So it just has kept growing and growing and the attention that UAB has put on it and how meaningful this partnership has been, it has just morphed into something crazy."

Children's Harbor served 45,000 children and family members last year. Outzen said the partnership with UAB extends that reach.

"If one family sees this game, sees this partnership, then we're able to help, that's 45,001," Outzen said. "The more media attention, the more that we can be partnered with UAB, the bigger potential for us to serve even more as we grow throughout Alabama."

The week before the game

The tradition is not just Saturday. It starts earlier in the week, when the children and their families come to the UAB Football Operations Center to meet the players who will wear their names.

Each player receives a bio of their child in their locker. The children arrive with homemade signs supporting their player. The player signs the sign. They interact. They bond. Many of these children are undergoing treatment for serious illnesses. They light up. And so do the players.

Alex Mortensen, now in his second year leading the tradition, said the relationships are the most meaningful part.

"You're representing children and families who face significant challenges far beyond the scope of football," Mortensen said. "One of the best things is the relationship created between the player and the child and their family."

In the press room this week, Mortensen reflected on what he has learned over multiple Children's Harbor games.

"Here you are — our players are trying to bring positive encouragement and bring a positive relationship to them and you hope it benefits them," Mortensen said. "But man, you see the blessing it is for the other way — for our players and for our people in our organization to get to know these families and the kids involved. And it can be very moving and touching."

"I can't tell you how many people I've bumped into that have been a part of this in the past that'll say, 'Hey, you know, we've still got our jersey,'" Mortensen said. "Going all the way back to Coach Clark, how much this game has meant to the family. Just even hearing it retroactively tells you how important it is."

Clark saw it from the beginning.

"What you did not mention is the level of detail that you go to, to get those players to know about the kid that they're playing for — the child, the family," Clark said. "Sometimes they're not the best of circumstances. And they reach out to those families and they get to know them. And like you said, relationships that still to this day are going on. And so bigger than themselves, bigger than the school, bigger than the city are those families and the kids that they represent."

What the players say

Jo'Tavion Pierce, UAB's redshirt freshman safety, is going through a Children's Harbor week for the first time. He said the connection came naturally.

"I'm happy, I'm very happy to be a part of something like this," Pierce said. "It's kind of like not something for my first rodeo. I did something similar to this in high school, so me as a person, I love stuff like this, to spend time with the kids. You know, that one 'love you', or that one hug, or that one minute that you spend time with the kids, that can make their day."

Pierce attended Montgomery Catholic, where the students spent time every Wednesday with children with disabilities.

"We'll spend, you know, not an hour, maybe an hour and thirty, two hours with them, and we'll build relationships," Pierce said. "We built relationships my whole senior year, so I didn't just spend one time with them. I spent multiple times hanging out with them. So that was something special to me, and I still think about the same kid that I used to spend time with to this day."

Muaaz Byard, UAB's senior linebacker, said the game means something beyond the scoreboard.

"To understand like I could play a big role in someone's journey and be a role model and help them get through — it might just be a week or it could be a long lasting relationship that we build," Byard said. "Representing something bigger than me is very important to me, 'cause I feel like that's just who I am 'cause I always wanna help other people out because I was someone that needed help growing up."

"I feel like the game is about representing those kids and their families and their journeys that they're going through 'cause it's very tough to go through things like that," Byard said. "This game is very big because we get to represent something bigger than us."

Ryder Burton has been through a Children's Harbor game before — last year's 31-24 victory over No. 22 Memphis, which was Mortensen's first game as UAB's interim head coach and his first start as a college player.

"This is kind of a game where you step back and you realize there is something to this that's bigger than football," Burton said. "Just understanding that you give an opportunity for these kids to see something that they may never have the chance to see. I think it just really puts things into perspective on how lucky we are to not only play here, but play this game in general."

Burton, UAB's starting quarterback, said representing a child as the most visible player on the field carries weight.

"I think it's incredibly special to represent something like this, to have the opportunity to showcase that child and their family and everything that comes along with it," Burton said. "I'm just happy to give that family an opportunity to kind of have some limelight with everything they're going through."

'They are ready to meet their guy'

On game day, the children stay. Not all of them watch every snap, but they are there for what matters to them.

"You'd be amazed how many of them stay, and they stay for the entire game just so they can show the homemade poster that they made to their player," Outzen said. "Even if they're not paying attention to the game, they are locked in. Doesn't matter how long the game is, they are ready to meet their guy."

At the end of the game, the families receive the jerseys. Those jerseys hang on walls in homes across Alabama. Some of them are the last tangible piece of the experience a family has.

"We have children that have passed away and the parents still talk about the memories that they had and that jersey that hangs on their wall," Outzen said. "I remember one child who passed away very shortly after the UAB game, but her whole family got to come. They got to go in one of the big suites, and it was just a really big thing. So UAB holds a big place in their heart."

For the 10th anniversary, Outzen said alumni from the program's history will return.

"We've got some alumni that are coming back for our 10th anniversary, so they will be there at the game," Outzen said.

One of the strongest connections from the tradition's earliest days is between Shaq Jones, a UAB senior captain in 2017, and Emme Nichols, a daughter of a former UAB football player and Children's Harbor patient who had undergone surgery for a brain tumor. Jones wore Emme's name on his No. 42 jersey in the first game. He coaches high school football in the Birmingham area now and remains close to Emme and her family to this day.

The new jerseys

This year's gray jerseys feature a new design. The traditional lime green accent is gone, replaced by numbers in the school's green and gold on top of the gray. Each player's nameplate will carry the name of a child being served by Children's Harbor. The jerseys will be presented to the participating families following the game.

Byard said the jerseys matter.

"We get new jerseys and things like that and we get to have someone else last name on the back of them, so it's gonna be very good," Byard said.

'Floor is lava'

Outzen's favorite memory from the tradition captures what it is.

"I think it was last year, there's these two huge linebacker guys and they're just like on their tiptoes and I can't figure out what they're doing, and they're playing floor is lava with a two-year-old," Outzen said. "And to see these two 300-pound guys being led by this two-year-old with cancer, I mean, it was just amazing. It's very, very powerful."

Children's Harbor series history

Year | Result

2017 | UAB 23, Louisiana Tech 22

2018 | UAB 29, North Texas 21

2019 | UAB 38, Old Dominion 14

2020 | UAB 21, UTSA 13

2021 | Rice 30, UAB 24

2022 | UAB 41, Middle Tennessee 14

2023 | UAB 56, South Florida 35

2024 | UAB 59, Tulsa 21

2025 | UAB 31, Memphis 24

UAB is 8-1 all-time in Children's Harbor games.

Saturday will also feature Kids Takeover, presented by Regions Bank, with family-friendly activities in Blazer Village, special ticket offers and free admission for Blazer Buddies Kids Club members.